ARLINGTON, Texas — One of the reasons head coach Erik Bakich wanted his team to open the season by playing in the Shriners Children’s College Showdown at Globe Life Field was to challenge his players right out of the gate.

Over the first two days, the No. 15 Tigers have faced off against two Top 25 teams. Clemson came from behind to beat No. 17 Oklahoma State 6-5 in its season opener Friday and then easily disposed of No. 21 Arizona 16-5 on Saturday.

Not only has the competition been stiff, but the Tigers have also opened the season by playing on the national stage in a big-league ballpark.

“I think you gain a few things,” Bakich told The Clemson Insider from the team hotel. “One, it’s a cool experience for the players to play in the Major League stadium. That’s a childhood dream for all of them. Two, you get to challenge yourself early, so you’re playing ranked teams right out of the gate. You get growth opportunities and learning opportunities. You get to see how you stack up.”

And stack up Clemson has. While Bakich has been serving his two-game suspension to start the season, the head coach has been thoroughly pleased with what he’s seen from his team.

The Tigers’ grittiness was on full display right out of the gate on Friday. Trailing 4-1 after four innings, Clemson would score two times in the fifth, once in the sixth and twice more in the seventh to complete the comeback win.

Bakich wanted to see how his team would respond to some early adversity and that test was passed with flying colors.

“We’re gonna get punched in the mouth every game in some form or fashion,” Bakich added. “It’s almost embracing that and looking forward to it. When is that punch in the mouth gonna happen and how are we gonna respond to it.”

Preparing his teams for that kind of adversity is one of Bakich’s top priorities every offseason. However, how they respond to it is something he never knows until the actual games start.

Two games into the 2025 season and Team 128 has passed the early season tests with flying colors.

“The way we frame stress and the way we frame adversity as being good, I think, really provides that opportunity for our guys to look forward to getting up after they get knocked down,” Bakich said. “Because they know they’re going to get knocked down. All the other teams are really good. Doesn’t matter who’s on our schedule. Everybody’s got good players, and we’re not that bad that we need every call. We know the umpires are going to screw the calls up. They’re human, and how are we going to respond when they do.”

The Tigers will wrap up play in the Shriners Children’s College Showdown against Ole Miss on Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.