New-look Clemson baseball exceeding expectations at halfway point of ACC play
This was supposed to be a bit of a rebuilding year for the Clemson baseball team. Monte Lee’s squad just never got that message.
First-round pick Seth Beer is now playing professional baseball, as is All-American closer Ryley Gilliam. Chris Williams is gone, too, after leading the Tigers in home runs and RBIs a season ago.
Yet halfway through ACC play the Tigers have the second-best record in the league at 11-4. Clemson has won three consecutive ACC series after taking two of three against No. 10 Louisville over the weekend, and the Tigers are squarely in the thick of the ACC race, a game back of first-place N.C. State. Clemson was picked to finish third in the ACC Atlantic in the preseason but has exceeded expectations thus far.
“I certainly don’t tell our guys enough that I am very pleased and I am very proud of them. I don’t think I could’ve asked for more than what I’m getting out of our club right now,” Tigers coach Monte Lee said. “A lot of these guys continue to get better and better. But we have to stay the course.”
Clemson is 24-8 overall and ranked No. 16 in the D1Baseball poll after opening the season at No. 24 in the rankings. The Tigers dropped out of the poll during a stretch earlier this season after losing two of three games to South Carolina but have gone 16-5 (11-4) since then.
“They’re a complete club. They’ve got good starting pitching. They’ve got good bullpen arms. They’re playing great defense. And then Clemson always hits,” Louisville coach Dan McDonnell said. “They’ve got good momentum. They’ve got good culture... But it starts on the mound.”
On the mound is perhaps where Clemson has exceeded expectations the most.
The Tigers have three new arms in their starting rotation in freshman Davis Sharpe, sophomore Mat Clark and freshman Keyshawn Askew. Sharpe is 5-1 with a 1.55 ERA, while Clark is 7-0 with a 1.98 ERA. Askew has struggled some lately but still sits at 2-1 with a 3.63 ERA.
“I think we’ve made some adjustments, No. 1 with our rotation. We moved Sharpe into the Friday spot, Clark into the Saturday spot and Keyshawn’s been throwing the ball on Sunday. So overall that’s been the biggest change that we’ve made and overall those guys have done very well,” Lee said.
As a team the Tigers are hitting .269, led by junior shortstop Logan Davidson at .309. Davidson leads the Tigers with nine home runs and 32 RBIs but has plenty of help. Five regular players are hitting .296 or better, including Bryar Hawkins, Grayson Byrd, Sharpe and Sam Hall.
Clemson is also playing well defensively and did not commit an error over the weekend against Louisville.
“I thought we had outstanding defense in the outfield and in the infield this weekend. I feel like our starting pitching has been very, very solid. I feel like our bullpen’s been solid. Overall I like where we’re at,” Lee said. “We’re like any team, we’ve got to be a better situational hitting club, and we’ve got to be able to do the little things offensively with runners on base and defensively with runners on base. But overall I feel pretty good with where we’re at at the halfway point of ACC play.”