A season that once seemed on the edge was turned around by a group of young players who played with an edge of their own.
Clemson defeated Florida State 2-1 behind a two-run home run in the top of the seventh inning by Kylee Johnson at Harrington Athletics Village in Brighton, Massachusetts, to clinch an automatic berth in the NCAA softball tournament Saturday.
The Tigers were able to cross off a bunch of firsts despite the success of the young program. The ACC Softball Tournament championship is the first in program history for the Tigers. The win was also the first for Clemson over FSU (Clemson was 0-7 against FSU heading into the game), and it was the first time the Seminoles had lost in 2025 when they held a lead through six innings (30-0) heading into the game.