At the halfway point of the ACC season, Clemson’s baseball program is playing, perhaps, above expectations.
After losing so many experienced players off of last year’s squad, there were not many people who expected the Tigers to compete for another ACC Championship in 2019. They were picked to finish fourth in the ACC’s Atlantic Division before the season even started.
Last year’s co-ACC Regular Season Champions had to replace every day players such as Seth Beer, Chris Williams, Patrick Cromwell, Robert Jolly and Drew Wharton, as well as closer Ryley Gilliam, starter Jake Higginbotham and reliever Ryan Miller on the mound.
When projected starter Spencer Strider went down with a season-ending arm injury on the first day of practice, expectations took an even harder hit.
But at the halfway point of the season, it’s obvious Clemson has not listened to the naysayers. Despite so many new players in the field and on the mound, the Tigers are ranked 13th nationally and are in second place in the ACC’s Atlantic Division, one game back of first place NC State.
The Tigers (24-8, 11-4) and the Wolfpack have the two best records in league play as well.
“We are sitting at the halfway point at 11-4. We got two freshmen starting on the mound on the weekends. We got a lot of young guys playing,” Clemson head coach Monte Lee said. “We have some young guys and some older guys that are playing pretty well. So, we are getting good at-bats, quality at-bats out of our offense. I feel like our defense is getting better. I feel like we are in a good spot at 24-8 overall. There are a lot of positives.”
The biggest positive is the emergence of freshman Davis Sharpe. Not only is he hitting .299 at the plate as the designated hitter, but he is also Clemson’s best pitcher. He is 5-1 in eight starts with a 1.55 ERA as the Friday night starter.
Redshirt sophomore Mat Clark has come on as the Tigers’ No. 2 pitcher, posting a 7-0 record to go with his 1.98 ERA in eight appearances, including five starts. Holt Jones (1.44 ERA) and Sam Weatherly (2.63) have come on as reliable relievers, while Carson Spiers (2.18 ERA) has nine saves already as the closer.
Overall, Clemson pitching has a 3.33 ERA and is allowing opponents to hit just .231 overall.
“Certainly, there are a lot of positives. When you look at our starters, our starters have done a nice job. I think our bullpen has done a nice job, overall. We have pitched very well,” Lee said. “There are a lot of positives pitching wise.”
At the plate the Tigers have been getting it done, too. Logan Davidson, Grayson Byrd and Sam Hall have been the most consistent hitters, while recently Bryar Hawkins, Bryce Teodosio, Kyle Wilkie, Bo Majkowski and James Parker have stepped up their play.
“Offensively, I feel like we are in a pretty good place. We have been swinging the bats fairly well,” Lee said.
Clemson is coming off a weekend in which it took two of three games from a Louisville team whose pitching staff had one of the best ERAs in the country. The Tigers scored 15 runs overall in their three games against the Cardinals.
In Game 1, they scored five earned runs on four hits against Louisville ace Reid Detmers, one of the best pitchers in college baseball.
“We have faced one of the best pitching staffs in the country. We were able to score some runs off of them,” Lee said.
But Clemson still has some work to do. After Sunday’s loss to Louisville, the Tigers fell to 3-5 in Sunday games.
“We have to find a way to compete a little bit better on Sundays. I feel like on Sundays we have to be better,” Lee said.
The Clemson coach would also like to see his team do a better job competing in the back half of games if they want to take the next step. The Tigers have struggled several times this year when they faced top-notch relivers or closers.
“Being able to move runners over and get a runner in becomes critical on those high-leverage situations on pitching and the offensive side of things,” Lee said. “You have to be able to execute better offensively, and that is something as a coach we will continue to address and work on.”
But as they start the second half of the ACC season later this week at Florida State, Lee, obviously, likes where his young baseball team is at.
“There are a lot of clubs that would like to be sitting at the halfway point in ACC play at 11-4. So, I am proud of our guys,” he said. “I don’t have too many negatives, but as a coach I have to continue to address the items and the areas that we have to improve on and just keep our confidence up and hope that we continue to get better.”
Clemson will host Furman on Wednesday (6 p.m.) at Doug Kingsmore Stadium in Clemson before heading to Tallahassee, Fla., to play the Seminoles in a three-game series this Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
ACC Baseball Standings (as of April 9, 2019)
Atlantic Division
1. NC State 12-3, 29-4
2. Clemson 11-4, 24-8
3. Louisville 10-5, 24-8
4. Florida State 7-8, 19-12
Wake Forest 7-8, 18-15
Notre Dame 7-8, 12-17
7. Boston College 6-9, 15-17
Coastal Division
1. Georgia Tech 9-6, 22-10
2. North Carolina 9-7, 23-8
Virginia 8-7, 19-13
4. Miami 7-8, 20-12
5. Duke 6-9, 17-15
6. Virginia Tech 5-10, 18-14
7. Pittsburgh 2-13, 8-22