ATHENS, Ga. – No one prepares to lose – for a season to be cut short, for final hugs and emotional senior goodbyes.

However, very few teams this season, or in NCAA history, can boast an appearance in a regional championship round after losing an opening game.

And while Clemson fell 5-0 to No. 10 National seed Georgia in the Athens (Georgia) Regional Sunday, bringing on the inevitable grief of a season-ending loss, the Tigers can head home with the knowledge that they fought until the end.

“There’s a lot that this team has to be proud of,” head coach John Rittman said. “We lost a tough game against UNCG on Friday, a game that we kind of beat ourselves in and a game of inches that just didn’t seem to get a break. And then to show the character and the fight that this team did yesterday to come out and to get the doubleheader sweep, to give us a position to play in a regional final, I couldn’t ask for more.”

At the forefront of the fight to win two games in a do-or-die doubleheader Saturday were seniors Jamison Brockenbrough and Abby Dunning. Brockenbrough, a centerfielder, finished 4-for-11 in her final three games as a Tiger, doubling twice Saturday to ignite a sometimes-stagnant Clemson offense.

In her last game in an orange and white uniform, Brockenbrough fought til the end, firing up her teammates while diving into second base in the sixth inning, down 5-0. 

“I just think that our two seniors led this team this year and just overall,” two-way player Macey Cintron said. “Like Jam (Brockenbrough) every day bringing her unique, quirky personality and just showing all of us that you can be yourself.”

Brockenbrough’s “unique self” translated to a team-high .337 batting average, 58 hits, and 32 runs batted this season as the Tigers’ leadoff hitter. In two seasons with Clemson, the Locust Grove, Ga., native made 105 starts, advancing to three postseason tournaments.

In the circle, Abby Dunning, Clemson’s other senior, personified postseason fight. In her first and final NCAA Regional Tournament, the right-handed pitcher threw 331 pitches, striking out 19 batters in 19 innings. Despite pitching on “fumes” on Sunday, according to Rittman, the former Boston College transfer gave the Tigers another solid outing, holding Georgia’s offense to one run before being relieved in the fifth.

“Abby Dunning was phenomenal,” Rittman said. “Just the fight that she showed and the character and to go out there and pitch on fumes today and keep a Georgia offense, you know, pretty quiet for (four) innings was a pretty amazing feat.”

Both Dunning and Brockenbrough transferred into Clemson, and while the veterans were only with the Tigers for a combined three seasons, their impacts, and Athens Regional heroics, will be remembered for years in the program.

“(Brockenbrough and Dunning) were epitome of what Clemson softball is all about,” Rittman said. “And when we go in the transfer portal we look for more than just you know stats and numbers. We’re very aware of the culture, and we want to bring people in who are going to blend in with our culture and both of them did exactly that.” 

While Clemson’s leaders and lone upperclassmen will not be returning to play collegiate softball next season, Cintron believes their leadership will carry over to the next guard of upperclassmen, herself included.

“I just think bringing back so many players, it brings back a lot of experience and I think that next year that’s something we’re going to need to build on,” she said. “(The seniors) didn’t want to go out without giving it their all, and I just think that we all can learn something from that.”

Seven of the Tigers’ nine starters will enter next season with at least another year of eligibility, and while they will not have its Athens Regional heroes next season, Rittman says that with returners and future newcomers, “the future is bright” for Clemson softball.