Mat Clark put the Tigers on his shoulders

CLEMSON--When Mat Clark stepped onto the mound for the Tigers in Thursday's ACC Tournament game against the seventh-ranked Louisville Cardinals he, along with every member of the Tigers' team, understood what was at stake--a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

And all he did was put together a performance for the ages.

"I think we all knew going into this game how big this game was for us, and couldn't have asked for a better start than we got out of Mat Clark, one of the best starts I've ever witnessed in my career as a coach," head coach Monte Lee said. "So he put our team, our program on his shoulders today against one of the best teams in the country, the ACC champion, and won the game for us."

Clark carried a perfect game into the ninth inning, but, after his warmup session, the one-hit performance came as a shock.

"I mean, in the bullpen today I kind of had like a shaky warmup session, like I wasn't really throwing many strikes," Clark said. "But then something just clicked on the mound and I was able to locate all my pitches. A couple weeks, past couple weeks, I haven't had that kind of command. Like my walk numbers were up a little bit the past couple weeks. But it felt good today locating all my pitches today."

However it did not take Clark long to realize that today he had something special brewing.

"You just kind of know as a pitcher, okay, nobody has gotten a hit yet today," Clark said. "I mean, you just stay aggressive and let the defense make plays behind me

"Throughout the entire game, nobody ever really talks to me during my outings, that's just kind of how it is. But on the field, it just kind of felt like any other outing. I was just trying to stay aggressive and get ahead early."

While Lee believes the type of performance was one of the best he has ever seen, the journey for Lee and Clark go back to before he was even the head coach of the Tigers.

Lee, while he was still the head coach at the College of Charleston, heard about a wiry, left-hander from Hilton Head and he knew that he wanted him to join his rotation.

"It's funny, I have a long history with Mat," Lee said. "The first time I saw Mat pitch, he was in the eighth grade, pitching for Hilton Head High School, and he was just a strike-throwing machine, just this little lefty that just could throw it where he wanted to, and I actually recruited him at the College of Charleston and he was actually coming to the College of Charleston until I got the job at Clemson, and I knew even when I was at the College of Charleston that he really wanted to go to Clemson.

"He kept putting me off and putting me off, waiting to see if Clemson would recruit him, and finally he gave in and committed, and then when I got the job here, it was a transition that he made, and I certainly wanted him to come pitch for us."

And it is a good thing that Lee convinced Clark to join him because he has always had the ability to put together performances like he put together Thursday in a must-win game of the ACC Tournament.

"He's done it his whole life. Quite honestly, the progression -- the only thing that's really progressed is he's gotten older and stronger, but he's always been the same guy," Lee said. "He had Tommy John his first year in the program, and he's just gotten -- I wouldn't say he's gotten better. He's always been good. He really has. He's the same guy that I've been watching since high school. Again, he's just gotten bigger and stronger and he's a winner. He always has been, and he always will be.

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