Clemson softball run-rules USC Upstate, wins opening NCAA regional game
After a slow start, Clemson softball finished its NCAA opener with a bang.
Sophomore Kylee Johnson hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the fourth inning to help the nationally seeded Tigers run-rule USC Upstate 10-2 in five innings during their opening regional game at McWhorter Stadium on Friday.
The game was tied 2-2 before Johnson hit a three-run home run in the fourth and Clemson racked up five hits and five runs in the abbreviated game’s final inning.
With the win, Clemson — the No. 1 seed in its region and No. 11 overall seed in the field — advances to a winner’s bracket game against No. 3 Northwestern on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. Northwestern beat No. 2 Kentucky 4-0 earlier on Friday.
USC Upstate plays Kentucky in an elimination game at 4 p.m. Saturday.
The Tigers’ win didn’t come easy. No. 4 seed USC Upstate was outhitting Clemson through three innings and chased Clemson’s ace in less than three. The Spartans led the game 2-1 in the top of the third inning and left a whopping 10 runners on base.
But Clemson’s bats came through with eight runs over the final two innings to turn a close game into a run-rule victory in front of 1,804 fans on Friday.
“Our team has really learned to play from behind,” Clemson coach John Rittman said postgame. “There’s no panic. ... Everybody produced at some point or another.”
Game recap
Tigers starting pitcher Reese Basinger, recently named the ACC Pitcher of the Year, looked great in the first inning. But things started to unravel shortly afterward.
Basinger allowed three straight hits to load the bases in the top of the second inning before getting out of the inning with a strikeout. That allowed Clemson (45-12) to take a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second on shortstop Marian Collins’ RBI single.
But Clemson’s starting pitcher couldn’t turn things. Basinger allowed four straight hits — including an RBI double and a RBI sacrifice fly — and walked a batter before getting pulled in the top of the third inning, with USC Upstate leading 2-1.
Basinger, a righty, finished with a 2.97 ERA and six hits and two runs allowed in 2.1 innings. Clemson replaced her with fellow senior pitcher Brooke McCubbin.
The Tigers didn’t trail for long. Star Clemson second base Maddie Moore delivered with an RBI double that tied the game 2-2 in the bottom of the third inning.
Clemson truly broke through in the bottom of the fourth, when Johnson, a sophomore left fielder, crushed a home run to left field that scored three.
Her home run left the ballpark at 76 mph and traveled 238 feet.
Johnson entered batting .222 (the lowest among Clemson’s starters), but she’s now hit huge home runs in back-to-back games. She also had the go-ahead two-run home run in Clemson’s ACC championship win against Florida State on May 10.
“We all trust 1 through 9 that anybody can get it done,” Johnson said. “I was just trying to pick up my teammates, and I did just that. But I wasn’t trying to do anything big. Just trying to get some things going.”
Clemson then promptly run-ruled USC Upstate with five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, which matched the Tigers’ total through the previous four innings.
The Spartans got a solid effort from starting pitcher Sierra Maness (five runs allowed in four innings), but reliever Maddie Drerup allowed five runs in 0.1 innings.
Clemson right fielder Taylor Pipkins’ RBI double at 9-2 drove in a final runner to triggered a run-rule win (which happens when a team leads by eight or more runs through five innings) and send the Tigers to the Saturday winner’s bracket.
McCubbin earned a win after pitching 2.2 scoreless innings, while Clemson batted .500 (10-20) as a team. Six different Clemson players had at least one hit.
“We know we’ve got a tough opponent tomorrow in Northwestern, so it was nice to end that little earlier,” Rittman said. “We’ll get a little extra rest, get hydrated, get some sleep and come out tomorrow ready to go.”
2025 Clemson softball regional schedule
All games at McWhorter Stadium in Clemson
Friday, May 16
Game 1: No. 3 Northwestern 4, No. 2 Kentucky 0
Game 2: No. 1 Clemson 10, No. 4 USC Upstate 2
Saturday, May 17
Game 3: No. 3 Northwestern vs. No. 1 Clemson, 1:30 p.m.
Game 4: No. 2 Kentucky vs. No. 4 USC Upstate, 4 p.m.
Game 5: Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 winner, 6:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 18
Game 6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 1 p.m.
Game 7 (if necessary): Game 6 winner vs. Game 6 loser, 3:30 p.m.
This story was originally published May 16, 2025 at 7:03 PM.
