Bakich, Tigers ready to climb back on top of the mountain |
CLEMSON – The
Erik Bakich era is set to begin, and he hopes it’s an era that marks the return of Clemson baseball to the nation’s elite.
Bakich, who was named just the fourth Clemson baseball coach since 1958 last June, will make his debut at 4 p.m. Friday when the Tigers host the first game of a three-game series against Binghamton (NY) University. “We can feel it,” Bakich said. “The season’s almost here. For a lot of reasons, we’re really excited to help return Clemson baseball to where it belongs – on top of college baseball. I want them to have an understanding that there have been a lot of great teams and a lot of great players that have come before them and we’re just standing on their shoulders and trying to add as much value to an already storied program as possible.” Clemson hasn’t played in a Super Regional since the 2010 season, the last time the Tigers reached the College World Series. The Tigers started the Monte Lee era with an ACC Championship and four straight regional appearances, but Clemson failed to make the NCAA Tournament each of the last two seasons. It’s the first time since the 1980s that the Tigers have missed back-to-back NCAA Tournaments, and Lee now is an assistant at South Carolina. Bakich, who led Michigan to a national runner-up finish in 2019, is already making his mark on the program. “We’re a confident group,” pitcher Ryan Ammons said. “We expect to come in and win every game we play, and we’ll succeed a lot. Just the work we’ve put in, the sacrifice and the time we’ve spent together as a team, I think it separates us from a lot of groups. A lot of guys came from all across the country and decided to come back early to work out, to get ready for the spring. It just shows the level of commitment these guys have to the program. It’s definitely something that’s really exciting.” Caden Grice has said he thinks this team is primed for a run to Omaha. “Everybody is bought into the fact that we’re going to do it, and that’s very motivating when everybody around you has the same common goal,” Grice said. “When we feed off of each other, it’s not like we hope to be. It’s like we are. We are going to be there, and there’s no doubt about it.” Bakich is ready for opening day, comparing it to Christmas morning. “You feel like a parent three days before Christmas. You are excited to watch the kids tear open the presents under the tree. That is kind of the same feeling,” Bakich said. “The anticipation of something awesome. The training has been great. The preparation couldn't have gone any better, and we are ready. The hay is in the barn. It's time to start playing and really having some fun out on this field.” If Bakich has one question about his team, it’s about how it will respond when adversity hits. “I feel good about our talent,” Bakich said. “I feel good about our preparation. I feel good about everything we’ve done to get our team ready to play. The question mark I have is the response to the adversity. And that’s every coach’s question because we just haven’t seen it. We saw a little bit, just looking at last year stats and seasons past, were a little bit of a roller coaster. And just want to see them be able to respond when something bad happens on the field. “That’s the one thing I’m excited to see is all this mental toughness training, all this really pushing their limits and their boundaries and getting them out of their comfort zone and getting comfortable being uncomfortable. Excited to see how it shows up on the field when we’re trailing in the eighth or ninth, or a team jumps out to an early lead, or guys feel like they’re on the wrong side of a lot of calls. Let’s see our response there.” SERIES SETUP (via Clemson communications) • Who – Binghamton (0-0) vs. Clemson (0-0) • Best Ranking – BIN – NR; CU – NR • When – Friday (4 p.m.), Saturday (2 p.m.), Sunday (Noon) • Where – Clemson, S.C. (Doug Kingsmore Stadium) • Watch – ACC Network Extra • Video Announcers – Don Munson (Sunday), William Qualkinbush (Saturday), Ron Smith, Pete Yanity (Friday) • Listen (Radio) – Clemson Athletic Network (locally on WCCP (105.5 FM)) • Listen (Internet) – ClemsonTigers.com • Live Stats – ClemsonTigers.com • Social Media – ClemsonBaseball • Tickets – ClemsonTigers.com, 1-800-CLEMSON SERIES HISTORY • Overall Record – 0-0 STARTING PITCHERS • Friday – LHP Thomas Babalis (BIN) vs. LHP Ryan Ammons (CU) • Saturday – RHP Gabe Driscoll (BIN) vs. RHP Austin Gordon (CU) • Sunday – RHP Ryan Bryggman (BIN) vs. RHP Jay Dill (CU) CLEMSON OVERVIEW • Clemson had a 35-23 overall record and 13-16 ACC mark in 2022. • The Tigers are led by first-year Head Coach Erik Bakich. • Clemson has 18 of its first 21 games at home. BINGHAMTON OVERVIEW • Binghamton is led by 31st-year Head Coach Tim Sinicki, who was a player at Western Carolina