You will have to excuse me as since I have been penning these previews, I have not had to deal with Clemson Baseball getting swept. Not that Clemson hasn’t been swept before, but it seems like forever. I happen to enjoy the fact that this is not a regular occurrence.
For those fans that are living under a rock, the Tigers did get swept by Wake Forest this past weekend, dropping all three games up in Winston-Salem, NC.
As Coach Bakich stated after the game, not all is lost. The second-year skipper still has plenty of confidence in his bunch, even so much as stating that “maybe this was good for us.” That may be true Coach, but losing stinks. Getting swept stinks even more.
The Clemson Baseball team will travel to Conway, South Carolina for their final mid-week game against Coastal Carolina in what will be the last regular season game for long-time, legendary Chanticleer Head Coach Gary Gilmore.
Clemson Briefly:
Clemson is now 37-13, 17-10 in the ACC. 1.5 games ahead of second place NC State in the Atlantic division.
Jacob Jarrell: added another home run over the weekend. In only 67 total at bats, the sophomore backstop is hitting .328 and has a .612 slugging percentage. He has really helped solidified the lineup offensively.
Tristan Bissetta: is absolutely mashing long home runs. He added two more over the weekend on absolute bombs. The more at bats he gets, the more comfortable he seems.
Here is your preview of the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers:
Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
Head Coach – Gary Gilmore (29th Season @ Coastal)
Record – 30-21 (13-14 Sun Belt Conference)
Wins against: George Mason, UNC-Wilmington, Illinois, Ball State, Cincinnati, Campbell, Liberty x3, USC-Upstate x3, Appalachian State x3, Michigan x3, Wake Forest, James Madison x2, Louisiana-Monroe x2, Old Dominion x2, Georgia Southern x2, North Carolina, Louisiana x2, UNC-Greensboro, Georgia State x2
Losses against: Indiana, Duke, James Madison, NC State, Appalachian State x2, Louisiana-Monroe, UNC-Wilmington, Old Dominion, Wake Forest, Georgia Southern, Louisiana, Creighton x2, Troy x3, Southern Miss x3, Georgia State
Pitching Match Up:
Tuesday @ 6PM: LHP Rocco Reid (Clemson) vs. RHP Josh O’Neill (Coastal)
Coach Erik Bakich will turn to Junior lefty, Rocco Reid for his second consecutive mid-week start. Coastal will counter with Graduate Josh O’Neill for his 8th start of the season. The Nutley, New Jersey native and Stony Brook transfer has appeared in 12 games for the Chants.
Here is the best-guess, projected starters for the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers positionally based on previous games, with their season stats as well:
Position Players:
| Name (Jersey #) | Year | Position | 2024 Cumulative Stats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sam Antonacci (10) | Junior | 3rd Base | .383; 13 2B, 3 HR, 39 RBI; 14-21 SB |
| Graham Brown (22) | Senior | Right Field | .370; 16 2B, 12 HR, 58 RBI; 8-10 SB |
| Caden Bodine (17) | Sophomore | Catcher | .313; 14 2B, 7 HR, 59 RBI; 3-3 SB |
| Derek Bender (53) | Junior | DH/Catcher | .321; 8 2B, 2 3B, 9 HR, 51 RBI; 10-13 SB |
| Blake Barthol (7) | Sophomore | 2nd Base | .318; 18 2B, 15 HR, 57 RBI; 5-5 SB |
| Zack Beach (16) | Graduate | 1st Base | .263; 8 2B, 3B, 14 HR, 49 RBI; 4-5 SB |
| Dean Mihos (8) | Sophomore | Centerfield | .275; 7 2B, 2 HR, 21 RBI; 6-8 SB |
| Corey Zientek (20) | Senior | Left Field | .292; 5 2B, 3B, 3 HR, 15 RBI; 7-7 SB |
| Ty Dooley (3) | Junior | Shortstop | .229; 5 2B, 4 HR, 24 RBI |
Offensively, the Chants are hitting .302 as a team (49th nationally), with 114 doubles, 5 triples, 77 homeruns and have knocked in 434 runs. This Coastal team can hurt opponents in many different ways. They hit the long ball, play small ball and steal bases. Led offensively by Blake Barthol, who leads the team in doubles (18) and home runs (15).
Leadoff hitter, Sam Antonacci leads the team with 14 stolen bases and average (.383; 53rd in the nation).
STARTING PITCHING:
| Name (Jersey #) | Year/Hand | 2024 Cumulative Statistics |
|---|---|---|
| Josh O’Neill (32) | Graduate/RHP | 1-1; 8.10 ERA; 26.2 IP, 22 K, 24 BB; OppBA: .255 |
As a pitching staff, Coastal has a 6.22 ERA, 166th in the country through 51 games, while opponents are hitting .275 against Coastal. They’ve surrendered 85 2Bs, 4 3Bs, and 93 HRs as a staff.
SUMMARY
Coach Bakich called out the fans, somewhat, in his post game comments up at Wake Forest. He said to not jump off of the bandwagon because he really likes his group. There are 4 more games in the regular season. First, the huge test on Tuesday at Coastal and then a weekend set with Boston College at home. There’s plenty of time for the Clemson Baseball boys to right the ship and pocket a few wins rolling into postseason play.
I have faith. Hope you do too!
And as always…
Go Tigers!
