CLEMSON, S.C. – Sophomore Lagi Quiroga hit a pair of doubles and senior Mika Lee crushed a solo home run but the California softball team fell 5-3 at Clemson on Friday evening.

The Golden Bears (25-8, 6-4 ACC) battled to the final out, scoring twice in the top of the seventh and getting the tying run to the plate before the Tigers (25-10, 7-3) finally closed it out.

Cal struck first with a run in the top of the first after Quiroga got things started with a double to deep right field. Quiroga advanced to third on a groundout and came home on a two-out infield single to deep short by Tianna Bell.

Clemson tied things at 1-1 with a run in the top of the third and then put up four runs in the fifth to take a 5-1 advantage.

Lee led off the seventh with her third home run of the season and the Bears put runners on the corners with one out on a double by freshman Kayli Counts and a single by Quiroga. Counts scored on a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to 5-3 before the Tigers closed out the win.

Cal returns to McWhorter Stadium on Saturday for a doubleheader against Clemson. The first game is scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. PT with the nightcap slated for 3 p.m. PT. Saturday's second game was originally scheduled for Sunday but was moved up a day in anticipation of inclement weather in the Clemson area.


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