Clemson has 40 wins, 20 ACC victories, Atlantic Division title — but 'greedy' Tigers want more (2024)

CLEMSON — As the regular season concluded with a run-rule win over Boston College, Clemsoncould count its prizes.

The Tigers had 40 wins for the second time in Erik Bakich's two seasons as coach. They had 20 victories in ACC play, posting 20-plus in back-to-back campaigns for the first time since 2005-06.

Good enough for an Atlantic Division title, but Bakich joked he would have liked it better if North Carolina hadn't outpaced Clemson for the regular-season conference title.

"We just want to be greedy and get them all," Bakich said, smiling.

The No. 4 Tigers (40-13, 20-10 ACC) left something on the table, but there's more to grab in the coming weeks. Clemson heads into the ACC tournament— which the Tigers won last season— as the No. 2 seed in the field.

It remains to be seen where the Tigers will land in the NCAA tournament field, but they are sure-fire regional hosts. The only question is whether Clemson can firm up its positioning as a top-8 national seed, which would guarantee the Tigers host through Super Regionals, if they advance that far.

"We're just trying to gain momentum," senior Blake Wright said. "Keep trying to play good baseball, take it into this tournament, and take it into the regional."

Clemson hasn't exactly finished the regular season with a flourish, recording a 12-10 mark since opening the campaign red hot at 28-3.

But there were some positive signs in the Tigers' sweep of Boston College, including the wickedness of freshman Aidan Knaak's changeup on May 18 as he racked up eight strikeouts in the first three frames.

He was greedy, finishing the day with a career-high 11 Ks in six innings of a 10-0 shutout in eight. If Knaak can pitch like this— just a couple of weeks removed from missing a turn because of fatigue— the Tigers' odds of postseason success enhance tremendously.

Bakich said it's likely Knaak will move up from his Sunday position in the rotation, especially with the final regular-season series ending on a Saturday.

"The pitching has shown flashes," Bakich said. "It's something that we can aspire to and achieve to. I think the sky's the limit for this team once we're clicking on all cylinders. I think we're gonna see some really good pitching performances out of this team in the postseason."

Clemson's offense was slower to produce Sunday— not scoring a run on Boston College until the fifth inning— but the Tigers notched 33 runs and 36 hits in a sweep of a sub-.500 opponent.

Wright, on senior day, bashed his team-high 21st home run in the seventh inning, and Bakich pinch-ran for Wright ahead of the winning run in the eighth so he could receive a curtain call from the home fans.

It wasn't Bakich's idea, though. It was Jack Leggett, the former Clemson head coach, who told Bakich in the dugout that he did something similar for former Tiger senior Casey Stone in his last home game.

"Big picture, the seniors on this team, to allow this program to kind of return itself back to where it needs to be," Bakich said, listing the Tigers' accomplishments. "Still a lot to play for."

UNC clinched the No. 1 overall seed in the ACC tournament with a 21st conference win on Saturday, but the No. 2 seed Clemson will have a bye through the opening day of pool play on May 21 in Charlotte.

After Saturday's games, Louisville secured the No. 7 seed in Clemson's "pod," and Miami will be the No. 11 seed. Wake Forest, which swept Clemson just a week ago, could have been the No. 7 seed but was swept by N.C. State.

Regardless, the Tigers are thought to be in a good spot for the NCAA tournament. In both D1Baseball and Baseball America's projections last week, the Tigers were the No. 6 overall seed.

After a sweep over Boston College, anything short of a winless showing in Charlotte should have Clemson in decent position.

But Clemson wants to be greedy.

"We're gonna compete hard, play hard, have fun," Bakich said. "Then good things happen."