The biggest game of Clemson’s baseball season happens on Saturday! Not only because it is the next one on the schedule, but also because of the matchup with Tennessee and its star pitcher Chase Dollander. Additionally, the Tigers will be looking to break a bit of a losing skid as they have not started 2-0 in regional play since 2011.

The key to this game starts with Dollander, a projected top-10 pick in the upcoming MLB Draft and preseason first-team All-American. The junior righty has topped out at 98 mph this season and mixes in four different pitches (fastball, slider, curveball, and changeup). This season Dollander (6-6) has saw a slight dip in his stats with a 4.27 ERA in 14 starts, while allowing 65 hits (.232 OBA) with 26 walks and 107 strikeouts in 73.2 innings. However, last season he was named the SEC Pitcher of the Year with a 10-0 record and 2.39 ERA in 16 appearances (14 starts) while allowing 50 hits (.175 OBA) with 13 walks and 108 strikeouts in 79.0 innings.

Facing Dollander will be Clemson’s two-way star Caden Grice. The John Olerud Award finalist has saw his best year on the mound this season. The junior lefty has grew into his own on the mound this season going 8-1 with a 3.25 ERA in 13 starts while allowing 48 hits (.195 OBA) with 32 walks and 91 strikeouts in 69.1 innings. Over his first two seasons as a Tiger, Grice was 2-1 with a 5.63 ERA in only 12 appearances (three starts) while allowing 14 hits (.237 OBA) with 13 walks and 21 strikeouts in 16.0 innings.

While the pitching matchup will be a huge focus of the contest, both pitchers will be facing potent offenses. Clemson brings in a .309 team-batting average with six starters hitting over .300. The Tigers like to score in bunches and will come at you in waves, particularly with two outs. On the season, Clemson has 18 games of 10+ runs plus 12 games of 8 or 9 runs. Tennessee brings in a .290 team-batting average in an offense that has 103 doubles and 116 homers. The Volunteers have 20 games of 10+ runs along with eight games of 8 or 9 runs.

As Coach Bakich has mentioned throughout the year, the DKS crowd could be the difference in the game! While Clemson is 25-10 at home this season, Tennessee has struggled on the road. The Volunteers bring in a 4-12 road record this season where they have saw their scoring drop from 7.7 runs a game (449 in 58 games) to 4.4 runs per game (71 in 16 games) away from home. In their 12 road losses, they have only scored 31 runs (2.6 per game) and have not scored more than four runs in a road loss.