Tag: Clemson vs. Wake Forest

Everything Dabo Swinney said ahead of Clemson vs. Wake Forest

Here’s what Dabo Swinney said at his weekly Tuesday press conference ahead of Clemson-Wake Forest.

Week 7 will see the Clemson Tigers visit Winston-Salem for a noon ET kickoff (ESPN) against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in ACC play. Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney spoke to reporters at his weekly Tuesday press conference ahead of the game.

“Excited to have another opportunity to just keep getting better,” Swinney said in his opening remarks. “Wake Forest, it’s a typical Dave Clawson team: well-coached, play hard every snap, fundamentally sound, incredibly disciplined, challenging scheme that’s well put together, and they’ve got some playmakers.”

Clemson (4-1) is ranked No. 10 in this week’s AP Top 25 Poll and No. 11 in the US LBM Coaches Poll. The Tigers are 3-0 in ACC play following last Saturday’s 29-13 win over Florida State. Wake Forest (2-3) is coming off a 34-30 upset win at NC State.

In Clemson’s last visit to Winston-Salem in 2022, the Tigers came away with a 51-45 double-overtime win in a game that pitted two Top 25 teams. Clemson was ranked No. 5; Wake Forest was ranked No. 21. Both teams were 3-0 when they met in Week 4.

A year ago, the Tigers pulled out a 17-12 win over the Deacs in Death Valley.

“Those of you who were with us a couple of years ago, that was a tough one,” Swinney recalled. “We were very, very fortunate to win that game. We literally made one more play than they did. So, got a lot of respect for Wake Forest and how well-coached they are, how hard they play. Year in and year out, they’re a tough challenge.

“It was a tough challenge here last year. It was 10-6 in the fourth quarter. Always a hard-fought battle and don’t expect anything different this year,” Swinney added.

Here’s everything Swinney said at Tuesday’s press conference.

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ESPN assigns different broadcast crew to Clemson-Wake Forest game

Here’s who will be on the call for ESPN Saturday when the Clemson Tigers face Wake Forest in Winston-Salem.

ESPN is sending a different broadcast crew to Winston-Salem for this weekend’s matchup between the Clemson Tigers and Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium.

The broadcast crew of Dave Pasch (play-by-play) and Dusty Dvoracek (analyst) will have the call of Clemson vs. Wake Forest from the booth. Taylor McGregor will serve as the network’s sideline reporter.

It’s the first time this season that Pasch and Dvorcek, who have worked games together since 2021, will call a Clemson game. Pasch is a veteran play-by-play broadcaster at ESPN who recently marked 20 years with the network. He also serves as the radio play-by-play announcer for Arizona Cardinals NFL games.

McGregor is in her sixth year at ESPN and is in the first year working with the broadcast team of Pasch/Dvorcek. She has been a field reporter and studio host for Chicago Cubs games on the Cubs-owned Marquee Sports Network since its launch in 2020.

The Tigers are ranked No. 10 in this week’s AP Top 25 poll and No. 11 in the US LBM Coaches Poll following their 29-13 victory over Florida State.

Wake Forest (2-3) snapped a three-game losing streak with a 34-30 win over NC State at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh last week.

The Tigers have won 15 straight in the series vs. Wake Forest dating back to 2009, including a thrilling 51-45 double-overtime victory over the Deacs in Winston-Salem in Week 4 of the 2022 season.

Contact/Follow us @Clemson_Wire on X, and like our page on Facebook for ongoing coverage of Clemson Tigers news and notes, plus opinions. 

Kickoff time, TV info announced for Clemson football vs. Wake Forest

Kickoff time for Clemson vs. Wake Forest on Oct. 12 was announced Monday.

The ACC on Monday announced kickoff times for Week 7 games, including the No. 14 Clemson Tigers’ matchup against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in Winston-Salem on Oct. 12.

The Tigers (3-1) and Wake Forest will kick off at noon ET from Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium. The game will be televised on ESPN.

