Clemson finally got off the snide on Saturday and won its first game in the Atlantic Coast Conference since April 22.
The Tigers (39-17, 17-13 ACC) snapped a nine-game conference losing streak, the longest in school history, and in the process earned the No. 5 seed in next week’s ACC Tournament thanks to their 15-6 win at NC State.
The win means Clemson will be play in Pool D when ACC Tournament play begins on Tuesday. The Clemson Insider has learned the Tigers will play No. 9 seed Duke in its first game. The time and date of that game will be announced later tonight after Florida State and Louisville conclude their game.
Clemson is guaranteed to play two games in the tournament. It will play No. 4 Virginia in the second game.
The ACC Tournament moved to a new format this year where it will use four pods – A, B, C and D – instead of the three it has used the last 10 years. Clemson will play in Pool D and will be paired up with No. 4 seed Virginia and No. 9 Duke.
Clemson did not play Duke this year, but it did take two of three games against Virginia in a weekend series at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on March 17-19. The Cavaliers won Game 1 by a score of 2-0, before Clemson rallied to win Game 2, 7-6, and Game 3, 12-1.
The last time the Tigers played Duke was in Durham, N.C., last year as the Blue Devils took two of three games from Clemson.
Clemson is of course the defending ACC Champions after going 4-0 in last year’s championships in Durham. This year, the tournament has been moved to Louisville, Ky., where it will be played at Louisville Slugger Field.
Pool play will run Tuesday-Friday with the four winners from each pool advancing to the semifinals on Saturday. The championship game will be played on Sunday, May 28 at noon and will be televised on ESPN 2. All the other tournament games will be on Fox Sports Regional Network and ACC Network Extra.
The winner of Pool A and winner of Pool D will play on Saturday in the semifinals at 1 p.m., while Pool B and C winners will play at 5 p.m. in the other semifinal game.
ACC Tournament Standings
- Louisville 23-6
- UNC 22-7
- Wake 19-11
- Virginia 18-12
- Clemson 17-13
- NC State 16-14
- Miami 16-14
- FSU 14-14
- Duke 12-18
- Ga. Tech 11-19
- Boston College 11-19
- Notre Dame 10-20
ACC standings
Atlantic: c-x-Louisville 23-6; Wake Forest 19-11; Clemson 17-13; N.C. State 16-14; x-Florida State 14-14; Boston College 11-19; Notre Dame 10-20
Coastal: c-North Carolina 23-7; Virginia 18-12; Miami 16-13; Duke 12-18; Georgia Tech 11-19; Virginia Tech 9-21; Pittsburgh 9-21
c-clinched division title
x-Saturday night game not included
Saturday’s scores
Clemson 15, N.C. State 6
Boston College 8, Notre Dame 7
North Carolina 9, Duke 7
Miami 7, Virginia Tech 5, 10 innings
Virginia 10, Georgia Tech 9
Wake Forest 14, Pittsburgh 4
Florida State at Louisville, 7:30 p.m.