CLEMSON — On May 14, the Clemson baseball team boarded a plane dressed for vacation.

However, instead of heading to Maui, Bali, or anywhere else warm in their beachy outfits, the Tigers headed to the historically “un-tropical” metropolis of Pittsburgh for their final away series of the regular season against the Pitt Panthers.

Players wore Hawaiian shirts of their choice – some blue, others purple, green, or red. A few topped off the look with hats and sunglasses, leaning into the theme.

Third baseman Josh Piano opted for a green shirt patterned with pink flowers while pitcher Joe Allen sported a sky-blue ensemble dotted with white palm trees. Freshman pitcher Dane Moehler took things a step further with a shirt featuring President Donald Trump surfing among orange florals.

First-team All-ACC pitcher Lucas Mahlstedt made a stop at Walmart and selected two options — one plain white, the other floral. 

“We just had to loosen up a little bit, and we were holding on a little too tight,” Clemson head coach Erik Bakich said.

The Hawaiian shirts idea arrived after a difficult stretch in which Clemson lost eight of 10 games prior to going to Pittsburgh. Bakich saw the playful wardrobe shift as a way to reset the tone and bring fun back to the game after a stressful three weeks.

For a coach who calls a baseball field a “playground,” partners with the entertainment-driven Savannah Bananas, and emphasizes joy in the sport, the beachy attire was more than a gimmick.

It was a mindset.

“We always travel in suits and ties, I don’t know about you guys, but suits and ties get a little uncomfortable, and we needed to get back to having fun and playing ball like to our capability,” Bakich said. “We’ve done that various times in the past, we did that two years ago… you got to break out the Hawaiian shirts when the time is right and we’re still wearing them.”

The Tigers (44-16) swept the series against Pitt, snapping the dip and reasserting themselves as contenders to host an NCAA Regional. With the series sweep, the Hawaiian shirts stayed off the back shelf. Players began wearing them to the stadium and around the clubhouse, keeping the laid-back energy alive in Clemson. 

“Psychologically, it just helps us relax,” sophomore pitcher Aidan Knaak said. “When you wear Hawaiian-themed clothes and just sit back, relax, and have fun, it’s a theme that’s been going on lately. After that three-week stretch, we were uptight so just wanted to loosen up a bit, wear the Hawaiian, and remind us that it’s all just a game.”

Whether it was the shirts, a mindset shift, or contagious success, the Tigers regained their groove. Following the Pitt sweep, Clemson rolled through the ACC Tournament in Durham, N.C., eliminating Virginia Tech, NC State, and top-seeded Georgia Tech on its way to the championship game.

“The shirts kind of mean, like on vacation, going out and having fun,” Mahlstedt said. “That is kind of the bases of our program. We kind of got away from that for a little bit, but, I think, now we are playing more free and playing more loose. That is what we need to play well.”

Although they fell to North Carolina in the title game, the Tigers’ “playing loose” mindset earned them the No. 11 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, as well as being selected to host the Clemson Regional at Doug Kingsmore Stadium for the third consecutive year.

Strapped with a laid-back mindset, Hawaiian shirts, and six wins in the last seven games, Clemson is set to host No. 4 seed USC Upstate, No. 2 West Virginia, and third-seeded Kentucky, while aiming to win back-to-back regionals for the first time since 2009.

The Tigers will face USC Upstate at 6 p.m., tonight in Game 2 of the Clemson Regional.

The team may not be headed to the beach at the moment, but make no mistake, Clemson does not plan on putting the Hawaiian shirts or the season on the shelf anytime soon.