This will mark the 90th meeting between the two schools. Clemson leads the all-time series, 71-17-1 and has won the last 15 meetings against Wake Forest dating back to the 2008 season. The Tigers won last year’s contest, 17-12, at Memorial Stadium. Dabo Swinney is 15-0 in his coaching career against Wake Forest.

Clemson is coming off a 40-14 victory over Stanford and has won three straight games. Wake Forest (1-3) has dropped its last three, including a 41-38 contest to Louisiana last Saturday in Winston-Salem. Dave Clawson’s team faces NC State this weekend.

RELATED: Kickoff time, TV info announced for Clemson-Florida State game

Here’s the full list of ACC kickoff times for Oct. 12, per the ACC’s press release Monday.

  • Clemson at Wake Forest — Noon ET on ESPN
  • Georgia Tech at North Carolina — Noon ET on The CW
  • Stanford at Notre Dame — 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC/Peacock
  • Syracuse at NC State — 8 p.m. ET on ACC Network

The following games will have the network designated after Week 6 games this Saturday, Oct. 5.

  • Louisville at Virginia — 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN or ACC Network
  • California at Pitt — 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN or ACC Network

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Wake Force: Demon Deacons complete sweep of Clemson with 13-3 rout

No. 13 Wake Forest completed a three-game ACC series sweep of Clemson baseball with a 13-3 victory in Winston-Salem Sunday.

Wake Forest is beginning to show why they were the preseason No. 1 team in the nation in every major NCAA college baseball Top 25 poll.

The Demon Deacons stayed hot by getting a second-inning grand slam off Clemson starter Aidan Knaak — one of five home runs they hit on the afternoon — and completing a three-game sweep of the Tigers with a 13-3 run-rule victory in eight innings Sunday at David F. Couch Ballpark in Winston-Salem.

The series is bound to cause a shift at the top of the new Top 25 polls Monday. Clemson was ranked as high as No. 2 in the nation (by D1Baseball) while Wake Forest had risen to No. 13 in the USA TODAY Sports baseball coaches poll.

In Sunday’s series finale, Knaak got in trouble in the second inning by allowing two walks and a single to load the bases. With two away, Marek Houston took the first pitch he saw deep to right field for a grand slam home run that gave Wake Forest a 4-0 lead. The Deacs would never trail in the contest.

After Clemson got back in the game with a three-run homer by Tristan Bissetta in the fourth inning to cut the lead to 4-3, Knaak ran into trouble again in the fifth. The right-hander allowed a leadoff single to Jack Winnay and a walk to Seaver King to start the fifth.

Coach Erik Bakich went to his bullpen, and on the first pitch he saw from reliever Jacob McGovern, Jake Reinisch sent a three-run bomb to right to put Wake Forest back ahead by four at 7-3. It was the 16th home run of the season by Reinisch.

An inning later, the Deacs blew the game wide open when Winnay hit a three-run homer off Billy Barlow that made it 10-3.

Wake Forest (36-16 overall, 14-12 ACC) added two more runs in the seventh, including a leadoff homer from Adam Tellier off Barlow that brought the score to 12-3. King hit a home run leading off the bottom of the eighth against Rob Hughes to give Wake Forest the victory — and Clemson its first run-rule loss of the year.

It’s also the first time all season that the Tigers have been swept and only the second time they’ve lost a series.

Knaak (4-1) picked up his first loss of the season in four-plus innings of work, allowing a season-high six runs on five hits. He also walked six batters and struck out four.

Clemson (37-13, 17-10 ACC) used four pitchers in relief with only Chance Fitzgerald working a scoreless inning in the seventh. Wake Forest outhit the Tigers, 12-5. Winnay (3-for-5) had three hits, including his 19th home run of the season.

Houston (2-3) and Reinisch (2-2) also had two hits for the Deacs. Cam Cannarella (2-3) had two hits and a walk for Clemson. Bissetta’s home run was his sixth of the season.

Josh Hartle (6-2) picked up the win for Wake Forest, finishing with three runs allowed on four hits in six innings. He struck out nine and walked one.

