Tigers to Tangle With Troy in Tuscaloosa
GAME SETUP
- Who: Clemson (42-6, 29-5 ACC) vs. Troy (36-15, 17-6 Sun Belt)
- NFCA/ESPN Ranking: CU – 13/10; Troy – NR
- When: Friday, May 21, 2021 • 3 p.m. ET
- Where: Tuscaloosa, Ala. (Rhoads Stadium)
- Watch: ESPN3 (es.pn/3wkL6bm)
- Video Announcers: Eric Frede (pbp) & Madison Shipman (color)
- Listen (Radio): WCCP105.5 FM
- Listen (Internet): ClemsonTigers.com (below)
- Radio Announcers: William Qualkinbush (pbp) & Jeannie Murphy (color)
- Live Stats: ClemsonTigers.com
- Social Media: ClemsonSoftball
SERIES HISTORY
- Overall Record: 1-0 (2020)
- The Tigers defeated Troy, 10-1 in five innings at the Diamond-9 tournament in Orlando, Florida on Feb 20, 2020 in Clemson’s inaugural season before it was cut short due to COVID-19.
- Marissa Guimbarda (2) and Cammy Pereira combined to hit three homers. Guimbarda knocked in a game-high four RBI.
- At the time, the inaugural matchup against the Trojans was the Clemson’s 14th contest in program history.
CLEMSON OVERVIEW
- Clemson enters its first NCAA Regional appearance in the program’s first opportunity to do so.
- After winning the 2021 ACC regular-season championship ,the Tigers are coming off their first ACC Championship (tournament) appearance, having defeated Georgia Tech and then-No. 20 Virginia Tech to advance to the title game before falling to then-No. 21 Duke .
- Clemson 22-2 in their last 24 outings.
- This season, the Tigers are averaging 5.58 runs per game, good for first in the ACC, while boasting a team ERA of 1.48, which also leads the ACC and is sixth best in the nation.
CLEMSON-ALABAMA CONNECTIONS
- This year’s Clemson Softball roster boasts two Alabama natives, #9 Sarah Howell (Oxford) and #58 Kyah Keller (Hollywood).
- Clemson’s appearance in the 2021 Tuscaloosa Regional marks the first time Clemson Softball has competed in the state of Alabama.
- Clemson infielder Bailey Taylor, the Tigers’ 2020 starting third baseman, transferred to Clemson in the Fall of 2019 after a two-year stint at Troy, where she earned 57 career starts. In the spring of 2019, Taylor hit a career-best .310 with 11 doubles and seven home runs.
THE NATIONALLY-RANKED TIGERS
- Clemson enters this weekend’s series ranked No. 10 in the ESPN/USA Softball poll, which ties its highest ranking to date, and No. 13 the USA Today/NFCA coaches poll.
- As a program, Clemson debuted at No. 25 in the USA Today/NFCA coaches poll on March 9, 2021, and at No. 25 in the ESPN/USA Softball poll on March 16, 2021.
- Clemson received its first top-25 ranking on March 1, 2021 at No. 25, according to D1Softball.com.
QUOTABLE:
John Rittman (Head Coach):
On the excitement heading into the NCAA Tournament: "We're super excited, you know, we had a good couple of days of practice after the ACC championship and, and looking forward to going down to Tuscaloosa and playing in our first ever regional. So excited for our players and our staff and just looking forward to a great weekend."
On what he told his team following not getting to host: "What I told our team is, you know you can control what you control and we've done that all year long. You know, when the committee gets in that room and they make a lot of selections that's out of our control. And certainly, we can sit around and feel sorry for ourselves for not getting a bid and not maybe being seated where we felt we were supposed to be but that's not going to get us anywhere. So we've got to prepare for a tough Troy team and, and hopefully give ourselves a chance this weekend to compete for another championship. So at the end of the day, you know you're going to have to play good teams to get to where you want to go and, and I think our team's ready for that and move past the Selection Show and just get ready for a great weekend a competition.