Clemson Enters ACC Tournament Looking to Boost NCAA Resume

No. 12 seed Clemson opens up ACC Tournament play on Tuesday night against No. 8 seed North Carolina.

Jason Priester All Clemson

Clemson will head to Charlotte this week for the 48th ACC Tournament. The Tigers enter as the No. 12 seed and are a part of Pool A, which also includes No. 1 seed Virginia Tech and No. 8 seed North Carolina.

TOURNAMENT SETUP
• Who – Clemson (35-21) vs. North Carolina (34-19)
• When – Tuesday (7 p.m.)
• Where – Charlotte, N.C. (Truist Field)
• Watch – RSN, ACC Network Extra

Monte Lee's team will enter the tournament fresh off a sweep of Boston College and squarely on the bubble of the NCAA Tournament. Sitting at No. 30 in the RPI, D1 Baseball currently projects Clemson as the last at-large team in the field.

The Tigers are well aware of the situation they are in and have approached each game over the past couple of weeks of the regular season with a playoff mentality. That mindset doesn't change now that a spot in the ACC Tournament has been clinched.

"I think everybody's aware of just how important every game is for us right now, as we try to do everything we can to get our club into the NCAA field of 64," Lee said.

SERIES HISTORY (NORTH CAROLINA)
• Overall Record – Clemson leads 102-95-1 (1901-2021)
• Record at Neutral – Clemson leads 15-14 (1901-2015)
• Record in ACC Tournament – Clemson leads 16-13 (1974-15)

After starting the season on a 14-game winning streak, Clemson got off to a slow start in league play, and no matter what happens in Charlotte, the head coach is extremely proud of how his team responded by now having themselves in a position to make the field of 64.

"A lot of people aren't going to talk about (it), but we were 2-9 in the league at one point. I mean, you do the math, we did a pretty dang good job of being able to dig ourselves out of that hole. That says a lot about our kids."

"We had a long meeting about that a few weeks ago. And our guys responded and did a great job, you know, down the stretch here, now putting us in a great position. So really proud of our team for that."

While Lee feels pretty good about where the Tigers stand, the best-case scenario is for Clemson to win at least a game or two in the conference tournament in an effort to boost that NCAA resume. 

"I would say that I feel pretty good about our chances of getting in the postseason," Lee said. "But we still have to go to the ACC tournament and feel like we need to play well. Some of those things are out of our control but a lot of them are within our control too. Go in there and find a way to play good baseball in the ACC Tournament and see what happens."

Mack Anglin, who was named third-team All-ACC on Monday will get the start for Clemson against the Tarheels, who are currently No. 16 in the RPI. On the season, Anglin is 6-5 with an ERA of 4.11 and a WHIP of 1.44. He averages more than a strikeout per inning.

Odds: Clemson's odds of winning the CWS have plummeted to +25000 according to Fanduel.

STARTING PITCHERS
• Tuesday – RHP Mack Anglin (CU) vs. RHP Max Carlson (UNC)

The Tarheels will counter with Max Carlson. The sophomore right-hander is 1-2 on the season with a 3.72 ERA and a WHIP of 1.46 in 14 starts. Carlson has struck out 68 hitters in 55.2 IP and opponents are hitting just .221 against him.

The Tigers will also enter the tournament with a well-rested bullpen after getting quality starts from all three starters in the sweep of the Eagles, something that could give Clemson a big leg up, with Anglin going on short rest.

"I mean, we were able to get quality starts this week and out of all three starters," Lee said. "And were able to pitch our guys in short spurts out of the bullpen. So depending upon whether we play on Tuesday or Wednesday in the ACC Tournament, everybody should be ready to go. We didn't feel like we had to tax anybody out of the bullpen over the course of this weekend."

CLEMSON OVERVIEW
• Clemson, who has a 3-1 neutral record, swept Boston College in three games by a combined score of 26-3.
• The Tigers are averaging 7.7 runs per game and hitting .284 with a .486 slugging percentage, .388 on-base percentage and 32 steals.
• The pitching staff has a 4.61 ERA, .253 opponents’ batting average and 2.18 strikeout-to-walk ratio, and Clemson is fielding .973.

NORTH CAROLINA OVERVIEW
• North Carolina, who has an 0-1 neutral record and is averaging 6.5 runs per game, is led by second-year Head Coach Scott Forbes.
• The Tar Heels swept Florida State at home last weekend. They are hitting .280 and have a 4.33 ERA and .972 fielding percentage.
• Danny Serretti is hitting .369, Vance Honeycutt has 17 homers and 28 steals and Alberto Osuna has a team-high 19 home runs.

QUICK HITS
• Clemson is 2-1 at Truist Field, as it defeated Charlotte 8-5 on March 26, 2019 and split its two ACC Tournament games in 2021.
• Clemson was 7-2 in its last nine ACC games.
• Clemson’s run differential in ACC games (+20) was seventh-best among ACC teams.

Clemson Athletic Communications contributed to this story.

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