Wake Forest outscored Clemson, 25-10, in the three-game sweep. The Demon Deacons have won nine straight games.

With the loss, Clemson fell three games behind first-place North Carolina in the ACC standings. The Tar Heels completed a three-game sweep of Louisville Sunday and have won nine of their last 10 games.

UP NEXT

The Tigers head to Conway to visit Coastal Carolina in midweek play Tuesday. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. EDT. The game can be seen on ESPN+.

Clemson bullpen can’t close out Wake Forest, drops ACC series

Clemson Tigers Baseball: The Tigers’ bullpen woes continued Saturday.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Seaver King’s two-run double in the eighth inning propelled Wake Forest to an 8-5 victory over No. 2 Clemson at David F. Couch Ballpark on Saturday. The Demon Deacons, who took a 2-0 lead in the series and won their eighth game in a row, improved to 35-16 overall and 14-12 in the ACC. The Tigers dropped to 37-12 overall and 17-9 in ACC play. With the loss, Clemson’s streak of eight consecutive ACC road series wins dating to 2023 came to an end.

Jimmy Obertop grounded a two-out, two-run single in the first inning, then Clemson doubled its lead in the top of the third inning on Tristan Bissetta’s two-run homer, his fifth of the season. Nick Kurtz led off the bottom of the third inning with a homer, then Jack Winnay belted a two-run homer later in the frame.

After the Demon Deacons evened the score in the fifth inning on pinch-hitter Cameron Nelson’s two-out bloop single, Jacob Jarrell led off the seventh inning with a homer, his fifth of the year, to put Clemson ahead 5-4. In the eighth inning, King laced a two-run double to give Wake Forest the lead. Winnay added a two-run single later in the frame.

Joe Ariola (1-0) earned the win, while Cole Roland pitched the ninth inning to record his sixth save of the year. Lucas Mahlstedt (4-1) suffered the loss.

The series concludes Sunday at noon on ESPN2.

–via Clemson Athletic Communications

Chase Burns strikes out career-high 16 as Wake Forest downs Clemson in series opener

The Clemson Tigers struck out 16 times against Wake Forest right-hander Chase Burns, who set a new career-high in strikeouts.

Chase Burns showed why he’s the most dominant pitcher in college baseball.

Burns struck out a career-high 16 batters, and No. 12 Wake Forest downed No. 2 Clemson, 4-2, in the opener of a three-game series in ACC play Friday at David F. Couch Ballpark in Winston-Salem.

Burns entered the day leading all of NCAA Division I pitchers with 140 strikeouts in 12 starts. He added to that total against a Clemson team that had averaged 8.3 runs per game.

The right-hander twirled seven innings of two-hit ball. His only blemish was a solo home run by Jacob Hinderleider in the fourth inning. Burns lowered his ERA to 2.85 on the season.

With Burns showing signs of fatigue in the seventh inning after issuing a two-out walk to Jack Crighton, Wake Forest coach Tom Walter paid a visit to the mound. When Walter headed back to the dugout, without his ace pitcher in tow, he received a loud ovation from the home crowd.

Burns rewarded Walter’s faith when he struck out Nolan Nawrocki swinging on his 101st pitch of the night to notch his single-game career-high in strikeouts. Burns improved his record to 10-1. He struck out the side twice, in the third and sixth innings. He also recorded all three outs via the strikeout in the fourth, sandwiched around Hinderleider’s home run.

Wake Forest got a solo home run from Jack Winnay in the second inning off Clemson starter Ethan Darden for a 1-0 lead. In the fourth, Antonio Morales made Darden pay for issuing back-to-back walks, clearing the bases with a three-run homer to put the Demon Deacons ahead 4-1.

By the eighth inning, after Burns’ spectacular night had ended, Clemson’s bats were able to breathe a bit. Facing left-hander Zach Johnston, Blake Wright cut the lead to 4-2 after slapping a run-scoring single through the right side — one of three straight singles by Tigers hitters.

