Clemson's momentum carried into ACC Tourney start

Clemson is on to the quarterfinals versus NC State (ACC photo/Jaylynn Nash).

Grayson Mann · Staff Writer · Thursday, May 22 2025

Erik Bakich sat in his classroom at Doug Kingsmore Stadium, following a third straight series loss to Duke, with a simple message: this was the beginning of one amazing story.

He also added that if that kind of stretch was just a bump in the road, then so be it.

Four games later, and the Tigers' next chapter has been a very positive one.

After a sweep in Pittsburgh, Clemson took its momentum to Durham to face Virginia Tech in the second round of the ACC Tournament. All the positive ingredients that contributed to success against the Panthers resurfaced in a 6-1 victory over the Hokies, advancing the team to the quarterfinals to face North Carolina State (7 p.m./Thursday).

Much like how Aidan Knaak set the tone in the opener against Pittsburgh, Clemson's ace shoved his way through six innings, only surrendering four hits, one run, and recording six strikeouts.

Knaak's performance was complemented with timely offense on the other end, with Dominic Listi's big day at the plate headlining the starting nine's outing against the Hokie defense.

For Bakich, that type of performance is always a recipe for a good day.

"A recipe for a good day for us against a quality club in Virginia Tech," Bakich said. "So great way to start it. We're taking it one day at a time. That's why we pitched Aidan today and are just ready to go. We will be ready to go tomorrow as well."

When Bakich made his statement that the Tigers' turnaround was going to be something special, that confidence stemmed from his belief in how his players execute the process on a daily basis.

"I knew with this group and the kids that we've got, when they got back up, they were going to get back up stronger than they've ever been before," Bakich said. "And then we saw that in the Pitt series that was as good as we've played all season. Aidan set the tone with a no-hitter, but then that game, too, was the most balanced attack of any game we had played all year. Don mentioned game goals. It was the most we got all season, so it just feels like we needed to go through that rough patch. We had won seven conference weekends in a row...There's a lot of confidence within this group right now, but it always boils down to the players that we got, the leaders that we have, and just the way they go about their business in everything they do."

Now, Clemson's postseason business takes it to the quarterfinals to face North Carolina State, the team that handed the Tigers their first series loss of the season in a sweep.

The Tigers' fortunes have momentarily changed, but if Clemson's story wants to continue in Durham, the same recipe of success against the Hokies will have to carry over into Thursday evening.