The 2023 Clemson Tigers softball team was the varsity

college softball College softball is softball as played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education, predominantly in the United States. College softball is normally played by women at the Intercollegiate level, whereas college baseball is nor ...

team that represented

Clemson University Clemson University () is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university near Clemson, South Carolina, United States. - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university property. This shows Clemson University is ''out ...

during the

2023 NCAA Division I softball season The 2023 NCAA Division I softball season, play of college softball in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the NCAA Division I, Division I level, began in February 2023. The season progressed throu ...

. This was the fourth season of Clemson's softball program. The Tigers competed in the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

(ACC) and were led by head coach

John Rittman John Richard Rittman (born October 5, 1963) is an American college softball coach, serving as the inaugural head coach of the Clemson Tigers softball team. He previously served as head coach at Stanford Cardinal softball, Stanford and an assistan ...

. Clemson played its home games at McWhorter Stadium in

Clemson, South Carolina Clemson () is a city in Pickens County, South Carolina, Pickens and Anderson County, South Carolina, Anderson counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina. Clemson is adjacent to Clemson University, - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university pr ...

. During the season, on March 8,

Valerie Cagle Valerie Rose Cagle (born January 7, 2002) is an American softball pitcher and utility player who played college softball for the Clemson Tigers. She was named USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year in 2023. College career On December 4, 20 ...

became the first Clemson pitcher to throw a perfect game in program history. The game came against at home. The Tigers finished the regular season 45–8 and 18–6 in ACC play to finish in third place. As the third seed in the ACC Tournament, they earned a bye into the Quarter finals where the defeated North Carolina before losing to Duke in the Semifinals. The Tigers were selected, via at-large bid, as the sixteenth overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. They hosted a regional and were placed into the Norman Super Regional. They defeated and to earn a spot in the final of the Regional. They lost to Auburn in the first game, but won the second time to advance to the Super Regional. The Tigers lost both games to the eventual national champions

Oklahoma Sooners The Oklahoma Sooners are the college athletics in the United States , athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman, Oklahoma, Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to ...

in Norman to end their season.

Previous Season

The Tigers finished the 2022 season 42–17 overall and 14–10 in ACC play to finish in fifth place. As the fifth seed in the ACC Tournament, they earned a bye into the Quarter finals where they defeated fourth seed Notre Dame. In the Semifinals they defeated first seed Virginia Tech, but fell to third seed Florida State in the Final. This marked the back-to-back appearances in the Final of the ACC Tournament in the program's first two full seasons. The Tigers were selected, via at-large bid, as the tenth overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. They hosted a regional and were placed into the Stillwater Super Regional. They defeated , , and

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

in their Regional to advance to face in the Super Regional. Clemson lost both games in Stillwater to end their season.

Personnel

Roster

Coaches

Schedule

Note: All rankings shown are from the NFCA/USA Today poll.

Rankings

* Various polls did not release during the NCAA tournament. * indicates that the ranking is from pre-tournament for comparison purposes.

References

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