Clemson wouldn’t get any closer. With the tying run on base, Cam Cannarella swung through a breaking ball well up and in for the second out. After Walter went to his bullpen, right-hander Cole Roland struck out Jimmy Obertop on three pitches to end the threat.

Roland returned to pitch the ninth and faced the minimum when he retired Nawrocki on a fly ball to shallow right for the final out. Roland notched his fifth save of the season.

Darden (5-3) suffered the loss for Clemson, allowing all four Wake Forest runs on six hits in seven innings. The left-hander struck out four and walked three. Hinderleider (2-for-4) led the Tigers at the plate with two hits, including his 12th home run.

Clemson fell to 37-11 overall and 17-8 in conference play. Wake Forest improved to 34-16 overall and 13-12 in the ACC. The Deacs have won seven straight contests.

Game 2 of the series is scheduled for 4 p.m. Saturday. Left-hander Tristan Smith will start for the Tigers and face Wake Forest right-hander David Falco. The game can be seen on ACC Network.

Series preview ahead of No. 2 Clemson baseball visiting No. 12 Wake Forest

A complete series preview as No. 2 Clemson heads to No. 12 Wake Forest in ACC baseball action.

Two of the ACC’s best baseball teams will square off this weekend in Winston-Salem when Clemson heads to Wake Forest.

Wake Forest Outlook

The Tigers (37-10 overall, 17-7 conference) will face a Demon Deacons (33-16, 12-12) team that entered the year as a preseason No. 1 in the USA TODAY Sports baseball coaches poll and other various Top 25 rankings — the first time in school history that had happened.

Things didn’t go quite as according to plan for coach Tom Walter’s team early on. Wake Forest struggled right out of the gate in conference play, losing three of their first four weekend series, including a three-game sweep to North Carolina that dropped them to 2-7 in ACC play. They’ve since turned things around, losing only one conference series (at Notre Dame two weeks earlier).

Wake Forest enters this weekend having won six straight games to climb to No. 12 in D1Baseball’s Top 25 poll. They scored a season-high 24 runs in a 24-7 midweek victory over North Carolina A&T on Wednesday.

Seaver King (.332) and Jake Reinisch (.326) are a big reason for the team’s recent turnaround. They lead Wake Forest in hitting and have combined for 31 home runs and 123 RBIs. After missing a few games due to injury, first baseman Nick Kurtz has shown no drop in production, batting .319 with a team-high 19 home runs. As a team, the Demon Deacons have averaged 8.6 runs per game.

Clemson Outlook

Despite a few hiccups, Clemson has (generally) kept rolling along in ACC play. The Tigers have won all but one of eight series in conference action. The bullpen has been a concern of late with the team coughing up big leads in recent contests against Georgia Tech and Charlotte.

The bullpen squandered a pair of five-run leads last Friday in the second game of a doubleheader split against Georgia Tech that spoiled a seven-RBI game for senior slugger Blake Wright. On Tuesday against Charlotte, the Tigers blew a 9-2 lead and needed a four-run ninth inning rally to down the 49ers in midweek play, 14-12.

Clemson’s 4.24 ERA as a pitching staff is third in the ACC behind North Carolina and Duke. Freshman right-hander Aidan Knaak has yet to lose a game, going 4-0 with a team-best 2.57 ERA through 11 starts.

Left-hander Tristan Smith has struggled since returning to the rotation after being out a month with an ankle injury. He has allowed 10 runs (six earned) in eight innings in his three starts since the injury. Fellow southpaw Ethan Darden had an impressive bounce-back against Georgia Tech, going six innings and allowing three runs for a quality start his last time out.

At the plate, Wright has played in all 47 games and leads the Tigers in hitting with a .332/.367/.673 slash line. The senior second baseman and reigning ACC Player of the Week also leads the team with 19 home runs and 65 RBIs. Jimmy Obertop has 16 homers and 38 RBIs while batting .301, and Jacob Hinderleider recently became the third Tigers player to reach double figures in home runs with 11 for the season.

