Tag: Andrew Ciufo

Clemson infielder announces his return to Tigers in social media post

Andrew Ciufo, who played in 27 games as a shortstop for coach Erik Bakich’s team, announced he would return to Clemson for the 2025 season.

Clemson infielder Andrew Ciufo has a message for Tiger fans: he’s coming back.

Ciufo announced in a social media post to X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday that he would be returning to the program for another season in 2025.

The 23-year-old batted .280 in 27 games as the team’s starting shortstop in 2024, tallying five extra base hits and 16 RBIs. He suffered a season-ending injury (torn ACL) in the Tigers’ 3-1 victory at Notre Dame on April 6.

A transfer from Georgetown, Ciufo hit a memorable walk-off home run in the bottom of the 12th inning in a 5-4 victory over South Carolina on March 2 at Columbia’s Segra Park.

“I will be returning for the 2025 season!” CIufo wrote in his social media post. “Team 128 has unfinished business, and I am pumped to be a part of another special team.”

Clemson’s season ended Sunday in an 11-10 loss to the Florida Gators in the Super Regional of the NCAA Tournament.

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Series Preview and Where to Watch/Stream/Listen: No. 6 Clemson vs. Pitt

Clemson Tigers Baseball: A full series preview of Clemson vs. the Pittsburgh Panthers in this weekend’s key ACC series at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

After a rough weekend in ACC play that saw Clemson drop its first conference series of the season, the Tigers are hoping to rebound when Pitt visits Doug Kingsmore Stadium for a weekend series beginning Friday.

Clemson (30-6 overall, 11-4 conference) fell four spots after a three-game losing streak last week and are ranked No. 6 in the latest USA TODAY Sports baseball coaches poll. D1Baseball currently projects the Tigers as a No. 3 national seed in the Field of 64 for the 2024 NCAA Division 1 Baseball Tournament.

Securing a top eight national seed would ensure Doug Kingsmore Stadium of hosting a Super Regional, if the Tigers advance past the four-team, double-elimination Clemson Regional to begin the tournament.

First things first, the Tigers will face a struggling Pitt (15-19, 4-14) team that has yet to win a conference series this season. The Panthers dropped two of three to No. 8 Duke last weekend.

Clemson dropped two games to NC State before rallying for a 7-0 shutout victory behind eight innings of two-hit ball from freshman sensation Aidan Knaak. For the second week in a row, Knaak earned ACC Pitcher of the Week honors for his 10-strikeout performance against the Wolfpack.

As a team, Clemson is batting .281 with an OPS of .892. Tigers pitchers have a staff ERA of 3.93, good for second best in the ACC.

Friday’s series opener will mark the return of left-handed starter Tristan Smith, who missed the past month with an ankle injury. Smith hasn’t pitched since March 16 in the Tigers’ ACC opener at Duke. He is 2-0 with a 2.55 ERA in five starts. Smith has 36 strikeouts to 11 walks this season and has limited opponents to a .179 average.

Since Smith’s injury, Ethan Darden (5-1, 3.19 ERA) has been Clemson’s Saturday starter. Darden will make his fifth mid-series start after pitching a complete-game loss last weekend vs. NC State. Darden lowered his ERA to 3.19 after holding the Wolfpack to one earned run and seven hits in nine innings. He struck out five batters without allowing a walk.

Knaak (3-0, 2.87 ERA) is scheduled to make his 10th start this weekend. The right-hander has 67 strikeouts on the season to just 15 walks in 53 1/3 innings — the most innings thrown by anyone on the Tigers’ staff.

Pitt will counter with right-hander Ryan Andrade (0-3, 9.96) in Friday’s opener and Jack Sokol (3-2, 5.63) as part of a doubleheader Saturday. Ryan Reed (0-4, 7.34) is also scheduled to start Saturday.

Pitt is batting .287 as a team with an OPS of 8.60. Luke Cantwell has started all 34 games for the Panthers and leads the club in hitting with a .330 average. Pitt’s 6.20 ERA as a pitching staff ranks fourth to last in the ACC.

CIUFO OUT FOR SEASON

Clemson coach Erik Bakich confirmed earlier this week that shortstop Andrew Ciufo would miss the remainder of the season with a torn ACL. The injury occurred on April 6 in the Tigers’ victory at Notre Dame. Bakich’s club has some depth at middle infield with a few options to step in for Ciufo.

