Wasn’t last weekend up on the Bourbon Trail fun? I know, we wanted Clemson Baseball to pull out the sweep of the Louisville Cardinals, but Sunday’s onslaught of offense was fun to watch, as was Friday’s big come from behind win. We won’t discuss too much of Saturday’s game, but if there was good to come out of it, it certainly seemed like a fire was lit for the Tiger hitters in Sunday’s tilt.
Louisville had the 6th most productive offense in the country, so the Tigers knew it would take their best efforts. Even Sunday’s run-rule game, we saw the Cardinals trying to claw back. But it just felt that there was no holding the Tigers back that day.
The Clemson Baseball fellas have finals this week, so there was no mid-week game, only the weekend series at home against, arguably one of the hottest teams in college baseball, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
Clemson Briefly:
Clemson is now 34-9, 15-6 in the ACC. Only North Carolina (17-7) has a better record in conference play.
Billy Barlow: With Aidan Knaak out of the rotation for a week just to manage his usage, Barlow was thrust into duty on Sunday. He only pitched 2.1 innings, but looked good in holding the powerful Louisville lineup down to allow his offense to take a big lead early.
Alden Mathes: We’re going to talk a little about Georgia Tech’s hot hitters, but is there anyone hotter in Clemson’s lineup than Mathes? Since being moved into the leadoff spot, he’s done nothing but produce, collecting 8 hits over the weekend. He has been fun to watch the last few weeks at the top of the lineup.
Cam Cannarella: Landed ACC offensive player of the week honors last week. From ClemsonTigers.com: Cannarella was 9-for-20 (.450) with two homers, two doubles, six RBIs, four runs, an .850 slugging percentage, two walks and a .500 on-base percentage in four games on the road, including the series win at Louisville over the weekend.
Jimmy Obertop: The transfer from Michigan will miss Friday’s game with Tech due to a terrible decision by the umpires on Sunday. In response to Louisville’s Dylan Hoy’s antics on Saturday afternoon, Obertop took a pitch behind him (should have been an automatic ejection of the pitcher and head coach), before taking the next pitch way out of the ballpark before emphatically flipping his bat towards the Louisville dugout. He was immediately ejected and will miss the opener Friday. But that home run was huge for the Tigers and was the final runs of the day in the 17-7 thrashing.
Here is your preview of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets:
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Head Coach – Danny Hall (31st Season @ GT)
Record – 27-15 (11-10 ACC)
Wins against: Radford x3, Georgia Southern x2, Cornell x2, Georgia State x2, Youngstown State x4, Mercer, NC State x3, Presbyterian, Pitt x2, Virginia Tech x2, Virginia x2, Kennesaw State, Miami x2
Losses against: Cornell, Georgia x2, Northeastern, North Carolina x3, Boston College x3, Pitt, Virginia Tech, Auburn, Virginia, Miami
***Update on the game times this weekend due to forecasted inclement weather
Pitching Match-Ups:
***Game 1: Friday 12PM: LHP Tristan Smith (Clemson) vs. RHP Aeden Finateri (GT)
***Game 2: Friday (60 minutes after Game 1 concludes, weather permitting): LHP Ethan Darden (Clemson) vs. LHP Cam Jones (GT)
Sunday 1PM: RHP Aidan Knaak (Clemson) vs.RHP Tate McKee (GT)
Tristan Smith went three innings last weekend giving up 3 runs. He walked 4 of his 17 batters faced, and will have to be a little more dialed in on Friday facing a very good Friday starter in Finateri, not to mention the solid lineup Tech brings in.
Ethan Darden slots into Game 2 of the double header on Friday. He’s been getting better and better as the season wears on but has been the “tough-luck” starter, as the team has not won a game in which he’s started since April 6th against Notre Dame.
Aidan Knaak returns to the rotation after an extra week’s rest. The Freshman has been the Tigers most consistent starter. Just an unbelievable feat for a true freshman.
Georgia Tech will counter with two upperclassmen on Friday (Aeden Finateri and Cam Jones) respectively before going with a freshman of their own (Tate McKee) on Sunday.
Here is the best-guess, projected starters for the hard-hitting Georgia Tech positionally based on previous games, with their season stats as well:
Position Players:
| Name (Jersey #) | Year | Position | 2024 Cumulative Stats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trey Younger (18) | Senior | Left Field | .381; 7 2B, 4 HR, 27 RBI; 10-11 SB |
| Drew Burress (8) | Freshman | Centerfield | .368; 14 2B, 3B, 18 HR, 50 RBI; 7-9 SB |
| Matthew Ellis (55) | Senior | DH/Catcher | .327; 11 2B, 12 HR, 50 RBI |
| Cam Jones (2) | Senior | LHP/1st Base | .331; 11 2B, 3 HR, 25 RBI; 23-24 SB |
| John Giesler (40) | Senior | 3rd Base | .284; 9 2B, 3B, 7 HR, 28 RBI |
| Payton Green (9) | Junior | Shortstop | .327; 13 2B, 2 3B, 9 HR, 36 RBI; 6-6 SB |
| Bobby Zmarziak (12) | Senior | Right Field | .288; 6 2B, 3 HR, 24 RBI |
| Vahn Lackey (25) | Freshman | Catcher | .167; 2B, 2 HR, 8 RBI |
| Mike Becchetti (0) | Senior | 2nd Base | .303; 5 2B, 7 HR, 30 RBI |
Offensively, the Jackets are hitting .315 as a team (16th nationally), with 94 doubles, 5 triples, 69 home runs, and have knocked in 346 runs. This Georgia Tech team is extremely well-rounded. They hit for power, as each of their starters has multiple home runs. Another staple of a Danny Hall coached team is running the bases. Tech is 59-63 in stolen bases, led by 2-way star Cam Jones with 23 (T-27th nationally).
Georgia Tech has a freshman sensation of their own. Centerfielder Drew Burress has taken the ACC by storm with 18 home runs, good enough for T-19th in the country.
STARTING PITCHING
| Name (Jersey #) | Year/Hand | 2024 Cumulative Stats |
|---|---|---|
| Aeden Finateri (34) | Junior/RHP | 5-1; 4.40 ERA, 57.1 IP, 61K, 14BB, OppBA: .281 |
| Cam Jones (2) | Senior/LHP | 3-1; 4.07 ERA, 42 IP, 34K, 13BB; OppBA: .247 |
| Tate McKee (22) | Freshman/RHP | 4-3; 6.39 ERA, 31 IP, 44K, 18BB; OppBA: .237 |
As a pitching staff, Georgia Tech has a 5.59 ERA, 113th in the country through 42 games, while opponents are hitting .271 against the Yellow Jackets. They’ve surrendered 66 2Bs, 1 3B, and 59 HRs as a staff.
SUMMARY
This Georgia Tech team is as hot as any in the country currently winning their last two games against Miami convincingly, scoring 9 and 17 runs in successive games to close out the weekend. Finteri is as good as any Friday starter that Clemson has seen this season and will be a good test for the Tigers.
Clemson Baseball came back from a big deficit on Friday, and gave up a big lead on Saturday. We know this team can come back, but life is a lot easier in a game like Sunday, where the Tigers went up early and fought off multiple comeback efforts by continuing to pile on. That is a good recipe for success, especially again this weekend against a strong offensive Georgia Tech squad.
Here comes the tough stretch of games as we look ahead to the final month of the regular season. I have faith, and you should too.
And as always…
Go Tigers!