Alden Mathes (.332) and Hinderleider (.331) are practically tied with Wright for the team lead in hitting. Center fielder Cam Cannarella has come on strong of late and is up to .328 with a team-high 15 doubles. Clemson is batting .298 as a team while averaging 8.3 runs per game.

Pitching Matchups

Darden will start Friday’s opener against Wake Forest’s Chase Burns. A transfer from Tennessee, Burns has been one of the top pitchers in the nation this season. He is 9-1 with a 3.00 ERA in 12 starts. Burns leads all of Division I baseball with 140 strikeouts in 75 innings pitched.

In his last start (against Western Carolina on May 4), Burns tossed six no-hit innings and struck out 13 of the 20 batters he faced to earn ACC Pitcher of the Week honors for the fourth time this season. The right-hander has struck out 10 or more batters in nine of his 12 starts this season and is the No. 7 overall 2024 MLB Draft prospect as ranked by MLB.com.

Smith will face Wake Forest right-hander David Falco (2-2, 4.85 ERA) in Game 2 Saturday with Knaak starting Sunday’s finale against left-hander Josh Hartle (6-2, 5.40).

Series History

Clemson leads the all-time head to head series, 142-63-1. The Tigers were swept by Wake Forest a season ago when the two teams met at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

Where to Watch/Stream/Listen

Here’s how Clemsons fans can watch, stream, and listen to this weekend’s series against Wake Forest.

When: May 10-12

Where: David F. Couch Ballpark

Start Times (ET)

Friday, 6 p.m.

Saturday, 4 p.m.

Sunday, 12 p.m.

Broadcast Info

Live Video Stream: ACC Network Extra (Friday), ESPN+

TV: ACC Network (Saturday), ESPN2 (Sunday)

Radio: Clemson Athletic Network | TuneIn App

Clemson Radio

Broadcast Teams

ACC Network Extra (Friday): Stan Cotten, Lary Sorensen

ACC Network (Saturday), ESPN2 (Sunday): Clay Matvick, Kyle Peterson

Clemson Radio: Don Munson, Bob Mahony

Clemson falls in crucial regular season finale at Wake Forest, 81-76

Needing a win to clinch a double bye in the ACC Tournament, Clemson came up short in an 81-76 loss to Wake Forest Saturday at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem.

Needing a win to clinch a double bye in the ACC Tournament, Clemson came up short in an 81-76 loss to Wake Forest Saturday at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem.

Hunter Sallis led all scorers with 22 points for Wake Forest, which received a boost to its NCAA Tournament hopes with a solid victory over a Quad 1 opponent.

The Demon Deacons (19-12 overall, 11-9 ACC) made 12 of their last 13 shots to overcome a five-point deficit earlier in the second half.

“We had chances… we just weren’t quite tough enough to finish the win,” Clemson coach Brad Brownell said afterwards. “Give (Wake Forest) credit. Their shot-making was elite.”

Clemson (21-10 overall, 11-9 conference) got 18 points from PJ Hall but turned in an otherwise disappointing finish in the team’s regular season finale.

The Tigers got off to a sluggish start and trailed at halftime, 34-28. Wake Forest pushed its lead to eight early in the second half before Clemson used a 21-8 run to take a five-point lead at 49-44 around the 12-minute mark of the half.

Things slowly slipped away after that. Parker Friedrichsen and Efton Reid made clutch 3-pointers on back to back trips down the floor to open up a 56-52 Wake Forest led with 9:20 to play.

When Andrew Carr and Kevin Miller added their own 3-point baskets, the ‘Deacs’ had extended their lead to nine at 70-61.

Chase Hunter hit a step-back 3-pointer with 15 seconds left that cut the lead to three at 77-74, but Wake Forest closed the game 4-for-4 from the foul line to lock up a much-needed victory headed into the conference tournament.

Hunter had 17 points for Clemson, Joe Girard added 14 points, and Jack Clark had 10.

Carr had 17 for Wake Forest.