One of those is senior Jacob Hinderleider, who has spent most of the season at first base. The Davidson transfer has started all six games at shortstop since the injury to Ciufo. Hinderleider is tied with second baseman Blake Wright for the team lead in batting average (.320). The Tigers also have options in infielders Cooper Blauser and Jack Crighton.

HONORING DOUG KINGSMORE

Prior to Saturday’s games, Clemson will celebrate the life of the late Doug Kingsmore, who passed away in December at the age of 90. Kingsmore was a co-captain on the university’s first ACC championship team in any sport when the Tigers won the 1954 ACC baseball title. The Tigers’ home ballpark was renamed to honor Kingsmore in 2003.

SERIES HISTORY

Clemson leads the all-time head to head series with Pitt, 7-4. The two teams first began play in 2014 after the Panthers joined the ACC.

Where to Watch/Stream/Listen

Here’s a look at when, where, and how Clemsons fans can watch, stream, and listen to this weekend’s series at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

Start Times (ET)

Friday, 6 p.m.

Saturday (Game 1), 1 p.m.

Saturday (Game 2), approximately 45 minutes after conclusion of Game 1

Broadcast Info

Live Video Stream: ACC Network Extra, ESPN+

Radio: Clemson Athletic Network | TuneIn App

Broadcast Teams

Video: Pete Yanity, Ron Smith, Tim Bourret

Radio: Don Munson, Bob Mahony

Where Clemson baseball ranks in new Field of 64 projections

NCAA Baseball: Here’s where the Clemson Tigers rank in D1Baseball’s new Field of 64 projections for the postseason NCAA Division I baseball tournament.

How good a season is Erik Bakich’s Clemson Tigers having?

Good enough that the Tigers (30-6 overall) figure to host one of the top eight national seeds in D1Baseball’s latest Field of 64 projections for the 2024 NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament.

Clemson is the No. 3 national seed in those projections, trailing only Texas A&M and Arkansas for the top seed. The Aggies and Razorbacks are ranked Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, in this week’s USA TODAY Sports baseball coaches poll. The Tigers are ranked No. 6 after having spent the previous two weeks at No. 2 in the coaches poll.

Kentucky, Tennessee, Oregon State, Duke and Florida State are the other projected top eight national seeds in D1Baseball’s projections.

Securing a top eight national seed would ensure Doug Kingsmore Stadium of hosting a Super Regional, provided the Tigers advance past the four-team, double-elimination Clemson regional to begin the tournament.

D1Baseball projects that Clemson would welcome Sacred Heart, Kennesaw State, and Mississippi State to the upstate for the Tigers’ on-campus regional. Clemson faced Kennesaw State in its second weekend series of the season back in February, winning two of three.

To put it simply, Bakich’s club finds itself in a very enviable position past the midway point of the regular season.

Still, Clemson is not infallible and has a lot of work ahead of them. Five weekend series remain in the regular season before the ACC Tournament in Charlotte, and no team is ever without imperfection. The Tigers reminded everyone of that when they dropped three in a row last week to USC Upstate and NC State.

Clemson has been down one of its best arms in left-hander Tristan Smith, who has missed the past month with an ankle injury. Bakich said after Sunday’s win over NC State that Smith would start one of the Tigers’ upcoming games against Pitt this weekend.

If the weekend rotation of Smith, left-hander Ethan Darden, and freshman right-hander Aidan Knaak holds, Clemson figures to have one of the most formidable trio of starters in the nation.

At the plate and in the field, one of the Tigers’ best hitters and infielders was recently lost for the season in shortstop Andrew Ciufo. Bakich recently confirmed that Ciufo had torn his ACL in the series against Notre Dame back on April 6. Ciufo’s injury opens a hole on the left side of the infield — and in the batting order — that Clemson will have to plug.

The Tigers welcome Pitt to town beginning Friday for a three-game weekend series in ACC play. Friday’s first pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. EDT and can be seen on ACC Network Extra (ACCNX).

Ciufo’s walk-off homer lifts Clemson past South Carolina, 5-4

Andrew Ciufo’s walk-off home run in the 12th inning ended an extra-innings thriller, and No. 10 Clemson defeated No. 12 South Carolina, 5-4, Saturday at Segra Park in Columbia.

Andrew Ciufo’s walk-off home run in the 12th inning lifted No. 10 Clemson past No. 12 South Carolina in a thrilling 5-4 victory Saturday at Segra Park in Columbia.

