Clemson Baseball Getting Hot After Rocky Start

A doubleheader sweep of the Georgia State Panthers leads to some momentum before ACC play begins

Clemson baseball coach Erik Bakich's second season as the Tigers head man had gotten off to a rocky start in 2023. At one point, after losing 2 out of 3 to rival South Carolina, the team fell to a losing record of 5-6. Not what Coach Bakich was hoping for after a successful 10-year run at the University of Michigan prior to coming down south.

However, a long home stretch seemed to be just what the doctor ordered as the Tigers were able to win single-game series against both East Tennessee State and Presbyterian before heading into the three-game stand against Georgia State. In Game 1 of this series, it looked like the momentum they had started to build was going to come to a screeching halt as Clemson trailed 8-2 heading into the 8th inning. the Tigers were able to scratch their way to 3 more runs but still trailed by a count of 8-5 when Billy Amick stepped up to the plate with 2 outs and the bases loaded. Amick proceeded to live out every little kid's dream when he sent a 1-0 breaking ball flying over the wall in left-center to end the game and keep the mini-win streak alive. 

That swing carried over into Saturday's play when, albeit without as many dramatics, Clemson was able to sweep the doubleheader and will carry a five-game win streak into Tuesday's matchup against College of Charleston. The Tigers will then take on Duke in a three-game home series marking the start of their conference play this season. In fact, including the aforementioned series, the next five games on the schedule are all at home which presents a real opportunity to continue building a streak that would give everyone belief in where the program is heading. 

In the post-game press conference, after the doubleheader Saturday, Bakich was visibly pleased with the result of the day and called Georgia State, "a very quality opponent, a postseason caliber team." They will certainly need more good days against that type of caliber in order to reach the goals they have in 2023.