It would not be a Clemson Baseball game without a little bit of frustration. Clemson’s mid-week game against a scrappy Charlotte 49ers team continued a disturbing trend of bullpen meltdowns.
The Tigers ended up winning the game in dramatic fashion in the top of the 9th, but needed late inning magic, yet again, after blowing a 7 run lead. We cannot say this team doesn’t make things exciting. But the opposite can be true at times as well.
The Clemson Baseball team will travel up to Winston-Salem, North Carolina for the penultimate ACC series against the pre-season #1 team in the country, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, which on paper, should be an entertaining series.
Clemson Briefly:
Clemson is now 37-10, 17-7 in the ACC. 1st place in the Atlantic Division.
Jacob Jarrell: since getting hit in the face and missing a month, Jarrell has been a force at the plate. 3 for 5 on Tuesday night with 2 RBIs for the sophomore backstop. A good showing at the dish of late.
Jimmy Obertop: raised his batting average above the .300 mark with a 3 for 5 performance against Charlotte, including his 16th home run of the season. This time without the bat flip.
Jack Crighton: has seen his playing time increase of late and he is making the most of the opportunities. 3 hits on Tuesday for Crighton as he is now hitting .329 on the season with an on-base percentage of .379.
Here is your preview of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons:
Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Head Coach – Tom Walter (15th Season)
Record – 33-16 (12-12 ACC)
Wins against: Fordham, Illinois, Akron, Dayton x3, North Carolina A&T x2, Binghamton x2, Elon, Georgetown, Duke, Virginia, High Point x2, Louisville x2, Liberty, UNC-Greensboro, Virginia Tech x3, Coastal Carolina, Boston College x2, Florida State x2, Notre Dame, Appalachian State, Western Carolina x3
Losses against: UNC-Greensboro, Duke x2, Coastal Carolina, Virginia x2, Louisville, North Carolina x3, Boston College, UNC-Wilmington, Florida State, Elon, Notre Dame x2
Pitching Match Ups:
Friday @ 6PM: LHP Ethan Darden (Clemson) vs. RHP Chase Burns (Wake)
Saturday @ 4PM: LHP Tristan Smith (Clemson) vs. RHP David Falco Jr. (Wake)
Sunday @ Noon: RHP Aidan Knaak (Clemson) vs. LHP Josh Hartle (Wake)
Coach Erik Bakich mixed up his rotation for the weekend switching Ethan Darden and Tristan Smith from their previous roles on the weekend. Wake Forest also is mixing up their rotation as they had David Falco pitch on Sunday a week ago, and Josh Hartle was the regular Saturday guy. Interesting moves by each coach going into the big weekend tilt.
Here is the best-guess, projected starters for the Charlotte 49ers positionally based on previous games, with their season stats as well:
Position Players:
| Name (Jersey #) | Year | Position | 2024 Cumulative Stats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marek Houston (7) | Sophomore | Shortstop | .322; 14 2B, 5 HR, 28 RBI |
| Nick Kurtz (8) | Junior | 1st Base | .319; 10 2B, 3B, 19 HR, 49 RBI |
| Seaver King (5) | Senior | 3rd Base | .329; 13 2B, 2 3B, 14 HR, 59 RBI |
| Jake Reinisch (31) | Senior | Outfield/DH | .328; 14 2B, 2 3B, 15 HR, 60 RBI |
| Jack Winnay (21) | Sophomore | Outfield/DH | .306; 15 2B, 16 HR, 46 RBI |
| Adam Tellier (3) | Graduate | 2nd Base | .320; 10 2B, 10 HR, 40 RBI; 17-18 SB |
| Antonio Morales (24) | Freshman | Centerfield | .333; 4 2B, 3B, 2 HR, 15 RBI |
| Cam Nelson (22) | Freshman | Outfield | .165; 4 2B, 17 RBI |
| Cameron Gill (27) | Graduate | Catcher | .238; 4 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 19 RBI |
Offensively, the Deacs are hitting .286 as a team (107th nationally), with 106 doubles, 9 triples, 91 homeruns and have knocked in 390 runs. This Wake Forest team has five regulars with 10 or more home runs, and are 14th nationally as a team in number of long balls hit on the season.
Wake Forest is led offensively by Junior 1st Baseman, Nick Kurtz who leads the team with 19 home runs. Jake Reinisch, one of the less-heralded Wake players is having a great season with 60 RBIs as well as 17-18 in stolen bases.
STARTING PITCHING:
| Name (Jersey #) | Year/Hand | 2024 Cumulative Stats |
|---|---|---|
| Chase Burns (29) | Junior/RHP | 9-1; 3.00 ERA, 75 IP, 140 K, 23 BB; OppBA: .168 |
| David Falco Jr. (15) | Graduate/RHP | 2-2; 4.85 ERA, 29.2 IP, 34 K, 12 BB; OppBA: .232 |
| Josh Hartle (23) | Junior/LHP | 5-2; 5.40 ERA, 58.1 IP, 63 K, 21 BB; OppBA: .301 |
As a pitching staff, Wake Forest has a 5.16 ERA, 75th in the country through 49 games, while opponents are hitting .233 against the Deacons. They’ve surrendered 67 2Bs, 8 3B, and 71 HRs as a staff.
Note: Friday night starter for Wake, Chase Burns will be facing the Tigers for the second time in his career. Last season, while at Tennessee, Burns came in from the bullpen and worked 6.1 innings allowing 1 run with 8 strike outs and 4 walks over 102 pitches in the 14 inning marathon game in the Clemson regional.
SUMMARY
Wake Forest has been the cream of the crop in the ACC for the last five years or so. Always having great pitching, this season has been matched by some tremendous power. Clemson pitchers have had a propensity to give up the long ball in big spots. Hopefully the bullpen can hunker down this weekend and get back to their dominant ways of pre-Georgia.
This is a huge series, on the road, with only two weeks left of the regular season. Buckle up, get your popcorn ready. I have a feeling this is going to be fun.
And as always…
Go Tigers!