Ciufo’s home run capped off a terrific afternoon for the talented junior, who finished with three hits and made several key defensive plays at shortstop.

His game-winning homer off Garrett Gainey (0-1) came after the Gamecocks had used a three-run ninth inning rally to erase a 4-1 Clemson lead and send the game into extra innings.

Matthew Marchal (2-0) earned the win in relief with 1 1/3 innings of scoreless ball.

Clemson used five pitchers in Saturday’s marathon, which lasted over 3 hours, 30 minutes.

Until the ninth, things had been going Clemson’s way. The Tigers drew first blood in the fourth inning when Cam Cannarella (2-for-5) hit a clutch, two-out double over the head of Kennedy Jones in left to give Clemson a 2-0 lead.

South Carolina got on the board a half-inning later when Will Tippett (2-for-5) crushed a solo home run to left off Tigers starter Tristan Smith to cut the lead to 2-1.

In the eighth, Jacob Hinderleider (2-for-4) sent a laser out of the park and onto the concourse area behind left field to give the Tigers a 4-1 lead with three outs to go.

Then, the trouble started.

Ethan Darden, who had tossed three scoreless innings in relief entering the ninth, ran into trouble when he allowed a leadoff double to Tippett.

Lucas Mahlstedt took over from Darden and yielded a run-scoring triple from pinch-hitter Blake Jackson. Alden Mathes seemed to be within reach of the ball but his glove simply never found it. The play was nevertheless ruled a triple.

The damaging blow came two batters later when Ethan Petry sent a game-tying two-run home run out to right field — a stunning turnaround after Clemson pitching had held South Carolina to just six hits entering the inning.

Neither team scored again until Ciufo’s walk-off homer on a 2-0 pitch three innings later.

Smith made his third straight Saturday start and struck out a career-high nine batters in five innings in a no-decision. The left-hander surrendered one run on three hits and a walk.

Ciufo made a fantastic stop in the sixth inning when he robbed Parker Noland of a would-be game-tying hit. He made a diving play in the hole at short, then fired to first to get Clemson out of the jam.

Ciufo made another terrific play for the final out in the seventh after the Tigers had left the bases loaded in the sixth inning.

The series shifts to Doug Kingsmore Stadium Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. EST. The game will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra (ACCNX).

Clemson beats Kennesaw State to win series

Freshman Aiden Knaak tossed six shutout innings, Andrew Ciufo and Nolan Nawrocki drove in three runs apiece, and No. 8 Clemson defeated Kennesaw State, 7-2, Sunday at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

True freshman Aiden Knaak tossed six shutout innings, Andrew Ciufo and Nolan Nawrocki drove in three runs apiece, and No. 8 Clemson defeated Kennesaw State, 7-2, Sunday at Doug Kingsmore Stadium for the Tigers’ second weekend series victory of the young season.

The Tigers (6-1 overall) plated two runs in the first inning and got single runs in the third and fourth before a three-run sixth inning put the game out of reach.

Michigan transfer Jimmy Obertop drove in the game’s first run with a single through the right side off Kennesaw State (3-5 overall) starter Smith Pinson. Nawrocki would reach on a run-scoring infield single to give Clemson an early 2-0 lead after one inning.

Pinson (0-2) left after just 2 1/3 innings of work, allowing three runs (one earned) on five hits to go with two walks. His defense committed four errors in the game.

When reliever Nolan Sliver walked Ciufo with the bases loaded in the third, the Tigers had a 3-0 lead. An inning later, Ciufo had his second RBI of the day when he reached on an infield single.

He batted again in the sixth and pulled a two-run single through the right side to score Alden Mathes and Blake Wright. Nawrocki added an RBI sac fly one batter later for a 7-0 lead to cap the Tigers’ scoring.

Wright led Clemson with three hits in a 3-for-4 performance. Ciufo (2-for-3), Overtop (2-4), and Mathes (2-3) all had two hits as the Tigers outhit the Owls, 11-6.

On the bump, Knaak (1-0) allowed just three hits in his six scoreless innings. The right-hander struck out five and walked one, throwing 77 pitches (52 strikes).

Matthew Marchal posted two shutout innings in relief before running into some trouble in the ninth. He struck out five and walked two while allowing two hits. Both Kennesaw State runs charged to Marchal came after freshman Drew Titsworth came on in relief.

UP NEXT: Clemson hosts USC Upstate in midweek play Tuesday at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. EST. The game will be broadcast by ACC Network Extra (ACCNX).