The Clemson Baseball team is once again on the NCAA bubble.
The Tigers are usually getting ready for the postseason at this time of the season. However, as was the case in 2019, the last full season that was played, the Tigers will enter the final weekend of the regular season fighting for the postseason lives.
Clemson enters their series with Duke (25-20, 13-17) just a game over .500 overall (24-23) and a game under .500 in conference play (16-17). A win of the series would help their their resume out a great deal and a sweep of the series starting Thursday at home would be even better.Â
Clemson’s record has come against one of the nation’s toughest schedules, which is ranked 12th right now and has them sitting just inside the top 50 of the RPI at 49. As of this week both of the major baseball outlets have the Tigers as one of their last teams in and have them playing anywhere from Mississippi State to Arizona.
Clemson comes in averaging 5.8 runs per game and hitting .257, with a .419 slugging percentage, .363 on-base percentage, and 34 steals. Although, one thing that has plagued them this season though has been the inability to hit with runners in scoring position.
That inability has seemed to affect the pitching staff as well. At times this season it has felt like the pitchers have put even more pressure on themselves to throw the perfect pitch, pitch the perfect inning, or the perfect game due to the lack of run support. This Tigers staff enters the series with a 4.64 ERA, .262 opponents’ batting average, and a 2.71 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Clemson is also fielding .966 on the season.
This is not the last time Clemson will take the field before the selection committee decides their fate. The Tigers will play next week in Charlotte’s ACC Baseball Championship (May 25-30) the NCAA Tournament announcement (May 31). Clemson has now been to the postseason 11 straight years and will hope to make it 12 straight. In order to get that done they will have to start helping their case on Thursday.
