Clemson Softball will open season in Miami, look to improve over 2022

Clemson Softball will start its 2023 season this Thursday in the Felsberg Invitational in Miami, Florida.

The Tigers will play a total of five games over four days. Their first game will start at 5:30 PM against the Florida International Panthers. They will then play the Georgia State Panthers on Friday at 3:00 PM.

They will play a doubleheader on Saturday, starting at 10:00 AM against the Kansas City Roos. The time and opponent for their second game that day will be determined based on the results of the first three games.

Their final game will be Sunday in either the tournament championship or the consolation game.

The tournament is hosted by Florida International in their home stadium.

Clemson was picked to finish third in the ACC this season by the thirteen head coaches of the conference. The defending conference champions Florida State Seminoles were picked to finish first, followed by the Virginia Tech Hokies.

Head coach John Rittman set the goal for this squad to improve upon what they accomplished last year.

The Tigers hosted and won a regional in 2022. They played in a super regional for the first time in program history.

Clemson Softball is one of the more respected programs in the ACC

Improving on last year on the national stage could include hosting a super regional, but sights are more likely set on winning a super regional.

The Tigers can also set a goal within their conference to accomplish something that has eluded them thus far: a tournament championship. They have made it to the final game of the tournament for the past two seasons. They lost to the Duke Blue Devils in 2021 and Florida State in 2022.

Three Tigers were named by the head coaches to the preseason ACC all-conference team: Valerie Cagle, McKenzie Clark and Alia Logoleo. All three were named to the 2022 all-conference team after the season.

Clemson will open their home schedule on February 17th against Northwestern in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.