ACC Tournament: 1-seed Tigers ready for first postseason action

Clark, left, joined ACC player of the year Valerie Cagle as freshmen to make first-team All-ACC.

by Zachary Wagner - Correspondent - Wed May 12 17:00:07 GMT-04:00 2021

The Clemson softball program is set to compete in its first-ever ACC Tournament this week in Louisville, Kentucky. The Tigers, who are still in their first full season of competition, are the No.1-seeded team in the tournament and will take on either the eighth-seeded Syracuse or ninth-seeded Georgia Tech on Thursday morning inside of Ulmer Stadium (11 a.m./ACC Network).

Clemson head coach John Rittman, who was named the ACC Coach of the Year earlier this week, knows the tall task his team faces entering the weekend with a target on their back.

“We’re just looking forward to it,” Rittman said on Tuesday afternoon. “We’ve had a very successful year and we’re looking forward to continuing that success in the postseason.”

The program, which captured the ACC Regular Season Championship in just the 72nd game in program history, has gained a lot of new eyes over the course of the season. Rittman says he still can’t believe the feat that his team accomplished last weekend and just how surreal the situation is.

“It’s very surreal,” the second-year head coach said. “To think back to all the meetings we had, the plans to build the stadium, and to be out on the recruiting trail, and getting the team and the staff together. To be able to play this year and have the success that we had, it’s obviously very special.”

While at Stanford before his time at Clemson, Rittman never got a chance to play in a conference tournament since the PAC-12 didn't have one, and he says his approach to next weekend's contests won’t change because of the single-elimination format.

“It really doesn’t, and at this time of year, we’ve had such a grind with the ACC season and the four-game series that it’s different in itself,” Ritmann said. “I think the single-elimination tournament this year is appropriate because you don’t want to tire yourself out right before the NCAA Tournament. But at the same time, you want to crown a conference champion and I think this format works well with everybody.”

Clemson, which swept a four-game series in Louisville in the middle of March, has experience in the ballpark where it will try to win its first conference tournament in its first try.

“I certainly think it's going to benefit us having already played there,” Rittman said on the second trip to Ulmer Stadium this season. “The infield surface is a little different than ours, so having experience there already is beneficial to us. We already know the surroundings and the feel of the stadium. But we know as soon as the game starts, we’re playing softball and we got to execute and do the things that got us here.”

Rittman knows his players are set out on a mission.

“I think you have to embrace the success and enjoy the moment because we’ve worked really hard for these awards and recognitions,” Rittman said. “You want to enjoy all that, but we’re a mature group of players and coaches and we know that this is all part of the process, but we’re not done playing yet. Certainly we enjoy the wins and the awards, but we know we have a lot to look forward too, and a lot more softball to play.”

The first three rounds of the ACC Tournament will be broadcast on ACC Network and Saturday’s ACC Tournament Championship game will be broadcast on ESPN2. There is a chance Clemson could run into its first-ever meeting with 2-seed Florida State in the winner-take-all championship game.

Clark a 'special talent'

Three Clemson softball players were named to the All-ACC First Team on Tuesday afternoon. Two of those players come as no surprise, Valerie Cagle, who earned ACC Player of the Year as well as Freshman of the Year honors, as well as Marissa Guimbarda who was second on the team with 13 home runs and was a force at the plate all season. The third player, a true freshman from Florida, was first on the team in runs scored, triples, third on the team with nine long balls and was third on the team as well in RBI (28). That player would be none other than center fielder McKenzie “Pie” Clark.

The Myakka City, Florida product chose the Tigers over other big-name schools such as Florida and UCF as a top-20 ranked prospect according to ExtraInningSoftball.com. Clark gets her nickname of “Pie” from her tradition in high school where she would pick up a slice of Strawberry pie before every game in high school, earning her nickname after yelling out the word during a team huddle, and the rest is history.

Rittman knew Clark would be a special player the first moment he saw the Florida native play.

“In the recruiting process, we knew she was going to be a special talent,” Rittman said of his center fielder. “As an outfielder, and as a catcher, she is just one of those talents. She has speed, range and a terrific arm.”

Clark, who made SportsCenter's Top-10 plays list last weekend after bringing back a ball from over the outfield fence to rob Syracuse of a home run, did not have the best start at the plate. The freshman had one home run halfway through the month of March, but she finished the second half of the season off very strong at the plate, hitting eight more homers and making numerous plays in the outfield to keep runs off the board.

?? FIRST DEGREE ROBBERY ??

McKenzie Clark erases a Syracuse home run to keep the game tied 5-5 in the fifth ??

?? ACCNX#SCTop10 #D1Top10 pic.twitter.com/hNxlRy1VAb
— Clemson Softball ?? (@clemsonsoftball) May 8, 2021

“She can hit for power, for average, she’s just the complete package,” Rittman said. “She started probably like most freshmen, a little slow at the plate, but once she started getting confidence, she knew she belonged at this level and she’s just really blossomed.”

Clark was named to the All-ACC First team as well as the All-ACC Freshman team and was in the top-10 in numerous categories at the plate in the ACC, including leading the league in triples with six three-baggers.

It’s not just her head coach who had high praises for the true freshman on Tuesday afternoon -- her outfield mate as well as starting pitcher, Cagle, also told the media just how much Clark means to the team.

“She’s (Clark) has made some ridiculous plays,” Cagle said when asked about having Clark on defense when she is pitching. “If anyone runs on her the rest of the year, I just don’t understand why. It’s nice having her and everyone else on defense that I know can back me up if I give up a hit, or if I give up a home run and she robs it, it just gives me the confidence to relax and do what I do. I know they're going to have my back no matter what.”

Clark finished the regular season with a .367 batting average, driving in 28 runs, hitting nine home runs, six triples and eight doubles. The true freshman also has four outfield assists and has not committed an error in the field of play all season.