Clemson baseball won their opening game as the #5 seed against the #12 seeded Virginia Tech Hokies by a score of 6-1.
Aidan Knaak was dominant through six innings allowing only a lead-off home run in the 1st inning and not much else. Jacob McGovern came in for the remainder of the game and kept the Hokies off-balanced for the Tigers win.
Dominic Listi led the Tigers offensively with 4 runs batted in and Jarren Purify had three hits in the victory.
The Tigers will now play the 4th seeded NC State Wolfpack in the quarterfinal round of the Tournament on Thursday at 7pm at Durham Bulls Baseball Park in Durham, North Carolina.
NC State comes into the game at 33-18 overall, 17-11 in the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season, including a sweep of the Tigers.
NC State outscored the Tigers 26-8 in those three games and none of three games were particularly close. But Thursday is another day, and it’s baseball, so here we go!
Here is your preview of Clemson’s Quarterfinal Round ACC Tournament foe, the North Carolina State Wolfpack
Clemson Briefly
With the opening round win against Virginia Tech, the Tigers now have 42 wins and 15 losses. 18-12 in the ACC. The Tigers are ranked as high as #12 in the Perfect Game and USA Today polls.
The Tigers are hitting .277 as a team through 56 games (172nd nationally).
As a team, the Tigers have 100 doubles (T-143rd), 9 triples (T-168th) and 67 home runs (T-85th).
On the mound, the Tigers pitching staff touts a 4.84 ERA (58th nationally). The staff has struck out 537 batters over 487.1 innings for an average of 9.8 per 9 innings (26th) and walked 213 through 56 games which is 3.8 per 9 innings.
Opponents are hitting .246 against the Tigers pitching staff.
Here is a look at the North Carolina State Wolfpack:
North Carolina State Wolfpack
Head Coach – Elliott Avent (29th Season)
2025 Record: 33-18 (17-11 ACC)
Wins: Fordham (x3), Canisius (x3), UNC-Greensboro (x2), Campbell, Wright State (x3), NC A&T, Virginia Tech (x2), Davidson, Pitt (x2), Duke, Virginia (x2), East Carolina, Louisville (x2), Cal (x3), CLEMSON (x3), UNC-Wilmington, Stanford
Losses: Liberty, Ohio State, Alabama, Coastal Carolina, Richmond, Virginia Tech, Pitt, USC-Upstate, Duke (x2), Virginia, Louisville, UNC-Wilmington, Miami (x2), North Carolina, Stanford (x2)
Here are the probable starting lineup for NC State and their 2025 stats to date:
Position Players:
| Name (#) | Year | Position | 2025 Stats – (Clemson Series ‘25) |
| Luke Nixon (0) | Sophomore | 2B | .303; 15 2B, 3 3B, 4 HR, 38 RBI; 14-16 SB (3-12) |
| Josh Hogue (22) | Junior | LF | .304; 16 2B, 10 HR, 41 RBI; 3-5 SB (6-14 HR) |
| Justin DeCriscio (8) | Senior | SS | .277; 12 2B, 2 3B, 8 HR, 40 RBI; 2-3 SB (2-12) |
| Alex Sosa (13) | Sophomore | C | .288; 15 2B, 9 HR, 37 RBI (6-12; 2 HRs) |
| Brayden Fraasman (2) | Junior | RF | .278; 10 2B, 3B, 10 HR, 44 RBI; 3-5 SB (9-13; 2 HR) |
| TY Head (14) | Freshman | CF | .274; 10 2B, 4 HR, 33 RBI 5-5 SB (4-12) |
| Matt Ossenfort (17) | Sophomore | DH | .345; 2 2B, HR, 6 RBI (2-5) |
| Brandon Novy (50) | Freshman | 1B | .250; 2B, HR, 2 RBI |
| Matt Heavner (6) | Junior | 3B | .231; 2B, 3 HR, 28 RBI (1-11) |
| ***OTHER TO KNOW*** | |||
| Chris McHugh (27) – (Out since 5/9) | Sophomore | 1B | .377; 11 2B, 7 HR, 47 RBI (5-11) |
In the regular season series against the Tigers, the Wolfpack were led offensively by Sophomore catcher Alex Sosa and Junior right fielder Brayden Fraasman. Sosa was 6-12 in the series with 2 home runs and 5 RBIs. Fraasman was 9-13 with 2 home runs and 7 RBIs.
Junior left fielder Josh Hogue was 6-14 with a home run and 4 RBIs on the weekend.
Overall, the Wolfpack are led by Chris McHugh, who, according to Wolfpack Insider Justin Cooke (@JustinLCooke on X) may be out with an injured hand. Before the injury he was hitting a team leading .377 and 47 RBIs.
NC State is hitting .289 as a team (97th nationally). They have hit 106 doubles (T-77th), 6 triples (T-248th) and 63 home runs as a team (T-98th).
Possible Starters for NC State
| NAME (#) | Year | Hand | 2025 Stats – (against Clemson ‘25) |
| Ryan Marohn (20) | Sophomore | LHP | 7-3; 3.72 ERA, 13 app, 77.1 IP, 81 K, 19 BB; OppBA: .253 (Saturday, April 26th – 8.0 IP; 5 H, 1 R, 5 K, 2 BB; OppBA: .172) |
| Dominic Fritton (51) | Junior | LHP | 5-4; 3.91 ERA, 14 app, 78.1 IP 96 K, 34 BB; OppBA: .256 (Thursday, April 24th – 4.0 IP; 3 H, 4 R, 5 K, 5 BB; OppBA: .200) |
| Heath Andrews (19) | Sophomore | RHP | 4-3; 5.97 ERA, 13 app, 60.1 IP, 50 K, 22 BB; OppBA: .283(Friday, April 25th – 6.0 IP; 6 H, 2 R, 9 K, 2 BB; OppBA: .250) |
The NC State pitching staff has a 4.85 staff ERA (177th nationally), having struck out 461 opponent hitters for an average of 9.8 per 9 innings (102nd) while walking 167 or 3.5 per 9 innings.
The staff has given up 56 home runs as a staff through 51 games. Opponents are hitting .263 against the Wolfpack pitching staff.
Both teams have not announced starters for Wednesday afternoon’s game. It is my guess that NC State will throw Sophomore lefty Ryan Marohn.
Clemson will likely go with Drew Titsworth or Talan Bell.
SUMMARY
The Tigers looked really bad in their road series against the Wolfpack nearly a month ago. However, Clemson has looked really good the last few games and is giving the fans hope for a little bit of a run. There is more confidence emanating from the lineup, and the defense has been steady.
The Tigers do lack a little bit of depth on the pitching staff because of extensive injuries, however, with quality starts from the starters, like they got from Aidan Knaak, this team can make a run here in Durham.
Leave no doubt by avenging some losses to the Wolfpack!
***Statistics Graphics credit: Marty Coleman***
***Thanks to Justin Cooke for his NC State knowledge***
