This weekend, the Clemson men’s baseball team will return to Doug Kingsmore Stadium, facing the Lousiville Cardinals in a three-game series in what is set to be an exciting ACC showdown.
The Tigers are coming from an impressive series win in Brighton, Massachusetts, where they took two out of three games from the No. 11 Boston College Eagles, closing the series with a 6-3 win. Clemson, one of the hottest teams in the country at the moment, is looking to continue gaining momentum as the postseason looms, holding a record of 28-17 overall and 11-10 in the ACC. The Tigers are looking for their fifth straight series win, with their last loss being in March to the No. 2 Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
Clemson has also found itself as the No. 18 in the Perfect Game weekly top 25 and a No. 25 spot in Collegiate Baseball’s weekly top 25 poll.
Coming to Clemson, South Carolina this weekend are the Lousiville Cardinals, who are a pivotal matchup for Clemson, being in the Atlantic division of the ACC with the Cardinals. With a series loss, it could potentially drop the Tigers in the standings.
Most recently, the Cardinals brought the bats on Tuesday, May 2, blowing out Bellarmine 18-7 in a single-game series. It is important to keep in mind, however, that Louisville lost their last series at home against No. 12 Miami, losing 10-7 in the final game of the series. The team holds a record of 29-15 overall and 9-12 in the conference. When playing away, Louisville has a 5-8 record.
The Cardinals have one of the best pitching groups in the conference, which could threaten Clemson’s hot streak. Lousiville ranks third in ERA, holding an earned run average of .392. Leading this group is sophomore Carson Liggett, who holds a 2.31 ERA and 1.13 WHIP across 58.1 innings, giving him a 7-0 record this season.
Louisville also has plenty of players to help them get on base and score runs. Junior Jack Payton leads the team with a .382 batting average, 55 hits and a .489 on-base percentage. The infielder also has six games with three hits this season. Following Payton is infielder Christian Knapcyk, who bats .341 and has a .456 on-base percentage. The Cardinals average about 7.4 runs per game.
When it comes to head coaches, new faces meet old this weekend in the ACC, as Cardinals head coach Dan McDonnell is in his 17th season, while Tigers head coach Erik Bakich is in his first.
Perhaps the biggest name on either side of the diamond in this series is Clemson’s do-it-all Caden Grice, who recently picked up another ACC honor, being named the ACC’s pitcher-of-the-week earlier this week. In the Tigers’ last game, Grice received a win on the mound, fanning nine batters and only allowing two hits and two runs. While batting, the junior continued to show his dual-threat ability, bringing in two runs off a single in the second inning to help boost Clemson’s lead.
The series is set to be an exciting one, with plenty of postseason and end-of-season implications. With the ACC Tournament fast approaching, both teams are looking for a quality in-division win to help boost their resume and get hot before the tournament starts later this month. With both teams looking to secure an NCAA Tournament bid, a win over the other could boost their resumes.
The first game will take place at 4 p.m. EDT on Friday, May 5. The next day, the first pitch is set for 2 p.m. EDT on Saturday. The final game of the series will take place on Sunday, and the first pitch is set for noon EDT. All three games will be broadcasted on ACC Network Extra.
