Eleven To Go

Eleven games are left in the regular season for the Clemson baseball team and I have had several of you ask me what it will take for the Tigers to make their 22nd straight NCAA Tournament trip. The first thing is they have to keep winning. We saw some teams with 30 or more wins over the last several season get left out of the NCAA's. One of those teams was Georgia Tech last year. The Jackets were a .500 team in league play, but it was their strength of schedule (SOS) that did them in. Depending on which source you look at, the Tigers have the 9th best SOS in the country right now. With games coming up against Florida State, Georgia Tech and Central Florida, the Tigers could move up even further. Secondly, the Tigers could certainly help themselves by getting to .500 in the league. Right now they are 10-13-1, so that means going 5 and 1. That doesn't seem likely, but 4-2 is not out of the question. If that does happen, the Tigers would make it to Jacksonville for the ACC Tourney and would need to win at least 2 of the 3 games they are guaranteed to play. If the Tigers make it to Jacksonville, they could answer all questions by winning the tournament.

The Tigers have been playing much better ball as of late and it is no coincidence that improved offense has been a big factor in that. Mike Freeman, Jeff Schaus, and Wilson Boyd have all been on base consistently and that sets the table for Kyle Parker and Ben Paulsen. Speaking of Parker, I think the fact that spring football practice is over has been a tremendous help. He just looks fresher. He also made quite an impression in right field this weekend against Virginia Tech. He made some nice running catches, judged fly balls well, and showcased a strong arm. It is going to make the battle in the outfield next season very interesting. You will have Schaus, Boyd, Parker, along with Chris Epps, Addison Johnson, Alex Lee and the incoming recruits battling for playing time.

While Parker looks fresher to me, Stan Widmann is showing signs of the long season. Coming off what he did it should surprise no one that Stan may be a little tired. I think this week off for exams could not have come at a better time physically for Stan. A couple of down days will do his body good. No one competes harder than Stan and it will take something of biblical proportions for him to be taken out of the line-up.

Eleven games left, the players will tell you it is one game at a time. Win today and worry about tomorrow when it gets here, but 9-2 or 8-3 sure would be nice.