Now, we wait!

As I write this, Miami has claimed the ACC Baseball Championship title with an 8-4 victory over Virginia, so congrats to the Canes. The sixteen regional sites have been announced and the ACC has landed four (Miami, FSU, UNC and NCSU). Coastal Carolina has been named a regional host for the second year in a row. The field of 64 will be named tomorrow at 12:30pm. There are 30 automatic qualifiers and 34 at-large teams. Is Clemson worthy of one of those 34 bids? Here are the pros. First of all the Tigers are #26 in the RPI according to Warren Nolan's "Nitty Gritty Report" which is about as close to the formula used by the NCAA. Secondly the Tigers played only eight games against teams below #88 in the RPI and they went 8-0 versus those teams. Compare that to Coastal which played 35 games against teams with an RPI of 101 or less. The Chanticleers went 31-4 versus those teams. Lastly, Clemson went 6-4 in their last ten games of the year, not overly impressive but good nevertheless. Now the cons. The Tigers went a combined 0-15 versus Miami, UNC, FSU, South Carolina and Georgia and only 9-20 versus teams in the Top 50. Secondly, Clemson was only 11-18-1 in the ACC this year. Thirdly, Jack Leggett's team was 10-12-1 on the road.

There is some talk that the SEC may get 9 teams in the field of 64 with Arkansas being the ninth team. The Razorbacks didn't even make the SEC Tournament, so that brings up the question of "If you don't qualify for your own tournament should you get a berth in the NCAA's?". Now I brought up Coastal earlier and I did that to ask you this question, "If the Tigers had played Coastal's schedule how many wins would they have and would it be enough for a NCAA berth?" How about, "How many games would Coastal have won against Clemson's schedule and would they be hosting a regional?"

Here is hoping for the best tomorrow and that the NCAA Tournament streak continues.

Does it end with Tech?

The season could come to an end with tomorrows game against Georgia Tech and with that also ending maybe the streak of 21 consecutive NCAA appearances. The "Mercy Rule" at the hands of NC State did not please anyone associated with the Tiger baseball program, but when you give up six runs in the top of the first you get what you deserve. Giving a pitcher like Clayton Shunick a six run cushion before he even steps on the mound for the first time in the game and you are asking for trouble. All he had to do was pound the strike zone and change speeds and the game was his. Here are some notes on the series with the Yellow Jackets:

Clemson and Georgia Tech have met 196 times on the diamond, with the Tigers holding a 97-96-3 lead in the series dating back to the 1902 season. Earlier this season, Georgia Tech defeated Clemson twice in three games in Atlanta, while the Tigers downed the Yellow Jackets twice in three games during the 2006 regular season at Clemson. Clemson holds a 13-9 lead in ACC Tournament games. The two last met in the tournament in 2006, when Clemson defeated the Yellow Jackets twice in three games in Jacksonville to advance to the championship game. Clemson also holds a 16-7 lead in neutral-site contests. Jack Leggett is 31-26 against the Yellow Jackets as Clemson’s head coach, including a 6-5 record in the ACC Tournament. Leggett was also 3-5 against Georgia Tech as the head coach at Western Carolina, therefore he is 34-31 all-time against the Yellow Jackets.

Airtime for us on network lines will be 9:45am with the first pitch scheduled for 10am.

Hernandez just too much

Chris Hernandez was as advertised today going eight innings, striking out 9, allowing just four hits, and most importantly allowing zero runs. The Tigers were never really in the game as Miami scored two runs in the first and then got a solo home run in the second in bolting out to a 3-0 lead. Each time it seemed the Tigers were on the verge of getting back into the game, they would ground into a double play. The final Miami 7 and Clemson 1. For Clemson to make the championship game now they must have Miami lose tomorrow and on Saturday and the Tigers must beat NC State and Georgia Tech. The Wolfpack are up next tomorrow night at 8pm. Here are some notes on the series with NC State:

Clemson and N.C. State have met 169 times on the diamond, with the Tigers holding a 101-67-1 lead in the series dating back to the 1921 season. Earlier this season, the Tigers defeated N.C. State twice in three games. Last year, the Wolfpack won two games. Clemson holds a 17-9 lead in ACC Tournament games and has won nine ACC Tournament games in a row against N.C. State. The Wolfpack’s last victory over the Tigers in the ACC Tournament took place in 1992, when N.C. State defeated Clemson twice in as many days. The two teams last met in the ACC Tournament in the 2006 title game, as the Tigers caputured the championship with an 8-4 victory. Clemson also holds a 13-10 lead all-time in neutral-site games. Jack Leggett has a 35-17 record against N.C. State as Clemson’s head coach, including an 8-0 record in the ACC Tournament. Leggett was also 7-18 against N.C. State as Western Carolina’s head coach, meaning he has a 42-35 all-time record against the Wolfpack.

Taking on the Canes

Got into Jacksonville today and took the family to dinner at The Jacksonville Landing and I must admit there was hardly any buzz concerning the tournament. I did see some Clemson faithful and they seemed jazzed up about the opening round match up with Miami.

