For Clemson redshirt freshman Valerie Cagle, the number 72 has always had significant meaning behind it. Since the Virginia native was 13 years old, she has worn No. 72 in hopes of one day seeing the number register on the radar gun while she pitches from inside of the pitcher's circle. Cagle was close multiple times during the Clemson softball program’s inaugural season last year but never saw the feat accomplished before the remainder of the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Once Cagle and the program returned in August to prepare for the upcoming season, it did not take long for her to see the long-awaited day when the number she had been chasing since her childhood popped up on the radar gun.