Nine days after Clemson’s softball team arrived in sunny Boca Raton and later in Clearwater, Fla., to open its season with two tournaments, they returned home with a disappointing 3-6 record, making for a long eight-hour trip back to Clemson.

All six of the Tigers’ losses came at the hands of Power Four programs, while two of the wins came against Missouri State and Georgia State, members of the Missouri Valley and Sun Belt conferences, respectively. After eight months away from competition, this was not the start they hoped for against stiff competition.

Despite the rocky beginning, head coach John Rittman remained confident in his team’s talent and potential. The challenge, he said, was learning how to play together. 

This was no small task. After all, the team graduated seven seniors at the end of last season, including center fielder McKenzie Clark, a three-time All-ACC selection, four-time All-ACC infielder Alia Logoleo, and former USA Softball Player of the Year Valerie Cagle, a two-way player who struck out 819 batters and hit 66 home runs across her five-year collegiate career. 

Three of the seven graduates were founding members of Clemson’s inaugural 2019-’20 team. With their departure, the program lost not only production, but also a large part of its identity and culture. 

Given the drastic turnover and a roster that featured seven freshmen, it would not have been surprising if the Tigers treated this season as a rebuilding year. Fans, coaches, media members, and even players did not know exactly what to expect. 

However, veteran Maddie Moore, a second baseman with First Team All-ACC pedigree, was not about to coast through her final season in an orange and purple uniform.

“We want to show that it’s not just a rebuilding year,” Moore said. “Of course, we miss (those players), but it was really exciting to put our own leadership into things, and take over and be the big guys on campus, and have fun with it, and build a team that we really like and have a very easygoing but locked-in mentality.”

That balance has served the Tigers well. Since their 3-6 start, they have gone 38-6, improving to 41-12 overall and 19-5 in ACC play by winning seven of their eight conference series.

After the trip home from Florida, Clemson rattled off 15 straight wins. More recently, they closed the regular season by winning 17 of their last 19 games. Far from rebuilding, the Tigers secured the No. 2 seed in the ACC Tournament and are positioned to host a regional in next week’s NCAA Tournament.

Those wins include victories over top-ranked Tennessee and top 10 Georgia and South Carolina teams. 

“I think it was a big turnaround from the tournament the first week when it was high competition,” senior catcher Aby Vieira said. “From the get-go, it was let’s start in the fire and figure it out. We definitely had to get our feet wet a little bit.

“It was not as much having confidence in ourselves, but in having confidence with the rest of the team too, and knowing that we have other girls behind us that will back us up.”

For the Tigers, team chemistry has been forged off the field as much as on it. Moore describes her teammates as “weirdos” in the best way — friends who spend time together at concerts, sporting events, and daily life. For Moore, teammate bonding is not an obligation, but an opportunity to hang out with her friends who happen to play the same sport.

That camaraderie has translated to success on the field.

“We’re much closer off the field, and I feel like that translates on the field as well,” senior pitcher Brooke McCubbin said. “We have a different mindset when it comes to adversity and when things go wrong. I feel like before, we had so much big-name talent, it’s like, ‘Oh if they’re not producing we’re doomed.’ Where now it feels like we’re all at a level playing field and everybody has opportunities and you never know who is going to come up big.”

That depth and chemistry have led to dugout celebrations, an impressive .965 fielding percentage, and 355 RBIs, third-most in the ACC.

The Tigers will need that chemistry more than ever as they begin their postseason journey. On Thursday Clemson will face the winner of a first-round matchup between No. 7 seed Virginia (36-16, 14-10 ACC) and No. 10 seed Louisville (26-24, 9-15 ACC) in the ACC Tournament Quarterfinals. The Tigers did not face either team in the regular season.

Rittman’s early-season belief in his team has proven accurate. This year, the Tigers have proven that a winning culture can remain even when some winners leave.

Instead of rebuilding Clemson’s program, the Tigers have refined and redefined it this season.