Tigers have come to win

FULLERTON, Calif. — Clemson may have been the last team selected into the field of 64 for this week’s NCAA Baseball Tournament, but it doesn’t mean the Tigers are happy just to be in it.
Clemson head coach Jack Leggett says the Tigers did not travel nearly 2,000 miles to lose the Fullerton Regional.
“We are not out here to just take a trip. We are out here to win,” Leggett said to TCI following Thursday’s practice at Goodwin Field at Cal State Fullerton. “I think everyone has the same frame of mind. The players are out here to prove we have a really good program. I think we will be one of those teams that will be tough to beat.”
Clemson (32-27) will open up the Fullerton Regional against Arizona State at 6 p.m. (EST) on Friday. Like the Tigers, ASU comes to California looking to win the regional as well. Head coach Tracy Smith even went so far to say the Sun Devils were going to win the whole (NCAA Tournament) on social media when the selections were announced on Monday.
“We are excited about being here. It is a long way away from home, but at the same time, the kids are excited about seeing a new venue,” Leggett said.
Arizona State (34-21) is the second seed in the regional, while host Cal State Fullerton (34-22) is the No. 1 seed. Pepperdine (30-27) is the No. 4 seed and will play the Titans in Game 2 at 10 p.m. (EST) on Friday. Clemson, ASU, Cal-State Fullerton and Pepperdine have combined for 143 NCAA Tournament appearances, the most of any regional.
Besides Clemson, the other three teams in the regional have all won a national championship.
“There are good teams here in this tournament when you talk about Arizona State, Cal State Fullerton and Pepperdine,” Leggett said. “They are all playing well right now and they all have strong programs.
“Our kids are ready for the challenge. They are excited about being out here and they are excited about trying to play their best baseball of the year right now.”
The Tigers enter the tournament as winners in eight of their last 11 games, which include victories over No. 3 overall seed Louisville and ACC Tournament Champion Florida State. Clemson actually went to Tallahassee and swept the Seminoles to end the regular season.
Though the Tigers are nearly 2,000 miles away from Doug Kingsmore Stadium, they actually welcome the long road trip, and why not. Clemson is 17-13 away from home this year.
“We are all focused,” Clemson second baseman Tyler Krieger said. “We all understand what’s at stake out here. This is tournament time. Good players start rising to the top this time of the year and we need some guys to step up. We all know who they are and we expect to play our best baseball.
“This is a great opportunity for us and we look forward to it.”
And like Leggett says, they are here to win it.
“There are a lot of people that would like to be in our shoes right now so we are going to try to represent the ACC and represent Clemson well,” he said.

Click below for the full article
Tigers have come to win
Source: The Clemson Insider