John Rittman relying on Clemson's 10 seniors, experience during NCAA Tournament

Clemson softball fell behind early in its NCAA Tournament opener against Southeastern Louisiana, but head coach John Rittman is confident his club will be able to fight back and get back in the game and the Tuscaloosa Regional.

Starting pitcher Valerie Cagle allowed 3 earned runs in 2 2/3 innings, before giving way to Millie Thompson. Unfortunately for the Tigers, the lefty also struggled as Southeastern Louisiana pushed its lead to 6-0 in the fifth.

Rittman will rely on seniors moving forward to try to get back in the game and in the regional so that the Clemson season doesn’t end quickly in the postseason.

“Well, I think you’re definitely going to lean on their experience or leadership. We’ve been in this situation before,” John Rittman told the ACC Network. “Obviously we know Southeastern Louisiana is a very scrappy team. They get some timely hits. We’ve just got to answer.

“We’ve had some runners in scoring position and just haven’t got the timely hit and they have. So we’ve gotta respond and try to get back into this thing. I like our chances, I like our team, I like the way we fight.”

If Clemson does indeed come up short against Southeastern Louisiana, the Tigers will face the loser of Alabama and USC Upstate on Saturday. No. 1 seed Alabama will face the Spartans later on Friday.

Clemson is the No. 2 seed in the Tuscaloosa Regional, while Southeastern Louisiana is No. 3. USC Upstate is the 4 seed.

Clemson entered the NCAA Tournament with a 34-17 record, while the Lions were 45-13.

The Tigers struggled at the plate against Southeastern Louisiana pitcher Ellie DuBois, who allowed two hits and one run in 4 1/3 innings of work.

Rittman had the following message for his team as it went up against DuBois:

“Well, I think early if you’re sitting change, you’ve got to sit change. You can’t chase hard,” Rittman said. “If you’re sitting hard, you can’t chase the changeup.

“I think we’ve had some pretty good at bats off of her. Like I said, we’ve had runners in scoring position. We’ve gotta keep scrapping and keep fighting.”

Rittman’s club eventually chased DuBois from the game, before Allison Brunson came in for the Lions. From there, they turned to Cera Blanchard to try to close the game out.

The Tigers have had some success in the NCAA Tournament under John Rittman, including reaching a Super Regional last season.