The bottom of Clemson’s order produced four of its six hits, while second baseman Maddie Moore had a bases-clearing triple to help No. 25 Clemson beat the 17th-ranked Stanford Cardinal, 7-6, Sunday in the rubber match of their three-game series at Stanford Stadium in Stanford, Calif.

The win allowed the Tigers to take the series, 2 games to 1, and earn a huge RPI win for their postseason resume.

Clemson’s bottom of the lineup came through in a big way on Sunday, as Kylee Johnson, Taylor Pipkins and Jamison Brockenbrough combined for four of the Tigers’ six hits, most coming in the fifth inning and beyond.

The Tigers (30-11, 11-4 ACC) rallied to score four runs in the top of the fifth inning. Trailing 2-0, and with the bases loaded, Moore hit a bases-clearing triple with no outs to give Clemson a 3-2 lead. Julia Knowler flew out to leftfield on the next at-bat to score Moore for a 4-2 lead.

The Cardinal (25-8, 9-6 ACC) fought back in the bottom frame, however. Taryn Kern homered to left center to pull her team within a run, 4-3, then Jade Berry tied it with a grounded to short, scoring River Mahler from third.

Pipkins, who got things rolling for Clemson with a triple in the fifth inning, hit a sacrifice fly to right field, with runners on second and third with no outs, to put the Tigers back on top in the sixth inning. The sac fly scored Kennedy Ariail from third.

Brockenbrough followed with an RBI single to score Johnson, and Brockenbrough later came around and scored on an Alex Brown fielder’s choice for a 7-4 lead.

Brockenbrough led Clemson by going 2-for-2 with an RBI at the plate, while Pipkins was 1-for-2 with an RBI and a triple. Johnson (1-2) also recorded a hit from the bottom of the lineup.

Stanford rallied for a single run in the bottom of the sixth inning and two in the bottom of the seventh, but Brooke McCubbin held on to earn the win and her eighth of the season. Down a run, and with two outs, the Cardinal loaded the bases, but McCubbin got Emily Jones to fly out to centerfield to end the game.

Kern finished the afternoon 2-for-3 with two home runs and three RBIs. Clemson intentionally walked her with two outs to load the bases for Jones in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Special win

Winning the series was especially special to Clemson head coach John Rittman and Moore. Rittman coached at Stanford for 17 seasons and led the program to College World Series appearances in 2001 and 2004.

This weekend was his first return trip to Stanford since he was let go in 2014. Rittman started the softball program at Stanford like he did at Clemson.

Moore grew up two hours down the road from Stanford. She had two big hits to help the Tigers win Game 1 on Friday, and then had the big bases-clearing-triple on Sunday that helped her team win a huge road series in terms of the ACC race and possibly hosting an NCAA Tournament Regional.

Up Next

The Tigers return to McWhorter Stadium in Clemson on Wednesday to host Winthrop. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.