Clemson and Miami (FL) have met 49 times on the diamond, with the Hurricanes holding a 26-22-1 lead in the series dating back to the 1977 season. Earlier this season, the Hurricanes swept the Tigers in three games at Mark Light Field. Last year, the two teams split four games, including Clemson’s 5-4 win in 13 innings in the ACC Tournament. Alex Lee’s walk off, suicide squeeze bunt gave Clemson the victory. The Tigers hold a 9-5 lead in the series since Miami joined the ACC prior to the 2005 season, including a 2-0 lead in ACC Tournament games. The Tigers also defeated the Hurricanes 9-1 in the 2005 ACC Tournament. Miami holds a 7-6 lead all-time in neutral-site games as well. Jack Leggett is 14-14 against the Hurricanes as Clemson’s head coach, including a 4-4 mark in neutral-site contests. He was also 0-1 against Miami as head coach at Western Carolina, meaning he is 14-15 all-time against the Hurricanes.

Miami (FL) will start lefthander and ACC Freshman-of-the-Year Chris Hernandez (10-0, 2.67 ERA) on the mound. The Miami, FL native has made 13 starts for a total of 84.1 innings pitched. He has allowed 67 hits (.216 opponents’ batting average) and 14 walks with 87 strikeouts. He has also allowed just 12 extra-base hits, including only two homers. The Tigers will counter with junior righthander D.J. Mitchell (6-4, 3.11 ERA) on Wednesday. The Rural Hall, NC native has made 13 starts and six relief appearances for a total of 92.2 innings pitched. He has allowed 89 hits (.254 opponents’ batting average) and 37 walks with 95 strikeouts.

Air time for us on network lines is supposed to be 12:45pm, but with a game in front of us starting at 10am I wouldn't be surprised if we don't hit the airwaves until sometime around 1:15pm. I will check in tomorrow after game one. Go Tigers!

Well, They Made It

It was a rough couple of weeks for the Clemson baseball team, but Jack Leggett's kids won when they had to and got some help from the boys at VPI, so now it is off to Jacksonville for the ACC Baseball Championship. The Tigers will be the number eight seed and face the one seed, Miami. The Tigers lost all three match-ups in Coral Gables early this year, but two out of the three were close, including the first game which Yonder Alonzo won on a towering home run that still might be going. The way D.J. Mitchell has pitched as of late, most Tiger faithful will be looking for a "W" in game one. I am not saying I don't like Clemson's chances, but mind you Miami has been ranked number one in the country most of the season for a reason. Game one will be Wednesday with the first pitch scheduled for 1pm. Game two for the Tigers will be against NC State on Thursday at 8pm. Clemson took two out of three from the Pack this season. Elliott Avent, the coach of NC State, is one of my favorite opposing coaches in the league. His club has been playing very well as of late despite losing two out of three against Florida State in Tallahassee to end the regular season. The Tigers will get an off day on Friday and then take on Georgia Tech Saturday morning at 10am. The Jackets went two and one versus the Tigers in Atlanta just a couple of weeks ago. It was the last game against Tech when the Tigers bats came alive scoring 16 runs and pounding out 20 hits. Since then the Tigers haven't lost and have had at least ten hits in each of the last five games. So what needs to happen for the Tigers to make the NCAA Tournament? I think Clemson has to go at least two and one in the ACC Tournament with one of the wins coming over Miami. As I write this Clemson sits at number 24 in Warren Nolan's "Nitty Gritty Report" (http://www.warrennolan.com/baseball/2008/nitty). I will have daily updates from Jacksonville starting on Tuesday. If you are in Jacksonville hunt me down at the ballpark. Go Tigers!

This Coach Gets It

I have always liked Brian O'Connor the head baseball coach at Virginia. Read this article and I think you will as well:

http://www.roanoke.com/sports/college/wb/161753

Big night tonight at Doug Kingsmore. Hope all of you will come out and support John Pawlowski and his family. I hope the Tigers don't get caught up in the emotion of tonight because this game is a big one for the slim NCAA chances the Tigers have.

What Needs To Happen

Here, as best as I can describe it, is what needs to happen for the Tigers to make the ACC Tournament in Jacksonville. First, they just need to win. The Tigers head to Atlanta this weekend for their final three games of the ACC regular season versus Georgia Tech. Win all three of those and the Tigers are all but assured of making it. At the very least, Jack Leggett's club need to win two games. Wake and Duke are the two teams with a real chance of chasing down the Tigers. As you know, both the Deacs and the Blue Devils have the tie breaker over the Tigers. Both Wake and Duke have six games left in ACC regular season play and they play each other this weekend in Winston-Salem. Wake has an 8-15 mark in league play and Duke sits at 8-14-1. One would think that one of these teams is going 1 and 2. That's what makes two wins this weekend a must. Next weekend Wake is on the road at Boston College and Duke is at Virginia Tech. The best thing that could happen for the Tigers is that Duke or Wake sweeps the series this weekend and the Tigers win two. If that happens, the Tigers are on their way to Jacksonville.