Many players on this Clemson team experienced the heartbreak that came with losing to Florida at home in last year’s Super Regional.

The crushing 13-inning defeat that eliminated the Tigers stayed with those players throughout fall ball and into the preseason. It’s been used as fuel, as this Clemson team won 44 games this season, while making a run to the ACC Championship Game last week.

This year, this Clemson team is trying to make it back to a Super Regional with a chance to earn a trip to the College World Series, something the program has not done since 2010. That journey begins on Friday when the Tigers face a familiar foe in USC-Upstate to open up regional play.

One of the biggest questions surrounding the opening game against the Spartans is who Erik Bakich will choose as his starting pitcher. Aidan Knaak has served as the Friday starter all season long and is without question the ace in the starting rotation. Does Bakich choose to go with Knaak or hold him for Saturday?

“Not yet. We have talked about it,” Bakich said when asked who might start against Upstate. “We will probably announce the game one starter on Thursday.”

Drew Titsworth would be the other likely candidate if indeed Bakich does choose to save Knaak for Saturday. Titsworth has served as the Saturday starter since the middle of April, and while he has certainly been more than serviceable, he has only gone five or more innings in three of his six starts.

Having said that, Titsworth seems to be getting better with each and every outing. In each of his last two starts, he has gone at least five innings, with the Tigers winning both games. In the ACC Tournament quarterfinals, the sophomore went five innings, allowing three runs on five hits, in the win over NC State.

No matter who Bakich chooses, he will be open to criticism. If he goes with Knaak and the Tigers beat Upstate, the narrative will be that he should have saved his ace for Saturday. If he goes with Titsworth, and Clemson ends up dropping that first game, that narrative will be that he should have gone with Knaak.

Either way, whoever runs out there is facing a challenge. While Clemson did beat the Spartans 7-0 in midweek action early in the season, this USC-Upstate team is much better offensively than it showed that night.

Seven hitters in the lineup are hitting .300 or better. One is hitting .400 on the button. Upstate has also hit 99 homers this season.

“Very dangerous lineup,” Bakich said. “They swing the bats very well. Lot of homers, lot of doubles, lot of slugging. They can really hit and it is not just a few guys. It is the whole lineup. We will have our work cut our for us for sure.

However, whether it’s Knaak or Titsworth, the goal remains the same. That is to go out and slow down a Spartans lineup that is hitting .319 as a team and scoring close to 10 runs per game.

Both of those guys remember that feeling walking off the field after being eliminated by the Gators last season, and neither is looking to get regional play started off with a loss.

“Starting from that day, every day after last year’s Super Regional, for the returning guys, that has been one of those that is stuck in the back of our heads,” Knaak said. “Every day at training, every workout, every lift, every time we come to this field, that is always something we are thinking about.”