Clemson Enters Final ACC Series Against Duke Firmly on Postseason Bubble

Monte Lee's Tigers find themselves firmly on the postseason bubble as they get set to host Duke in the final ACC series of the regular season.

Monte Lee and his Clemson Tigers are starting to get familiar with the feeling of living on the NCAA bubble.

Just as they did in 2019, the last time there was a full regular season in college baseball, Clemson (24-23, 16-17) enters the final series of the regular season with their postseason fate hanging in the balance. 

The Tigers are scheduled to host Duke (25-20, 13-17) in a crucial three-game series that will conclude the regular season beginning Thursday in Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

STARTING PITCHERS
• Thursday – RHP Jack Carey (DUK) vs. RHP Mack Anglin (CU)
• Friday – RHP Cooper Stinson (DUK) vs. LHP Keyshawn Askew (CU)
• Saturday – TBA (DUK) vs. TBA (CU)

Clemson returns home, winners of eight straight games in Doug Kingsmore, and are 17-8 at home on the season. The Blue Devils enter winners of their last five, including a sweep of Virginia Tech at home last weekend. However, Duke is just 8-13 on the road in 2021.

Despite dropping two out of three to Florida State on the road last weekend, Clemson is still currently projected to make the NCAA Tournament by D1 Baseball. However, they are listed as one of the last five teams in the field, meaning there is no more margin for error. 

One area the Tigers will need to see some improvement is in the bullpen. Lee and pitching coach Andrew See will need the backend of the Clemson pitching staff to be better than it was in Tallahassee.

In the two losses to the Seminoles last weekend, Clemson's bullpen, which has been a team strength in 2021, faltered late in one-run games. Florida State touched up the backend of the Tigers' pitching staff for 4 runs in the eighth inning on Friday and for 4 more runs in the eighth inning on Sunday. 

Typically for an ACC team to make it into regional play it needs to be ranked inside the Top-50 of the RPI. Although, this has been anything but a typical season due to the shortened schedule and teams playing so few out of conference games. All things considered, it's possible the NCAA could decide to be a little more lenient on teams this season.

Clemson will come into the weekend sitting at No. 49 in the RPI and having played the 12th toughest schedule in the country. Duke sits at No. 40 in the RPI and a series win should have the Tigers feeling pretty good heading into next week's ACC Tournament. A sweep could potentially lock up a postseason spot for a program that hasn't missed a regional since way back in 2008.

Game one of the three-game series is scheduled for Thursday night in Clemson at 6 p.m. and will be televised by the ACCNX.

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