By Will Vandervort
The opportunity to host a regional in the NCAA Tournament at the end of this month is not the only thing 14th-ranked Clemson is playing for when it visits No. 9 Florida State Thursday to begin a three-game series in Tallahassee, FL.
Also at stake is the ACC’s Atlantic Division and the No. 2 seed in next week’s ACC Tournament, as well as a possible shot at being a national seed for the winner.
“Obviously, we need to go down there and sweep,” Clemson pitcher Daniel Gossett said. “We have to do our best so that we can try and host. That’s the goal. You are trying to host, trying to host Supers so you can get to Omaha.
“We talk about it in the bullpen because statistics show being at home is where you want to be for a regional.”
Right now, the Tigers (38-15, 17-10 ACC) trail Florida State by a game and lead third place NC State by a half game for second place. So a sweep over the ‘Noles will give Clemson the Atlantic Division title and more than likely cement a spot as one of the 16 Regional host. If not, it will have to do some scoreboard watching as NC State travels to Duke for a three-game series.
If the Tigers win the series, but lose a game, then NC State will have to lose at least one at Duke. If the Seminoles win the series, then the division title and a possible national seed is theirs.
“I like to think we have an opportunity and we will go down there and play hard,” Clemson head coach Jack Leggett said.
Clemson will have to play hard and very well to knock off the Seminoles at home. Florida State (42-10, 18-9 ACC) is 39-0 when scoring at least four runs, have won 11 of their last 12 games and are 30-2 at home in 2013.
“They are a good baseball team. They are solid,” Leggett said. “They are team that has good pitching and good offense and has been playing well all year long. It will be a real good challenge for us.”
The Tigers haven’t been too bad either. Thanks to Kevin Bradley’s three-run home run to end the game Tuesday night, Clemson got an 8-7 victory over USC Upstate and carries an eight-game winning streak into Tallahassee.
The Tigers have won 22 of their last 26 overall and have won eight of those by one run, and two more in their last at-bat.
“That’s what good baseball teams do,” Bradley said. “They find ways to win even when they don’t play their best baseball. I know we had a rough inning (against USC Upstate) but we battled back and ultimately got the win.
“I think all teams that play well and have successful seasons they are able to do that. I think it is important that we start playing our best baseball down the stretch.”
And if Clemson can do that, they could be looking at hosting not only a regional, but being one of the eight national seeds as well. Florida State is just ahead of the Tigers in national seed pecking order and beating the Seminoles in a three-game series can go a long way in accomplishing that feat.
“There is a little extra on the plate so now it is time to go get it,” Gossett said. “This team is ready to go and we can go deep in this postseason.”
Leggett’s message to his team is simple – “just win baby!”
“I have not even thought about (Regionals or Super Regionals). I don’t think there is any clinching to anything, we just have to win,” the Clemson coach said. “There is a lot of good teams in our conference that our battling to have that same kind of opportunity so we have to go down (to FSU) and play well and play well in the ACC Tournament.
“We have two more weeks of baseball before that gets determined. I don’t think that is a given. I think it puts us in a better spot, but we can’t focus on that right now.”