To say Clemson was a little anxious during Monday\u2019s selection show on ESPNU doesn\u2019t quite cut it. The Tigers were downright nervous and there was a thought process where some of the players thought maybe they were not getting in.
\n\u201cIt runs through your head nonstop,\u201d Clemson leftfielder Reed Rohlman said. \u201cWe were talking about it (Monday) morning waiting for the selection show and that\u2019s all we have been talking or thinking about for the last couple of days now.\u201d
\nFinally, all the talk and speculation ended when the Tigers saw their name in the Fullerton Regional where they will take on No. 2 seed Arizona State on Friday at 6 p.m. Eastern Standard time. Cal State Fullerton is the host school and the No. 1 seed in the regional as it will play No. 4 Pepperdine in the other game on Friday.
\n\u201cIt was a great feeling seeing our name up on there,\u201d Rohlman said. \u201cWe are excited to go over to California and hopefully do some damage.\u201d
\nThe Tigers (32-27) were the last team in according to the NCAA selection committee, just getting in over ACC rival North Carolina. Clemson\u2019s 16-13 conference record and the fact the Tigers were 8-3 going down the stretch, while the Tar Heels were 3-8, also played a role in the selection committee\u2019s mind.
\nIt also helped that Clemson was 4-2 versus No. 3 overall seed Louisville and ACC Tournament Champion Florida State in the regular season, whereas UNC was 13-16 in the ACC despite not having to play two of the conference\u2019s three best teams.
\nThe Tar Heels did beat Clemson in the ACC Tournament to tie the season series at 2-2 last Friday, and had a No. 28 RPI compared to Clemson\u2019s 54, but the committee threw all of that out the window when it compared those things to Clemson\u2019s overall body work, especially with what the Tigers did in the ACC.
\n\u201cWe played a tough schedule and we really did not have any breathers along the line,\u201d Clemson head coach Jack Leggett said. \u201cThat was another factor for us in being able to get in. We played well in our conference, which is a very tough conference. Our RPI was not great and we lost a couple of tough midweek games during the course of the season and that did not help us. We were able to overshadow it by the way we played at the end and the way we played in our conference.
\n\u201cWe had some good things going for us and I know it was close, but it was close for a lot of teams.\u201d
\nNow that the Tigers are in, they are ready and believe they can make a run at Omaha. Unlike last year, when they just barely snuck into the NCAA Tournament before being kicked out with two embarrassing defeats to Oregon and Xavier, the Tigers feel they are more equipped to handle the pressures that come with playing in a regional.
\n\u201cWe seem to play up to our competition and to the challenge,\u201d Clemson pitcher Matthew Crownover said. \u201cI feel some of the best pitchers we have faced all year, we hit them the best and played well on defense. I\u2019m looking forward to it and looking forward to seeing what we can do.\u201d
\nIt would have been easy for the Tigers to fold their tents after a disappointing effort in a loss to Wofford on May 5. That pushed their record to 24-24 at the time and no one outside the program believed they would be in the NCAA Tournament.
\nBut they came back in the next game and beat 17th-ranked College of Charleston. Then they took two of three from Georgia Southern that following weekend before going to Greenville and rallying from 10 runs down to beat Furman.
\nThen came the sweep of eighth-ranked Florida State in Tallahassee and a 7-2 victory over Louisville in the ACC Tournament.
\n\u201cI\u2019m very proud of this team. Their toughness has been on display all season long,\u201d Leggett said. \u201cWe have had to win some tough games. We backed ourselves into a corner. We would get a little momentum and then we would lose the momentum. At times we were a little frustrated, but at the same time we all believed in what we were doing and we all believed in each other and we have a good core of leaders on our baseball team.
\n\u201cWe have hungry kids that are motivated to play baseball and love playing baseball for Clemson, so I\u2019m very proud of them. I\u2019m proud of their toughness and very proud of their resiliency this year and I\u2019m certainly proud of how they held things together throughout the year.\u201d<\/p>\n