The Tigers could still get a double bye if NC State beats Pitt Saturday night. A Pitt win would give the Panthers the ACC’s No. 4 seed and the double bye. In that scenario, Clemson would have to play a Wednesday game in the tournament, which begins Tuesday at Washington D.C.’s Capital One Arena.

Swinney on Clemson’s offensive inconsistency and the need to clean things up

Swinney on Clemson’s offensive inconsistency and the need to clean things up.

The Clemson football program has had a very different 2023 season than many expected. 

Heading into their Week 7 bye, few expected the Tigers to have two losses… but they do. Things have looked great on the defensive side of the ball, but the offense has been struggling mightily. We’ve seen flashes of excellence, but inconsistency has been a significant narrative this season.

During his weekly conference call Monday night, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney discussed Clemson’s offense and what we have seen from it.

“We have to get eleven guys consistently doing what we need them to do,” Swinney said. “So, we just have to be a little more precise. A little more precision with our execution and consistency in that. Obviously, we have to find a way to eliminate (the turnovers).”

Offensive coordinator Garrett Riley also mentioned all eleven guys not being on the same page. Riley stated how it felt as if one person was always out of sync in the offense against Wake Forest, causing issues. 

Turnovers are a different story. We saw another two turnovers against the Demon Deacons, with Cade Klubnik and Will Shipley miscommunicating on a read and freshman wide receiver Tyler Brown muffing a punt. Lucky for the offense, the defense had them covered, allowing 0 points of turnovers against Wake Forest.

“We have had two massive turnovers in ball handling. One cost us big time. The other one, it cost us a possession,” the head coach said. “Fortunately, our defense did not give up the points. We have to clean that up and, again, just continue to grow our personnel and just play like we have played these last three games and the last two-quarters of this last game.

“We have outgained every single opponent we have played, and we have done a really good job on third down all year. I was proud of the fact we had three trips to the red zone (last week), and we got two touchdowns. I wish we had all three, but that is an area we needed to get better.”

Clemson’s got the bye week to clean things up before heading to No. 25 Miami on Oct. 21 for a huge road matchup.

Dabo Swinney on the officiating in game against Wake Forest, questionable roughing the passer penalty

Swinney was asked about the questionable roughing the passer call on Jeremiah Trotter Jr.

During Clemson’s 17-12 win over Wake Forest on Saturday, the ACC officiating crew put together one of the worst performances I’ve seen from referees in quite some time. 

Many factors made me feel this way, with one of the biggest being a seriously questionable roughing the passer call against Clemson star linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr.; visually, it looked like an embarrassing call. During Dabo Swinney’s weekly radio show Monday night, Swinney commented on the officiating when asked about the roughing the passer call.

“A tough call,” Swinney said. “I don’t know what you tell your linebacker… They made the call, but it is what it is.”

Things went a bit deeper than this, however, as the officials struggled all day with making the right call and doing it promptly. At times, it didn’t look like this crew even knew what they were doing. 

If it weren’t for a false start penalty the play after Wake Forest quarterback Mitch Griffis illegally threw the ball to another Demon Deacon past the line of scrimmage, these officials would have made another critical mistake. Swinney touched on this during the show. 

“Just like the play that, I mean, we thought the quarterback was across the line of scrimmage and a forward pass, and they ran another play, and it was a penalty, and then they come back, and they reviewed the play before the play,” Swinney said. “So, there’s some challenging things that come. Because my comment was okay, if they had thrown a touchdown pass, would we have called that off? Because the ball was snapped.”

“Certainly, nobody’s perfect, but there’s definitely a couple that I disagreed with for sure,” Swinney said. “But we’ll keep moving forward. Thankful we were able to win the game.”

The ACC needs to do a better job here. Swinney acknowledged that he likes the ACC’s Supervisor of Football Officials, Al Riveron, but he’s not going to call him or the ACC out on these things. In contrast, we will. 

We need better officiating than what we saw on Saturday, not just for Clemson but for the entire conference’s sake.