By Will Vandervort.

By Will Vandervort

Being from Anderson, S.C. Garrett Boulware is not exactly thrilled to be in Columbia for the Columbia Regional, and that has nothing to do with the school that is hosting it.

“Honestly, I’m from South Carolina so I have been to Columbia plenty of times,” the Clemson catcher said. “I was hoping to go somewhere else, but that’s where we are going and that’s what we are focused on.”

Garrett and the Tigers are in Columbia today as they will hold a practice session this morning at Carolina Stadium before talking to the media afterwards. Clemson, the No. 2 seed in the Columbia Regional, will play No. 3 Liberty Friday at 1 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN3.

This week’s NCAA Regional is an opportunity for the Tigers (39-20) to have redemption in more ways than one. Clemson has lost five straight games—it’s longest losing streak of the season—including three in last week’s ACC Championships in Durham, N.C.

Clemson had won 23 of the previous 27 games before the losing streak, and at one point looked like a lock to host a regional. Now, because of the sudden slump, the Tigers found themselves in the one place no one other than television wanted them to be.

“We have to erase the past week. Don’t even think about it,” Boulware said. “Think about the year as a whole. We can’t think about the dry spots. We have to think about how we have played the whole year. That kind of says a lot about who we are as a team. We need to use that to motivate us.

“We know we are talented and know we have the team we need in order to go down there and win.”

The Tigers also have an opportunity to redeem themselves against host South Carolina, who has beat Clemson six straight times in the NCAA Tournament, including two in last year’s Columbia Regional. The Gamecocks, who have won 24 straight home Regional or Super Regional games, won two of three games this past March and have won 20 of the last 28 meetings between the two schools.

“I don’t really think about it that way,” Boulware said. “They have their pressure because they may have to play us and we have ours because we may have to play them. If we play against each other, it’s two big teams playing against each other in a regional.

“I think they have pressure because they have made it to the College World Series finals in each of the last three years, but not because of us. I think they might have pressure because they put it on themselves, like we will put it on ourselves to do well.”

If the Tigers and Gamecocks do meet up again, Boulware expects things to be a little different than the last time these two archrivals hooked up. He says Clemson is a better team and he knows the Gamecocks have improved too since that last encounter on March 3.

“We have more of complete lineup from top-to-bottom and our pitching staff is more mature as a whole,” he said. “I think our team, when we go down there, is going to be a lot better team for them to face. I’m sure they are going to be a better team than the one we faced at the beginning of the year as well.

“I’m excited to see what is going to happen.”