A lot of Clemson baseball fans wrote this team off three weeks ago. Welcome back to the bandwagon, as our Tigers have now rattled off six straight victories on their way to the ACC Tournament final.
Talan Bell was outstanding in his outing, keeping the Georgia Tech potent offense at bay for the most part, giving his hot-hitting team a chance to stay in the game.
Jacob Jarrell decided to take the game into his own hands and hit a grand slam while the Tigers were down by 2 and gave them the lead. Collin Priest also hit a mammoth shot to add to the lead. A lead that Jacob McGovern would not relinquish the rest of the night.
The Tigers will now play the 3rd seeded and 3rd ranked North Carolina Tar Heels in the finals of the ACC Tournament on Saturday afternoon at Noon EST at Durham Bulls Baseball Park in Durham, North Carolina.
North Carolina comes into the game at 40-12 overall, 18-11 in the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season. Clemson did not play the Tar Heels in the regular season.
Here is your preview of Clemson’s Final’s of the ACC tournament foe, the North Carolina Tar Heels
Clemson Briefly
With the semi-finals win against Georgia Tech, the Tigers now have 44 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.
Cam Cannarella still leads the team in batting average at .340 after a 1-5 game against Georgia Tech
Dom Listi (.304) is the only other two Tigers hitting over .300.
Catcher Jacob Jarrell hit a grand slam on Saturday to add to his team lead with 15 home runs, followed closely by Colin Priest (12), who also went yard against Georgia Tech.
Jarren Purify leads the team with 27 stolen bases in 31 attempts.
The Tigers are still hitting .279 as a team through 59 games (151st nationally).
As a team, the Tigers have 103 doubles (T-111th), 10 triples (T-150th) and 70 home runs (T-71st).
On the mound, the Tigers pitching staff touts a 4.83 ERA (T-57th nationally). The staff has struck out 551 batters over 514.1 innings for an average of 9.6 per 9 innings (28th) and walked 220 through 59 games which is 3.8 per 9 innings.
Opponents are hitting .247 against the Tigers pitching staff.
Here is a look at the North Carolina Tar Heels:
North Carolina Tar Heels
Head Coach – Scott Forbes (5th Season)
2025 Record: 41-12 (18-11 ACC)
Wins: Texas Tech (x3), Kansas State, East Carolina (x3), VCU, North Carolina A&T, Stony Brook (x3), Coastal Carolina, Stanford, UNC-Wilmington, Louisville, Boston College (x3, one in the ACC Tournament), South Carolina, Miami (x2), Gardner-Webb, Duke (x2), Elon, Wake Forest (x3), Charlotte, Virginia Tech (x2), Pitt (x2), George Mason, Queens, Campbell, NC State, Florida State (x2),
Losses: Stanford (x2), Louisville (x2), UConn, Boston College, Miami, Duke, Virginia Tech, Pitt, NC State, Florida State
Here are the probable starting lineup for North Carolina and their 2025 stats to date:
Position Players
| Name (#) | Year | Position | 2025 Stats |
| Kane Kepley (27) | Junior | CF | .290; 12 2B, 6 3B, 2 HR, 27 RBI; 35-39 SB |
| Jackson Van De Brake (6) | Senior | 2B | .313; 15 2B, 3 3B, 5 HR, 47 RBI; 4-4 SB |
| Luke Stevenson (44) | Sophomore | C | .274; 9 2B, 18 HR, 52 RBI; 2-2 SB |
| Gavin Gallaher (5) | Sophomore | 3B | .280; 7 2B, 14 HR, 54 RBI; 2-3 SB |
| Hunter Stokely (45) | Graduate | 1B | .329; 12 2B, 12 HR, 53 RBI; 4-4 SB |
| Tyson Bass (11) | Graduate | RF | .296; 9 2B, 3B, 8 HR, 38 RBI; 12-14 SB |
| Alex Madera (1) | Graduate | SS | .325; 7 2B, 3B, 2 HR, 31 RBI; 10-11 SB |
| Perry Hargett (7) | Freshman | DH | .224; 5 2B, 3B, 2 HR, 15 RBI; 2-3 SB |
| Carter French (18) | Junior | LF | .236; 9 RBI; 1-2 SB |
The Tigers and Heels did not play in the regular season, although most of the season they traded who would be at the top spot in the conference.
The Heels are led offensively by sophomore catcher Luke Stevenson with 17 home runs which leads the team. Graduate 1st baseman Hunter Stokely leads the team in average (.333).
Leadoff hitter, junior center fielder Kane Kepley has 35 stolen bases in 39 attempts.
North Carolina’s lineup is one full of experience, with six of the nine regulars Juniors or older.
North Carolina is hitting .285 as a team (114th nationally). They have hit 83 doubles (T-253rd), 13 triples (T-80th) and 69 home runs as a team (T-79th).
Starter for North Carolina:
| NAME (#) | Year | Hand | 2025 Stats |
| Ryan Lynch (53) | Freshman | RHP | 4-1; 3.25 ERA; 23 app, 44.1 IP, 53 K, 19 BB; OppBA: .201 |
North Carolina will open with Freshman righty Ryan Lynch, while Clemson will open with Senior lefty BJ Bailey.
The North Carolina pitching staff has a 3.41 staff ERA (4th nationally), having struck out 466 opponent hitters for an average of 9.2 per 9 innings (52nd) while walking 166 or 3.3 per 9 innings.
The staff has given up 46 home runs as a staff through 53 games. Opponents are hitting .223 against the Tar Heels pitching staff.
Summary
It was pretty evident as soon as I started looking at the stats that the Tar Heels are one of the best groups of arms that the Tigers will play this season. Their bats are comparable to the Tigers, but their advantage will be on the mound.
The good news? North Carolina has exhausted their regular weekend starters in their two wins in the ACC Tournament. The bad news? Their available arms are still really good even for a bullpen-game, which it seems will be likely for both teams on Sunday.
The Tigers will have to continue to come up with big hits, timely hits, and that “never say die” attitude to take home the ACC Championship and continue their current winning streal
Hoping that the bats stay hot yet again!
This final has the chance to be a great one.
