Fifth-seeded Clemson’s one-run win over No. 4 seed NC State in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament had to be extremely satisfying for Erik Bakich’s bunch, and in more ways than one. 

This time last month, the Tigers were getting swept by the Wolfpack in Raleigh, which was the beginning of a skid that saw Clemson lose nine of 12 and drop three consecutive ACC series.  

So, getting a win over and eliminating the team responsible for starting that skid had to give the Tigers a sense of pride. Add in the way they beat the Wolfpack, by one run in a game full of lead changes, and it made it feel even sweeter. 

“It kind of felt like a super-regional or Omaha type game,” Bakich said. “Two evenly matched clubs going back and forth, just trading blows. Bunch of lead changes. You can just tell, the margin in these games is just razor thin. It is one swing, one play, one pitch. Because this feels like a deep in June type of ballgame.” 

With the win, Clemson has now won five straight and for the second time in three years, Bakich’s team is making an appearance in the ACC Tournament semifinals. However, now that his team is on the other side of it, the head coach believes those three weeks where wins were extremely hard to come by, has only made his team better. 

“Sometimes you just need adversity to figure out who you are,” Bakich said. “The identity is formed and shaped as the season goes on. We had little bits of adversity in some games but never really a stretch like that, where for three weeks, it was tough.” 

And Bakich also believes the Tigers are playing some of their best baseball during the current winning streak. 

“Our guys fought threw it,” Bakich said. “Got back up stronger and playing better baseball than ever before. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but it certainly feels right, looks right and looks like an even more confident bunch. There’s just no quit.” 

Clemson will now do battle with top-seeded Georgia Tech. The Tigers took two out of three from the Yellow Jackets in late March, but if this team is going to play for the ACC Championship on Sunday, they will have to knock off a Tech team that has won 11 of its last 13. 

“Georgia Tech is going to be just as tough an opponent,” Bakich said. “They won the league for a reason.”