Clemson faces Stanford on Friday in what can be described as an extremely crucial ACC series for Erik Bakich’s team.

The Tigers are absolutely going through it at the moment, having dropped 10 of their last 14 games. After a 2-7 start to conference play, which puts the team 15th in the league standings, Bakich’s team finds itself with its back firmly against the wall.

“The reality is that we’re on this razor-thin margin where we just need to play a lot better,” the head coach said after a run-rule loss to Wake on Wednesday night. “Everything is under the microscope, scrutinized, exacerbated, you know, our mistakes, that is just the way it is going right now. We are not going to get the calls, we got to control our mistakes, do all the little things.”

Despite the struggles over the past few weeks, Bakich strongly believes his team is better than what they’ve shown. After the 15-4 thumping the Tigers took in Charlotte, the head coach now has to ensure his team also believes.

“We do have a good foundation, believe it or not, even though we are not showing good fundamentals all the time, it is still there,” Bakich added. “Our team knows (Wednesday) night’s outcome has nothing to do with the Stanford series.”

Stanford comes in at 13-13 overall and 3-6 in ACC play, one game ahead of the Tigers. The Cardinal took two out of three from Virginia Tech last weekend.

For the Tigers, this weekend might mark a point of no return. Lose the series, or even worse, get swept, and Clemson’s postseason hopes are in serious jeopardy.

“We’re just going to have to do everything in our power to play our best baseball, our very best baseball, because that’s really what it’s going to take,” Bakich said. “Teams are just outplaying us right now, and we’re going to have to play better to come out on top. That’s all we can do. Just going to have to put our heads down and really, really get to work. Believe me, the coaches are doing everything they can, and the players are doing everything they can. Right now, it’s just not good enough, and it’s on me to find a solution.”

“We just have to be better. I have to be better. I mean, I need to be better. Our coaches are going to find a way to make this entire team better. But it is on us. We are going to get it figured out. This is not permanent. This is just a very, very tough stretch. Stick with us. We are going to get through it.”

SERIES SETUP
• Who – Clemson (19-11, 2-7 ACC) vs. Stanford (13-13, 3-6 ACC)
• When – Friday (9:05 p.m. EDT), Saturday (5:05 p.m. EDT), Sunday (4:05 p.m. EDT)
• Where – Stanford, Calif. (Sunken Diamond)
• Watch – ACC Network Extra

SERIES HISTORY
• Overall Record – Stanford leads 3-2 (1995-25)
• Record at Stanford – 0-0

STARTING PITCHERS
• Friday – RHP Aidan Knaak (CU) vs. LHP Andrew Shaw (STA)
• Saturday – LHP Michael Sharman (CU) vs. LHP Sam Garewal (STA)
• Sunday – RHP Drew Titsworth (CU) vs. LHP Quinten Marsh (STA)

CLEMSON OVERVIEW
• Clemson, which has a 2-4 road record, lost 15-4 in seven innings to Wake Forest at Charlotte, N.C. on Wednesday night.
• The Tigers are averaging 6.7 runs per game and hitting .292 with a .473 slugging percentage, .397 on-base percentage and 28 steals.
• The pitching staff has a 4.15 ERA, .221 opponents’ batting average and 3.29 strikeout-to-walk ratio, and Clemson is fielding .962.

STANFORD OVERVIEW
• Stanford, which has a 9-7 home record and is averaging 7.4 runs per game, is led by ninth-year Head Coach David Esquer.
• The Cardinal won two games at Virginia Tech last weekend. They are hitting .289 and have a 6.55 ERA and .969 fielding percentage.
• Teddy Tokheim is hitting .413 with eight homers and 24 RBIs, Eric Jeon is batting .360 with six homers and Ethan Hott is hitting .340.

QUICK HITS
• Clemson is scheduled to play only four home games in April, its fewest in April (with the exception of 2020) since it played three in 1964.
• Clemson is 10-0 when scoring first and 11-0 when scoring in the first inning in 2026.
• Head Coach Erik Bakich graduated from Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose, Calif. in 1996.

STRIKEOUTS DOWN
• Clemson’s offensive strikeouts per game is at a low level in 2026.
• The Tigers are striking out only 5.7 times per game, their lowest rate since 2014, when they struck out 5.5 times per game.
• The 5.7 strikeouts per game is down from recent years, including 9.3 in 2025, 8.7 in 2024 and 7.9 in 2023.
• Clemson has struck out 10+ times in a game only three times in 2026

Clemson Athletics contributed to this story