under Head Coach Jack Leggett in 1987 and 1988. • The Bearcats had a 22-30 overall record in 2022. • They hit .280 with a .363 on-base percentage and 36 steals, a 6.10 ERA and .967 fielding percentage in 2022. QUICK HITS • Clemson was picked to finish fifth in the ACC Atlantic Division in a vote by the 14 ACC head coaches in the preseason. • Clemson is 8-5 on Feb. 17, 15-1 on Feb. 18 and 10-5 on Feb. 19. The 93.8 winning % on Feb. 18 is highest in Tiger history (min. 10 games). • The Tigers set a program record for highest semester GPA (3.09) in the fall. CAPTAINS • Ryan Ammons, Riley Bertram, Jackson Lindley and Blake Wright were voted team co-captains in the preseason. • Benjamin Blackwell, Chad Fairey and Mac Starbuck were voted to the leadership council (assistant captains). • Tristan Bissetta, Jacob Jarrell and Rocco Reid were voted rising leaders (underclassmen). PRESEASON HONORS • A total of 28 Tigers earned preseason recognition. See the list below. #21 RYAN AMMONS, LHP • No. 119 starting pitcher in the nation by D1Baseball #29 JOE ALLEN, RHP • No. 77 freshman in the nation by Perfect Game • No. 20 freshman in the ACC by Perfect Game • No. 30 freshman in the ACC by D1Baseball • Top-27 ACC prospect for the 2025 draft by Perfect Game. #30 BILLY BARLOW, RHP • No. 112 starting pitcher in the nation by D1Baseball • No. 35 ACC prospect for the 2024 draft by D1Baseball #6 RILEY BERTRAM, INF • No. 73 transfer in the nation by D1Baseball #4 BENJAMIN BLACKWELL, INF • No. 34 shortstop in the nation by D1Baseball #19 COOPER BLAUSER, INF • No. 374 freshman in the nation by Perfect Game • No. 81 freshman in the ACC by Perfect Game #10 CAM CANNARELLA, INF/OF • No. 477 freshman in the nation by Perfect Game • No. 36 freshman in the ACC by D1Baseball • No. 96 freshman in the ACC by Perfect Game #40 BRODEY CONN, UT • No. 166 freshman in the ACC by Perfect Game #3 JACK CRIGHTON, OF/INF • Top-100 freshman in the nation by Perfect Game • No. 36 freshman in the ACC by Perfect Game • No. 46 freshman in the ACC by D1Baseball • Top-27 ACC prospect for the 2025 draft by Perfect Game #39 ETHAN DARDEN, LHP • No. 175 freshman in the ACC by Perfect Game #35 JAY DILL, RHP • No. 93 sophomore in the nation by Perfect Game • No. 24 ACC prospect for the 2024 draft by Perfect Game • No. 32 ACC prospect for the 2024 draft by D1Baseball #50 JAY DILLARD, INF • No. 142 freshman in the ACC by Perfect Game #41 NATHAN DVORSKY, RHP • No. 174 freshman in the ACC by Perfect Game #33 HOGAN GARNER, C • No. 161 freshman in the ACC by Perfect Game #56 AUSTIN GORDON, RHP • No. 40 sophomore in the nation by Perfect Game • No. 14 ACC prospect for the 2024 draft by Perfect Game #31 CADEN GRICE, LHP/1B • No. 135 starting pitcher in the nation by D1Baseball • No. 79 junior in the nation by Perfect Game • No. 17 ACC prospect for the 2023 draft by Perfect Game • No. 40 ACC prospect for the 2023 draft by D1Baseball #22 NATHAN HALL, OF • No. 463 freshman in the nation by Perfect Game • No. 92 freshman in the ACC by Perfect Game #12 COOPER INGLE, C • Third-team All-American by Perfect Game • First-team All-ACC by Perfect Game • No. 6 catcher in the nation by D1Baseball • No. 107 junior in the nation by Perfect Game • No. 21 ACC prospect for the 2023 draft by D1Baseball • No. 26 ACC prospect for the 2023 draft by Perfect Game #9 JACOB JARRELL, C • No. 180 freshman in the ACC by Perfect Game #55 LLEYTON LACKEY, OF • No. 352 freshman in the nation by Perfect Game • No. 24 freshman in the ACC by D1Baseball • No. 76 freshman in the ACC by Perfect Game #2 NOLAN NAWROCKI, INF • No. 233 freshman in the nation by Perfect Game • No. 49 freshman in the ACC by Perfect Game #36 TY OLENCHUK, RHP • No. 42 ACC prospect for the 2023 draft by D1Baseball #51 ROCCO REID, LHP • No. 39 ACC prospect for the 2024 draft by D1Baseball #32 JACK REYNOLDS, INF • No. 240 freshman in the nation by Perfect Game • No. 51 freshman in the ACC by Perfect Game #18 TRISTAN SMITH, LHP • No. 6 freshman in the nation by Perfect Game • No. 1 freshman in the ACC by Perfect Game • No. 4 freshman in the ACC by D1Baseball • No. 11 ACC prospect for the 2024 draft by Perfect Game • No. 14 ACC prospect for the 2024 draft by D1Baseball #16 WILL TAYLOR, OF • No. 24 sophomore in the nation by Perfect Game • No. 7 ACC prospect for the 2024 draft by Perfect Game • No. 25 ACC prospect for the 2024 draft by D1Baseball #20 WILLIE WEISS, RHP • No. 47 senior in the nation by Perfect Game • No. 52 transfer in the nation by D1Baseball #8 BLAKE WRIGHT, INF • First-team All-ACC by Perfect Game • No. 5 second baseman in the nation by D1Baseball • No. 82 junior in the nation by Perfect Game • No. 78 college prospect for the 2023 draft by D1Baseball • No. 18 ACC prospect for the 2023 draft by Perfect Game • No. 20 ACC prospect for the 2023 draft by D1Baseball
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