CLEMSON — If you have not noticed, there is a group of fans just outside the rightfield fence at McWhorter Stadium that let their presence be known for every Clemson home softball game.

“I look for them before every game,” Clemson third baseman Alex Brown said. “They are always out there before every game. We always know they are there.”

These Clemson softball diehards are broken into two groups – “Cagle’s Corner” and “The Deep End.” Cagle’s Corner, which was started by a group of students two years ago, comes to as many games as they can, and they have always been loud and supportive.

This year, they got some company when Rob Mitchell and his wife Margaret came up with idea of “The Deep End,” playing off the moat behind McWhorter, which used to be a part of the old Seneca River.

“We just wanted to join in with Cagle’s Corner,” Mitchell said. “They got it started. They can’t be here all the time because they are also tied to baseball, so we kind of help each other out.”

Speaking of baseball, the idea of “Cagle’s Corner” and “The Deep End” was derived from “The Cheap Seats” and “The Cajun Café” at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Like “Cagle’s Corner and “The Deep End” they were snugged into the rightfield corner of Doug Kingsmore Stadium, and two decades later they have become an iconic part of Clemson Baseball.

“We just wanted to do something special for softball,” said Mitchell, a Clemson graduate who lives in Mooresville, N.C. “Obviously, I love Clemson baseball, but softball has become my passion when we got the team. The last couple of years, we have had ‘Cagle’s Corner.’ These guys, some of them are in college and some of them recently graduated and some work for the baseball team, and we kind of enjoyed coming over and meeting them and hanging out, so we just wanted to help do something a little more.”

Clemson graduates Sam Hendrix (left) and Rob Mitchell look on during Clemson’s win over North Carolina on March 15, 2024.

That’s how Mitchell got the idea to do something playing off the moat. Through the help of his longtime friend and fellow Clemson graduate Sam Hendrix, they came up with name “The Deep End.”

Before that, Mitchell reached out to a group of his engineering friends about the idea to have a make-shift boat using the back of his pickup truck, complete with a bow.

“As we got closer to the season, we kind of figured out we wanted it to be a nautical theme just because of Lake Hartwell and the moat,” Mitchell said. “I was talking to Sam one night, and I think it was right after Julia Knowler hit two home runs in a game. I told Sam that is someone we need to support, so I quickly created a flag and thought of Julia’s Jetty, like a place where we can dock our boat.”

It was that same time when Mitchell reached out to Hendrix and asked for his help on naming their part of the right corner, naming it something that was not player specific.

“Let’s come up with something that ties this whole thing together. Something that can live past this year and next year and into the future,” Mitchell recalled.

The name Hendrix brought to Mitchell was “The Deep End.” From there, Hendrix got a friend, who is a graphic designer, to draw up the concept that accompanies the name.

“It was actually the second name on his list, but as soon as he said it, I was like, ‘That is it!’ That just tied everything together,” Mitchell said.

As for the make-shift boat that can hold up to 17 people, Mitchell had to put a little more thought into it than the sign.

“Thank goodness, I have some really good friends that are good at engineering and building,” he said. “I called in a few favors because I needed it quickly. They put this thing together in about a week and a half.

“We sat down at a table and started drawing pictures on a marker board, and they were like, ‘You want to do what?’ So, I asked them to bear with me and let me explain so they would understand. So, we drew on a dry-erase board. We walked outside and took measurements and looked at the truck. I told them, ‘I want to get as many people as I can on this truck and be safe and it be light because I have to sometimes be able to take it out of my truck and assemble it myself, so I need to be able to lift it.”

The partial boat is built out of aluminum, which allows Mitchell to put it together and take it apart in 20 minutes.

“The Deep End” debuted on March 2 and has not missed a home game yet.

“The idea was do it for a big weekend series and some midweek games, but we set it up and it has taken off. We have had so much fun and enjoyed it, we have not missed a game yet,” Mitchell said.

What made it all worthwhile for Mitchell and the people from “Cagle’s Corner” was what happened after the Tigers’ 12-0 win over Fordam on March 10. After meeting with head coach John Rittman for about 25 minutes in rightfield after the game, all the players ran out to see their favorite fans.

“That was special. I never dreamed of them doing that because we do it for the student-athletes and the coaches,” an emotional Mitchell said. “We want them to know that we are supporting them. I never expected that.”

Brown said, it was actually one of the coaches’ idea.

“They said they have been loving on you and cheering for you on every single pitch, so go give them high-fives,” she said. “They loved it, we loved it. It was just a way to show our support for them.”

Mitchell said the reception they have received from the players, coaches and parents has been unbelievable. That night after the Fordam game, several players, along with their parents, took selfies and pictures with the fans and hung out for a while.

Some parents have since come back and invited others with them, including former player’s parents.

Clemson fans celebrate another Clemson win with the Tiger Cub on March 15, 2024.

“It has been kind of amazing and it took off a lot more than I ever expected,” Mitchell said. “It is so cool, so we started taking pictures of the parents, who come out and visit us, steering the ship. It is something that ties this all together and gives us something to remember these times because they go by quickly.”

Though it may be going by quickly, it seems like “Cagle’s Corner” and “The Deep End” are going to be a part of McWhorter Stadium and Clemson Softball indefinitely.

“We have such a big support system already in this program and it’s still sort of new,” Brown said. “So, I can’t imagine, just thinking where it already is and where it can go from here.”

—photos by Kevin Vandervort

See Kevin Vandervort’s Photo Gallery for more pictures

A limited number of signed footballs from Clemson’s 2022 class are still available.  Get yours while supplies last!  Visit Clemson Variety & Frame or purchase online!