While Clemson softball coach John Rittman believes his team has gotten used to going from the hunter to the hunted, some of his players think the Tigers are still working through the process.
“Last year, we kind of snuck up on people a little bit,” center fielder McKenzie Clark said. “Now we’re not doing that as much, which I don’t mind at all. I like the competition. I like the fight. We just need to start executing a little bit more.”
Last year is a reference to Clemson’s ACC regular-season championship season, which firmly put Rittman’s program on the college softball map in just the second year of its existence. With the Tigers now getting everyone’s best shot, their title defense has gotten off to a slow start.
Clemson (21-10 overall) is just 3-6 in conference play through its first three ACC series, though the slate certainly hasn’t lacked for meat on the bone. The Tigers were swept at home by a top-10 Virginia Tech team to start the month and dropped two of three at Duke, another legitimate conference contender.
Clemson, which also lost by a run at Georgia last week and fell in extras to Louisville at home its last time out Sunday, has lost four of its last seven games after an 18-6 start that included a win over Washington, another top-10 team.
“Definitely our schedule has challenged us,” Rittman said. “We’ve played a very tough schedule, and we’ve lost some close games. And (Sunday) was another one where we still gave ourselves a chance in the seventh inning with the winning run at the plate. As a coach, that’s really all you can ask for in your team.”
Clemson did pick up its first league series win against Louisville, outscoring the Cardinals 13-2 in the first two games. The Tigers looked primed to do one better in Sunday’s series finale, controlling the game through the first four innings. But much like its midweek loss to Georgia, an early two-run lead evaporated as Clemson’s offense struggled to get out of first gear.
The Tigers mustered just six hits against Louisville right-hander Taylor Roby, who went the distance to notch the win. Camryn Greenwood’s two-run, opposite-field homer in the eighth made for the winning separation in a game in which Clemson hit just 3 of 15 with runners on and 2 of 11 with runners in scoring position.
Some of those were tough-luck outs on balls that were hit directly at the Cardinals, but Clemson’s batters also put themselves in plenty of adverse situations by being passive and falling behind in counts. Being more aggressive is something Clark said the offense has to work on as a whole.
“Jumping on the good pitches,” said Clark, who had two of Clemson’s hits, including an RBI single. “Even though we had established the strike zone later in the game, just getting on top of those good pitches. Whether it’s the first pitch or second pitch, it doesn’t matter. We’ve just got to be ready.”
Through the first three conference series, Rittman said he’s learned his team’s pitching and defense are good enough to win games. Star sophomore Valerie Cagle (2.35 earned run average) is the headliner, but right-hander Regan Spencer, who hurled five innings of two-run ball Sunday, leads the Tigers with a 0.77 ERA in 36 ⅓ innings.
Sophomore Millie Thompson has also given Clemson a lift in the circle, posting a 1.57 ERA in 13 appearances (eight starts). Meanwhile, the Tigers’ defense had just one error in the Louisville series and has gone 11 straight games without committing multiple errors.
“The biggest thing now is getting the timely hits and building off this series win for next week,” Rittman said.
That starts Wednesday with a home game against rival South Carolina. Then it’s off to North Carolina on Friday to begin a three-game series against the Tar Heels.
They are Clemson’s latest opportunities to implement the biggest lesson it’s learned so far if the Tigers are going to make a late-season push to get back in the conference title race.
“We always have to be on our A-game,” Clark said.
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