The Clemson Tigers ended their softball season on May 17 with a 5-0 defeat against the No. 10 Georgia Bulldogs in the Athens Regional. The Tigers finished the year with a record of 34 wins and 22 losses, marking their sixth appearance in an NCAA regional since the program began.
The outcome brings to a close another competitive season for Clemson, highlighting both individual and team achievements despite falling short of advancing further in postseason play.
Clemson started as the designated home team. Graduate pitcher Abby Dunning kept Georgia scoreless through three innings, stranding multiple runners by recording key strikeouts. In total, Dunning threw four innings and struck out four batters before being relieved by freshman Lexie Hames in the fifth inning. Hames faced two batters before sophomore Macey Cintron entered and pitched two innings with two strikeouts. Freshman Keira Crosby made her postseason debut, facing four batters in one inning.
Georgia broke through offensively with a solo home run in the fourth inning and added runs on a bases-loaded walk and sacrifice fly in the fifth to make it 3-0. Two more runs scored for Georgia in the sixth secured their victory.
Senior Jamison Brockenbrough concluded her collegiate career having recorded 141 hits overall, including 58 during her senior year. She also registered the fourth-most walks in a single Clemson season with 32. Dunning completed her college career after delivering strong performances throughout regionals, finishing with 481 strikeouts and 39 wins.
This season saw Clemson tie its program record for top-25 victories at ten, including its milestone home win—number 150—against No.18 Virginia on April 18. Head Coach John Rittman achieved his own milestones this year as well: his thousandth career victory overall and his two hundred fiftieth win as head coach of Clemson came during an upset over No.12 Mississippi State on February 28.
Looking ahead, these accomplishments set benchmarks for future seasons as players graduate or return next year.
