Here's how Clemson baseball ended regular season with statement about NCAA tournament
CLEMSON – Clemson baseball has done enough, save an unlikely meltdown in the upcoming ACC tournament, to earn home-field advantage through the NCAA Super Regionals.
The Tigers closed out the regular season Saturday with a 3-1 win and a three-game series sweep against North Carolina at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Caden Grice pitched 7⅓ strong innings with nine strikeouts and hit a two-run homer. Reliever Rob Hughes, a Furman transfer, got the last five outs.
The Tigers, under first-year coach Erik Bakich, have won 12 straight games with four series sweeps in the last five ACC weekends. Following the league tournament that begins Tuesday at Durham (North Carolina) Athletic Park, the Tigers should have the comforts of home while they make a run at the College World Series.
Clemson (39-17) will earn a top-16 seed and the right to host a NCAA Regional and perhaps a top-eight seed and a Super Regional as well if the Tigers can get that far. Clemson climbed Friday to No. 7 in the Ratings Percentage Index used to help make those determinations.
"What's engrained in this team now is a belief that they can do anything," Bakich said. "This is where the magic happens. When an individual player or especially a team gets a confidence about them, that's where you capture that lightning in a bottle. They just feel invincible."
Clemson last made it to the College World Series in 2010 under coach Jack Leggett. The Tigers missed the last two NCAA tournaments under former coach Monte Lee.
North Carolina (33-21) had a No. 28 RPI headed into the finale. Seeds will be announced on May 30.
Some other takeaways:
Caden Grice biggest part of Clemson success
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Grice’s big season as a pitcher and bounce-back campaign as a hitter helped Clemson get into this position.
He hit his second home run of the weekend and raised his batting average over .300 with a two-run blast in the first inning. The Greer native (Riverside High School) leads Clemson with 14 homers and 54 RBIs.
His final numbers last season were good, 12 homers and a .360 on-base percentage, but his batting average dropped from .317 as a freshman to .244 and he struck out 97 times. This season, he has struck out just 62 times and his on-base percentage is .410.
Grice has also been one of Clemson’s best starting pitchers, going 7-1 and ranking second on the staff in innings. Last season, he pitched only six innings.
"Having Caden Grice on our team today was fantastic," Bakich said. "He was a one-man wrecking crew and is showing his potential as a two-way superstar."
Local players among Clemson seniors honored
Pitchers Jackson Lindley from Anderson (T.L. Hanna) and Ryan Ammons from Easley (Wren) were among 10 senior players honored in a pregame ceremony.
Lindley has pitched 27.2 innings this season with two wins, two saves and a 3.25 ERA. Ammons has appeared in nine games, 17 innings, with a 1.20 WHIP.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson baseball making case for top-eight seed in NCAA tournament
