Clemson softball confident heading into regional

Valerie Cagle and the Tigers are confident (Clemson athletics photo).

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Thu May 19 16:14:04 GMT-04:00 2022

CLEMSON – Clemson softball players have a word that keeps coming up when talk turns to this weekend’s NCAA Regional at McWhorter Stadium: Confident.

No. 14/13 Clemson takes a 39-15 overall record into the opening game of the 2022 Clemson Regional against UNC Wilmington at noon on Friday. The Tigers are the No. 10 national seed after being selected to host a regional in only the third year of the program. The Tigers welcome three first-time opponents to Clemson: Auburn, Louisiana and UNC Wilmington.

Marissa Guimbarda is only the 196th NCAA Division I player to record at least 50 home runs in their collegiate career. The senior currently sits at 59 after hitting 24 at Furman before transferring to Clemson, where she’s hit 35. Guimbarda described the current vibe around the program.

“I think the vibe is great. We're confident. That's the word that keeps coming up. We're confident,” she said. “We're ready. We're at home. We know this field, we know the facility, we know what we can do on this field. And at the facility, we do it every day. So, I think we're just excited to come out, play clubs and softball and hopefully have good outcomes.”

Alia Logoleo said she loves the idea of playing at home in the postseason.

“I think it definitely helps you're at home. You have your own bed, you have your own routine, and that doesn't really have to change,” Logoleo said. “I really like my routine, so that's very helpful. I think that's just an aspect that we didn't have last year, but I think this is going to be really fun, to be playing in this environment with our crowd.”

Two-player Valerie Cagle says she’s expecting big crowds.

“I think it'd be interesting to kind of see how the noon game is. It is a noon game. It's Friday,” Cagle said. “So I think it's going to be a good crowd, but I think this weekend is when it's really going to get really full. But they put those seats up because they need those seats, so they're going to get full.”

Logoleo said the crowd gives the players confidence.

“It definitely means a lot. When you're making a play and you do something that's great for our team, the fans are going to go crazy and then you just build off of that,” Logoleo said. “And it gives pitchers a lot of confidence. If they hear the crowd yelling at umpires, getting a little wild, just knowing that they're on our side and they're backing us up, it's a lot of fun.”

The Tigers are in the same bracket as Oklahoma St., the No. 7 overall seed – and if OSU falls in their regional and Clemson wins, the Tigers would host a Super Regional. However, head coach John Rittman said the Tigers’ focus has to be on tomorrow’s game.

“Obviously you look at scores every night to see who won and who lost, but we're really focused on the task at hand,” Rittman said. “And in the postseason, when you get that number next to your name as a one seed, you start thinking about the two, three seeds. But we have to really concentrate on UNC Wilmington, a very good team, a good pitching staff. They're here for a reason. They won the conference tournament, which means they're playing really well right now. So that's our main objective, is to really take a close look at them. And our main objective is UNC Wilmington.”