Super Clemson is heading to the super regionals and the Tigers are ready to party like it’s 2010.
It was 14 years ago when Clemson baseball last played in a super-regional of the NCAA Tournament and a lot has changed in the near decade and a half since that magical season.
President Barack Obama was only two years into the first of his two terms in office, Katy Perry and Snoop Dogg were on top of the charts with their song ‘California Gurls’, and the average price of a gallon of gas in South Carolina was $2.13.
And now, Clemson is all gas and no brakes as they eye their first trip to Omaha and the College World Series since you could fill your car up for under $30.
In some ways, the 2024 Tigers and the 2010 squad are quite similar. In others, they are worlds apart. The 2010 team finished a respectable 45-25 and 18-12 in the ACC. The 2024 team has rolled to a 44-14 record and the number six overall seed in the tournament. The 2010 team never had it quite as easy.
That year, the Tigers played in the Auburn regional where they were the number two seed. Clemson opened with a blowout win over Southern Mississippi and then defeated number one seed Auburn, 5-2. Auburn rallied in an elimination game the next night to down the Clemson Tigers 11-10 before the good guys finished off their hosts in the deciding second game, 13-7.
The 2024 incarnation of the Tigers hosted their regional, finishing 3-0 with victories over High Point (4-3), Coastal Carolina (4-3), and then defeated the Chanticleers a final time, 12-5, to advance.
Still, the similarities are striking. Just as this year’s team is a juggernaut at the plate, the 2010 Clemson Tigers were a formidable bunch as well.
Kyle Parker and John Hinson led the 2010 team with 20 and 17 home runs respectively while Jeff Schaus (87), Hinson (75), and Parker (64) led the team in runs driven in. In total, that team scored 600 runs in 70 games counting the NCAA Tournament.
The Clemson Tigers of 2024 have been equally if not more prolific.
Blake Wright and Jimmy Obertop have been the home run heroes with 21 and 20 respectively, while Wright (72), Jacob Hinderleider (58) and Cam Cannarella (56) have driven in the most runs. The team has played 58 games so far and scored 467 runs.
When you average it out, the 2010 team averaged 8.6 runs per game, while this year’s unit has averaged 8.1. A staggering offensive output.
Both teams were and are comparable in the pitching department. The 2010 team had a cumulative ERA of 4.69 while this year’s group sports a slightly lower mark of 4.45. In 2010, Scott Weismann led the Tigers in wins, going 9-2 with a 4.90 ERA. The ace of this year’s staff, freshman Aidan Knaak, is 5-1 with a sterling ERA of 2.96.
Doug Kingsmore Stadium witnessed a party in 2010. Clemson rallied from a close 5-4 defeat to Alabama and shellacked the Crimson Tide 19-5 in a second game, before dispatching the boys from Tuscaloosa 8-1 to advance to the College World Series.
Now, Clemson fans everywhere are hoping history can repeat itself with one slight alteration.
Clemson Baseball v Alabama Game 3 Highlights (youtube.com)
The Clemson Tigers of 2010 would fall agonizingly short of the ultimate prize. They defeated number one overall seed Arizona State in a stunning upset, 6-3, before holding on to take down Oklahoma, 6-4. Clemson would then lose two straight games to their biggest rival, and eventual national champion, South Carolina. It was a remarkable run for a team that was the only one of the eight to make it to Omaha that was lower than a one seed.
This year’s team has had no such perception as an underdog. Clemson has been ranked in the national top-10 all season, and even as the number one team in the country for a brief stint. While the 2010 team took people by surprise, the 2024 team was always expected to be here. Now, they have a chance to finish what their predecessors started 14 years ago.
The Clemson Tigers will take on the Florida Gators, upset winners of their regional, for a ticket to the promised land. It starts at 2 p.m. on Saturday afternoon at DKS.
If Clemson can win their super-regional again, the Tigers can party like it is 2010. If they win the entire thing, Clemson Tigers of the future will want to party like it’s 2024.
