"The job's not done yet": Clemson set for clash with Texas in the next round

Clemson is on to the Super Regional round at Texas after sweeping the regional field.

Grayson Mann · Staff Writer · Sunday, May 18 2025

CLEMSON - Maddie Moore heard the music begin on the loudspeakers of McWhorter Stadium and began to dance.

At the time, Clemson was in the middle of a close clash with Kentucky, with a regional not yet secured.

Despite the volume the speakers carried, what likely spoke louder was the level of comfort that Moore had in the moment for her team. Being a senior, Moore has been in these moments plenty of times, certainly with this group.

As the runs piled on in Clemson's 5-1 victory over Kentucky on Sunday afternoon, those dances began to resurface as a trip to the super regional was booked.

The fun is in the winning, and in Moore's last dance in McWhorter, she wanted to go out on top.

"I just have all the faith in the world with this team," Moore said. "I mean, we never quit. We never give up. We never say die. So I mean, I had all the confidence in the world with this team. There was not a second in the game where I thought we might lose it, or that we were in trouble. So I mean, playing loose is fun. And so we like to have a lot of fun there. So we play loose."

After Saturday's win over Northwestern was decided by one run in extra innings, a comfortable victory over Kentucky was indeed a sharp contrast to the way the Tigers got to that moment.

Much like Moore's dance out in the field, so does Clemson's in the postseason, with an opportunity to face another prominent program next weekend in Austin.

The Tigers are no strangers to slaying some of those giants this season, taking down the likes of Florida State, South Carolina, and Tennessee, to name a few.

If you ask John Rittman, the opportunity ahead of them puts the Tigers on a collision course with what he calls "a storied softball program."

"The University of Texas is a storied softball program, and we're looking forward to the weekend," Rittman said. "I think it is going to be a rowdy place to play, just like McWhorter, but McWhorter has prepared us for it. We've gone on the road, and we've played a very tough schedule. I know this team will go in there and be ready to play, and certainly nothing's easy at this level. And I've told our team all along to get to where we want to go. You've got to beat really good teams, and I think we're up for the challenge."

The Longhorns sit at 49-10, and dominated their regional, capping it off with a convincing 9-0 victory over UCF to clinch their trip hosting of a super regional.

Entering the postseason, Clemson boasted shirts with the slogan "Bring It On."

Bring it on was just one of many phrases this team has adopted.

As the Tigers prepare for a trip to Texas, they understand it's another clash with a significant player to be the last team in Oklahoma City for the Women's College World Series.

Rittman believes his group is capable of pulling off such a feat, and knows the hard work has just begun.

Clemson has brought it this postseason, and he thinks it's time for the Tigers to shock the world in Austin.

"Team 6 will forever have our heart," Rittman said. "The job's not done yet. We still have more games to play. And one of our mantras when we started this program was to shock the world, and what better way to do it than to go to the Austin Regional and play Texas for a chance to go to the World Series."