Clemson softball eliminated by Oklahoma State, 5-1, in NCAA super regional

Clemson softball's historic season came to an end Friday night as the Tigers lost at Oklahoma State, 5-1, in the Stillwater super regional and were eliminated from the NCAA tournament.

"Very proud of our team," Clemson coach John Rittman said. "What a wonderful year."

Clemson put itself in a tough spot when it lost the series opener, 2-0, Thursday night with only two hits and 13 strikeouts against Oklahoma State pitcher Kelly Maxwell. OSU's Morgan Day in the clincher allowed four hits and struck out five in 5 1/3 innings before Maxwell came in to finish it off.

The No. 10 seeded Tigers (42-17), in the program's third year, made it to the supers for the first time but could not match the No. 7 seeded Cowgirls (45-12), who advanced to the Women's College World Series for the third straight season.

Valerie Cagle pitched a complete game for Clemson and allowed one earned run on six hits.

Clemson's Valerie Cagle throws a pitch Friday night against Oklahoma State in the NCAA super regionals.
Clemson's Valerie Cagle throws a pitch Friday night against Oklahoma State in the NCAA super regionals.

Clemson's defense was shaky from the start. The Tigers made errors on three straight ground balls in the second inning to allow three unearned runs and fall behind, 4-0. In the first, Oklahoma (46-12) got an unearned run because of a passed ball on a strikeout and a wild pitch.

"We just didn't execute defensively," Rittman said "You can't do that against good teams in this setting."

McKenzie Clark got Clemson on the board with a solo home run in the third, but Karli Petty of Oklahoma State did the same in the fourth to make it 5-1.

In the Clemson Regional of the opening round, the Tigers won three straight by outscoring their opponents, 18-0. Two of those games were decided by mercy rule.

More Clemson softball

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Best player: 3 things to know about Valerie Cagle

Oklahoma State and seven other super regional winners will play in the double-elimination World Series beginning June 2 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Todd Shanesy covers Clemson athletics for the USA Today network.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson softball eliminated by Oklahoma State, 5-1, in super regional