There is a much better feel around Clemson Baseball (22-12 overall; 4-8 ACC) coming back east.
The Tigers handled business on the West Coast, taking a series at Stanford Cardinal baseball and closing the trip with a tight win over Santa Clara Broncos baseball. Sunday’s finish in Palo Alto set the tone, and they carried that energy right into the midweek.
The final game of the trip had a little bit of everything. Clemson needed a swing late and got it from freshman third baseman Jason Fultz Jr., who turned a deficit into a lead with a three run home run. That is the kind of moment that sticks with a team, especially from a young player getting his first career home run in a huge spot.
Across the trip, the offense looked more connected. At bats were more competitive, traffic on the bases showed up again, and the group did a better job of building innings instead of waiting for one big swing. It felt steady, and it looked like a lineup starting to trust itself again.
Now they are back at Doug Kingsmore Stadium with a chance to build on it.
No easy task with North Carolina Tar Heels baseball coming in. The Tar Heels have been one of the best teams in the country all season and they will test every part of Clemson’s game.
But this weekend is more about where Clemson is than who is in the other dugout. They are coming off a good trip, they are playing cleaner baseball, and they have some confidence to lean on. That does not guarantee anything, but it gives them a real shot to stack something positive at home.
Clemson Briefly
Jason Fultz Jr. collected his first career home run in a Clemson uniform delivering a 3-run shot in the top of the 8th down 3-2 and two outs. Just a huge jolt for both Fultz and the team as a whole
Dane Moehler is still ramping up, but even in only two innings of work on Monday at Santa Clara, the redshirt freshman went 6 up and 6 down with 2 strikeouts in 2 innings of work.
Tyler Lichtenberger had two hits on Monday and scored twice as well.
Jackson Moore went 1-2 with an RBI on Monday night. Going to see a lot more of Moore with the injury to Tryston McCladdie
The Bullpen: Talan Bell, Joe Allen, Ariston Veasey and Justin LeGuernic pitched well out of the pen on Monday night. They combined for 6 ⅓ of 1 run, 2 hit baseball. Just outstanding work from the pen.
Through 34 games, Clemson is hitting .292 (73rd) as a team and has tallied 62 doubles (T-79th), 2 triple (T-277th) and 44 home runs (T-45th) while scoring 233 runs, good for an average of 6.9 runs per game.
Aidan Knaak (Friday), Michael Sharman (Saturday) and Drew Titsworth (Sunday) are listed as the starters for the Tigers against the Tar Heels. No changes here.
Clemson pitchers have a 4.11 ERA (32nd) with 333 strikeouts and 106 walks. Opponents are hitting .220 against Tiger pitching.
Here is a look at the North Carolina Tar Heels
Location: Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Head Coach – Scott Forbes (9th Season)
2026 Record: 28-5-1 (11-4 Atlantic Coast Conference)
Wins: Indiana (x3), Richmond, Longwood, East Carolina, North Carolina A&T, VCU, LeMoyne, Elon, Virginia, Bucknell, Cal (x3), UNC-Greensboro, Louisville (x2), South Carolina, Notre Dame (x3), Campbell, Boston College (x2), Charlotte
Losses: East Carolina, Virginia (x2), Louisville, Boston College
Tie: East Carolina
The North Carolina Tar Heels enter the weekend ACC series in Doug Kingsmore Stadium at 28-5-1 overall and 11-4 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. They just beat Charlotte in the mid-week, and took 2 of 3 from Boston College last weekend.
The Tar Heels are hitting .289 (82nd) as a team and have collected 67 doubles (T-41st), 9 triples (T-42nd) and 37 home runs (T-79th) in their first 34 games. They average 8.2 runs per game. North Carolina has 31 stolen bases on the season in 40 attempts (T-214th).
