Clemson softball hopes to keep momentum in first rivalry game at South Carolina

Valerie Cagle is one of the nation's best players.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Wed Apr 21 11:01:03 GMT-04:00 2021

John Rittman and his Clemson softball team have a lot of momentum, and they hope to keep rolling in the first-ever rivalry softball game with South Carolina when the teams meet Wednesday at Carolina Softball Stadium in Columbia.

Clemson enters Wednesday’s contest ranked No. 16 in the USA Today/NFCA coaches poll, its highest ranking to date. Clemson enters the weekend having won its last 12 games, all of which have been at McWhorter Stadium. Clemson leads the ACC in overall winning percentage (88.9%), good for fifth in the nation. South Carolina is 23-17 overall on the season and just 2-13 in SEC play.

Rittman is looking forward to the start of the rivalry.

“I think that as a coach and as a player, you have to know who you're playing. Certainly, we understand that South Carolina is in the SEC, and the SEC is one of the best conferences in the country,” Rittman said Tuesday. “We know that they are a very storied program with a lot of tradition and success in their history. For us, it's easy to say we will just take it as just another game, but we are going to be excited, as I am sure they will be. But once the game starts and the first pitch is thrown it's softball and I trust our team will be ready to play and execute.

“Our first rivalry game tomorrow night against South Carolina and we are really looking forward to that. I know it's going to be a first for both programs, so a special day in both South Carolina and Clemson history. Really looking forward to it. We had originally schedule a home and away this year; however, when the ACC made us cut 10 percent of our schedule we were forced to do only one game this year. But next year Coach Smith and I have agreed to do a home-and-away. We are really looking forward to it.”

SERIES SETUP

Who: Clemson (32-4, 22-4 ACC) at South Carolina (23-17, 2-13 SEC)
NFCA/ESPN Ranking: CU – 16/16; SCar – NR
When: Wednesday, April 21, 2021

Where: Columbia, S.C. (Carolina Softball Stadium)
Watch: SEC Network
Video Announcers: Eric Brown (pbp) & Amanda Scarborough (color)

Live Stats: ClemsonTigers.com
Social Media: ClemsonSoftball

Rittman said he understands what the rivalry means to the state of South Carolina.

“I have heard a lot about it and been to baseball and football and basketball and all of the sporting events and have seen the rivalry games take place in those sports,” Rittman said. “Really, whatever school you are at you have a rival and those games always mean a little bit more. We are looking forward to it and looking forward to visiting their nice stadium and hopefully playing well in the first rivalry game ever.”

This season, the Tigers are averaging 5.67 runs per game, while boasting a team ERA of 1.37. Clemson second-year freshman ace Valerie Cagle has established herself as one of the best two-way players in the nation.

As Clemson’s ace and three-hole hitter, Cagle leads the Tigers in batting average (.387), slugging (.730), on-base percentage (.460), doubles (9), walks (15), ERA (0.89), wins (20), saves (4), innings pitched (141.1), batters struck out (166), appearances (27) and games started (21) this season.

Rittman said his team can’t take the program’s early success for granted.

“I am not going to lie, it feels really good to have the success we have had in such a short amount of time,” Rittman said. “We tell our team all the time to not take these times for granted. Winning is hard, and it's hard at this level. We certainly want to embrace the success we have had.”