On Wednesday, the Clemson Tigers softball team entered the bottom of the seventh with a 99.34% chance of beating the Liberty Lady Flames.
While the Lady Flames were down 4-1, they had three outs to play against one of the best two-way players in the sport, two-time All-American Valerie Cagle.
🚨Upset Alert 🚨
Rachel Craine drives in two with a walk off single to upset No. 6 Clemson, 5-4. #NCAASoftball x 🎥 ESPN+ / @LibertySB
— NCAA Softball (@NCAASoftball) April 27, 2023
Yet somehow, Clemson lost to Liberty in a 5-4 come-from-behind-victory. With one down in the seventh inning, the next six Lady Flames reached base during a four-run rally to knock off one of the best teams in the country. Sophomore infielder Rachel Craine’s two-run walk-off single propelled Liberty to its first win over a Top 25 opponent this season.
In the past nine days, Liberty has knocked off three nationally ranked teams — Clemson, Alabama and Central Arkansas.
The college softball world reacted to the huge upset on social media:
High Key Love Softball https://t.co/SrBVKqjNZk
— Chad Hasson (@Chad_Hasson) April 27, 2023
I'm not surprised @LibertySB pulled the upset. They may have started the season 1-5 but those losses were close games (lost 1-0 to Oklaboma in extras). They are a great team. I wouldn't want them in my regional! https://t.co/HtjLtzJxSL
— Sarah's Women's Sports (@Sarahs_WSports) April 27, 2023
Liberty softball out here doing big things 👀👏🏽👏🏽 https://t.co/FVcZGMIiVc
— baylea 💕 (@BayleaMariee) April 27, 2023
Alabama last week. Clemson this week. I’ll say it again…we want them in football too https://t.co/GzIWtrGhrI
— CJ Sweat (@sweetsweatcj) April 27, 2023
THIS TEAM. #WaterTheRoot https://t.co/ZIdHTDbApu
— Megan Fortner (@megfort6) April 27, 2023
The Lady Flames are getting hot at the right time ahead of the Atlantic Sun Conference Softball Championship next month. While Liberty (31-17, 13-5 ASUN) remains unranked and has not received any Top 25 votes, the Lady Flames are currently ranked 27th in the nation in the rating percentage index (RPI) which helps measure a team’s wins and losses and its strength of schedule.
Liberty owns a 19-3 home record, including its latest win over Clemson, but a 2-8 record in neutral site games puts a damper on its resume.
About Sam Neumann
Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.