College baseball has a funny way of moving quickly. One weekend you are settling into a long series, the next you are loading up the bus and heading down the road for another ballgame.
That is where the Clemson Baseball team finds itself this week.
The Tigers are riding high after a four game sweep of a tough but overmatched La Salle club at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Clemson handled business all weekend, improving to 15-1 on the season and continuing to build the kind of early momentum every team hopes to find in February and March.
Now the scene shifts to SRP Park in North Augusta, home of the North Augusta Greenjackets, single-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves, where Clemson will meet Georgia Southern in a midweek matchup. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. at one of the best minor league parks in the Southeast, and it usually turns into a pretty lively night of college baseball.
Georgia Southern comes in at 4-11 and will be looking to use the opportunity to grab a little momentum of its own. The record is a little mis-leading because the Eagles schedule to start the season has been daunting. And Midweek games always seem to have a way of being a little quirky. Records do not always tell the full story when pitching staffs start mixing and matching and lineups get shuffled around.
For Clemson, the plan is simple. Keep stacking good, winning baseball.
The Tigers have been consistent at the plate, the pitching staff continues to develop depth, and midweek games like this give younger arms and different lineup combinations a chance to gain valuable innings.
And if you get to spend a night playing baseball at SRP Park, that is not a bad way to spend a Tuesday.
Clemson Briefly
Freshman Eston Simpson will get the ball to start against Georgia Southern. The Freshman is 3-0 with a 0.90 ERA in two mid-week starts and a third appearance out of the pen. He’s pitched 10 innings allowing eight hits, with six strikeouts and 2 walks on the season.
Offensively, the Tigers had a really nice series against LaSalle, scoring 52 runs in four games. Nate Savoie leads the Tigers raising his average to .424 on the season with five home runs and 25 RBI.
Trystan McCladdie continues his great start to the season, matching Savoie’s five home runs. He has 21 RBI and is 8-9 in stolen bases. Incredibly consistent for the Tigers swiss-army knife.
Jarren Purify had a great weekend, with his first two home runs on the season and stealing bases left and right. He currently leads the team with 8 in 10 attempts.
Jacob Jarrell leads all Tigers with six home runs on the year. The guy has “light-tower power!”
Through fifteen games, Clemson is hitting .325 as a team and has tallied 34 doubles and 23 home runs while scoring in 133 runs, good for an average of 8.3 runs per game.
On the mound, Clemson got good performances up and down the staff lineup over the weekend. We did not see Aidan Knaak, but Michael Sharman was sharp again. Dylan Harrison filled in on Friday night admirably. And the bullpen has been really sharp and deep. Freshman Danny Nelson is making folks notice him. The shaggy-haired fireballer getting it up there around 98 nearly every outing.
Just outstanding pitching from the Tigers in the early going. A huge test around the corner with Georgia Tech coming over the weekend, but we’ll keep our focus on Georgia Southern first.
Here is a look at the Georgia Southern Eagles:
Georgia Southern Eagles
Location: Statesboro, GA
Head Coach – Rodney Hennon (27th Season at Georgia Southern)
2026 Record: 4-11 (0-0 Sun Belt)
Wins: USC-Upstate (x2), Tennessee Tech (x2)
Losses: West Virginia (x3), Georgia Tech, South Florida (x3), USC-Upstate, Citadel, Tennessee Tech, Kennesaw State
The Georgia Southern Eagle enter the mid-week neutral site game at 4-11 overall.
The Eagles are hitting .279 as a team and have collected 27 doubles, 1 triple and 11 home runs in their first fifteen games. They average 5.2 runs per game.
The Eagles are led offensively by Kentucky transfer, Redshirt Senior Right Fielder James McCoy (was 0-2 against the Tigers in the Clemson Regional in 2025), who’s hitting .340 with four doubles and three home runs. He adds a team leading 13 RBIs. Redshirt Senior First Baseman Sean White who is hitting .339 and tied with McCoy for the team lead in home runs with 3. Freshman Centerfielder Mason Gazaway leads the Eagles with 5 stolen bases.
On the mound, the Georgia Southern pitching staff carries a 9.16 ERA through fifteen games. The staff has struck out 123 batters but has also issued 77 walks, allowing opponents to hit .322.
Here are the probable starting lineup for Georgia Southern and their early season stats:
Position Players
| Name (#) | Year | Position | 2026 Stats |
| Mason Gazaway (11) | Freshman | CF | |
| James McCoy (9) – (Kentucky) | RS Senior | RF | |
| Jack Myers (4) | Sophomore | 2B | |
| Sean White (29) | RS Senior | 1B | |
| Bryson Trammell (7) | RS Senior | DH | |
| Max Prozny (18) – (Virginia) | RS Freshman | LF | |
| Nico Senese (19) – (Georgia Tech) | RS Junior | 3B | |
| Bennett Edwards (12) | Freshman | C | |
| Grant Jordon (8) | Junior | SS |
Georgia Southern Starting Pitcher
| NAME (#) | Year | Hand | 2026 Stats |
| Carter DeGondea (32) | RS Junior | LHP | 0-1; 7.98 ERA, 4 app, 14.2 IP, 14 K, 9 BB; OppBA: .293 |
Final Thoughts
Clemson heads to North Augusta carrying a 15-1 record and the kind of early-season rhythm that every club hopes to find by this point on the calendar. The Tigers have won games in a lot of different ways so far, and the expectation inside the clubhouse stays the same each time they take the field.
First pitch against Georgia Southern is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. Tuesday night at SRP Park.
I cannot stress enough how midweek games always bring their own personality. Pitching staffs get creative, lineups move around a bit, and it often turns into a night where new faces have a chance to step into the spotlight, like Jay Dillard did last week in Greenville.
Georgia Southern enters the matchup at 4-11 and will be looking to make the most of the opportunity against the 10th ranked Tigers.
Go Tigers!
