FULLERTON, Calif. — When Pepperdine put three more runs on the scoreboard to go up 7-0 in the top of the sixth inning in Saturday’s elimination game of the Fullerton Regional, no one was giving Clemson a chance to come back and win.
No one except their head coach that is.
Clemson head coach Jack Leggett continued to encourage his players by telling them they could turn things around by taking it just one pitch at a time.
“The attitude from there was to just put some at-bats together and try to chip away,” Clemson right fielder Steven Duggar said.
Duggar started the chipping with a single up the middle to start the bottom of the sixth. Then Tyler Krieger followed with a double down the left field line. That was all the Tigers needed to get it going.
After Clemson got a two-out hit from Robert Jolly to plate its second run in the sixth, it got two-run singles from both Krieger and Chris Okey for four more runs in the seventh inning. Centerfielder Tyler Slaton then smacked a triple to right centerfield for two RBIs to complete a six-run seventh that gave the Tigers an 8-7 lead at the time.
“I was extremely proud of the way our lineup handled our at-bats from then on out,” Duggar said. “We were able to come back and put ourselves in position to win.”
Unfortunately for the Tigers, Pepperdine was able to come back, too. The Waves placed a single run on the board in the top of the eighth inning to tie the game and then plated the game-winning run and an insurance run in the ninth inning to complete a 10-8 victory.
The loss ended the Tigers’ season at 32-29, marking the second straight year they failed to win a game in an NCAA Regional. However, unlike like year, when they were embarrassed in losses to Oregon and Xavier in the Nashville Regional, Clemson showed grit and true character by not folding when its chips were down.
“I think our kids came out here and competed really well,” Leggett said. “We had some tough games and a few little things here and there might have helped us. We dug ourselves out of a couple of holes and made it interesting. I think that kind of shows a little bit of character this team has and what they have been able to do all year long.
“I’m proud of how they worked. When you get to this stage, anything can happen. A break here and there can make a difference in a game. It was big. Unfortunately, we did not have them all go our way.”
Though they fell short, Clemson’s comeback on Saturday was another example of the 2015 team’s ability to rise up when everyone counted them out. When the Tigers were 24-24, no one expected them to beat the College of Charleston and then sweep Florida State on their way to seven wins in the last eight regular season games.
When they trailed Furman by 10 runs after two innings on May 12, no one expected to see Clemson playing in an NCAA Regional – the program’s seventh straight appearance and its 21st in Leggett’s 22 years at Clemson
“I’m just really proud of my team. I’m proud of the way they have battled all year long,” Leggett said. “We have had our backs against the wall. We played some really good games and had some really good moments. We had some tough moments. But that is baseball.
“This is a very good conference and it’s a very good schedule that we play. There are a lot of teams that would like to be in a situation like this, to be able to play in a regional. We were here, but we lost a couple of close, tough games. It is really about my team and about my players. I’m just proud to be their coach and I’m proud to coach at this university. We have some awesome kids. We have some really awesome kids. They banned together and for that I am extremely proud.”
And despite what some might say outside of the program, the future looks bright for the Clemson in the years to come, and that’s thanks to the heart and the desire the 2015 team was able to show when everyone was counting them out.
“I’m proud of how these kids played. I’m proud of how they act. I’m proud of what they do in the classroom and I’m proud of how they battle all the time,” Leggett said. “That’s how I feel about them. That’s important and I know how they feel the same about me and that’s the important thing.”
To help with next year, Clemson will have a brand new clubhouse and locker room, along with new coaches’ offices and a museum. Also, the Tigers will have the Academic Common Market for the first time next fall. These are all things that will help the Tigers build more depth on its roster for next season.
Leggett and recruiting coordinator Bradley LeCroy have already used these new advantages to haul in what is considered a Top 11 class that will enroll in school this fall.
“All of those things can help us out. The facilities are a big deal and the Academic Common Market will help us out and make the scholarship go a little bit further in a couple of different states, but it is still tough out there. You are fighting the pro issue all the time. You are fighting recruiting battles, but we have some great kids coming in.
“Those things will be helpful and will be an advantage to us before it is all over. Hopefully we will see some positive things out of that.”