The Tar Heels are led offensively by Junior 2nd Baseman Gavin Gallaher who is only hitting .279 with 6 doubles, a triple and tied for the team lead (with Junior 3rd Baseman Cooper Nicholson) with 7 home runs and has 28 runs batted in. The Sophomore is the catalyst to the entire offense in the two-hole. He has won back to back Most Outstanding Players in NCAA regionals the past two seasons. Leadoff Hitter, Junior SS Jake Schaffner is having an outstanding season hitting .341 with 8 doubles, 5 triples, 4 home runs and 26 runs batted in. He also is 14-15 in stolen bases. Scary guy to face at the top of the Tar Heel lineup. Graduate DH Owen Hull is hitting .355, leading the team in average and has 11 doubles, and a team leading 33 runs batted in. Junior 1st Baseman Erik Paulsen is hitting .315 with 6 home runs and 30 runs batted in.
This team is loaded offensively. Maybe not to Georgia Tech’s level, but really good hitters up and down this lineup.
On the mound, North Carolina has announced Sophomore RHP Ryan Lynch (Friday), Junior RHP Jason DeCaro (Saturday) and Junior LHP Folger Boaz (Sunday).
The North Carolina pitching staff carries a 3.58 ERA (15th) through 34 games. The staff has struck out 230 batters and has issued 135 walks, allowing opponents to hit .230
Here are the probable starting lineup for North Carolina and their 2026 season stats:
Position Players
| Name (#) | Year | Position | 2026 Stats |
| Jake Schaffner (2) – North Dakota State | Junior | SS | .331; 8 2B, 5 3B, 4 HR, 27 RBI; 14-15 SB |
| Gavin Gallaher (5) | Junior | 2B | .279; 6 2B, 3B, 7 HR, 28 RBI; 3-3 SB |
| Erik Paulsen (44) – Stony Brook | Junior | 1B | .315; 7 2B, 6 HR, 30 RBI |
| Macon Winslow (6) – Duke | Junior | C | .313; 6 2B, 5 HR, 26 RBI |
| Owen Hull (8) – George Mason | Junior | CF | .355; 11 2B, HR, 33 RBI; 8-11 SB |
| Colin Hynek (23) – Georgia State | Graduate | DH | .300; 13 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 32 RBI; 1-1 SB |
| Tyler Howe (12) | Freshman | RF | .258; 4 2B, 2 HR, 18 RBI; 1-1 SB |
| Cooper Nicholson (1) | Junior | 3B | .237; 8 2B, 7 HR, 25 RBI |
| Rom Kellis V (25) | Senior | LF | .333; 3 2B, HR, 8 RBI; 1-1 SB |
Starting Pitchers
| NAME (#) | Year | Hand | 2026 Stats |
| Ryan Lynch (53) | Sophomore | RHP | 2-3; 4.50 ERA; 8 starts, 44 IP, 44K, 14 BB; OppBA: .261 |
| Jason DeCaro (29) | Junior | RHP | 5-1; 2.20 ERA; 8 starts, 41 IP, 36 K, 19 BB; OppBA: .233 |
| Folger Boaz (36) | Junior | LHP | 2-0; 6.21 ERA; 8 starts, 33.1 IP, 27 K, 11 BB; OppBA: .301 |
Final Thought
Clemson heads home feeling a lot better about itself.
A 3-1 trip out west will do that. The Tigers picked up a conference series win against Stanford Cardinal baseball and played a cleaner, more relaxed brand of baseball all week. The lineup looked more like itself again, and it showed.
Now they get to bring that back to Clemson.
Up next is North Carolina Tar Heels baseball, one of the best teams in the country and a good test for where this group is right now. Clemson is not searching as much as it was a couple weeks ago. There is a little more confidence in the dugout and a little more rhythm on the field.
Friday at 6PM, Saturday at 2PM, and Sunday at 12:30PM at Doug Kingsmore Stadium in Clemson, SC.
It should be a fun weekend. Clemson is playing better, the crowd will be into it, and there is a real chance to keep this thing moving in the right direction.
Go Tigers!
