CLEMSON — The No. 6 national seed Clemson Tigers are set to open play in the Clemson Regional at 7 p.m. Friday at Doug Kingsmore Stadium against High Point (34-25).

The Tigers (41-14) are playing in the NCAA Tournament for the 46th time and hosting a regional for the second year in a row.

Clemson first-year transfer and senior outfielder Alden Mathes met with the media on Thursday and discussed his excitement to play in his first regional with the Tigers.

“It’s kind of surreal,” he said. “I’m just excited to see the atmosphere, play some postseason baseball for the first time in a while and kind of just experience it all for the first time.”

You can check out more of Mathes’ press conference below, including his thoughts on Friday’s starter, lefthander Tristan Smith: