Tag: Ethan Darden

Tigers, Coastal Carolina to determine Clemson Regional winner

Clemson and Coastal Carolina will decide the Clemson Regional of the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers need just one more win to advance to the program’s first Super Regional since 2010.

The top-seeded Clemson baseball team needs just one win to advance to the program’s first Super Regional since 2010.

Standing in the Tigers’ (43-14 overall) way will be third-seeded Coastal Carolina, which Clemson defeated 4-3 Saturday to put themselves in the driver’s seat.

Coastal Carolina (36-24) eliminated fourth-seeded High Point with a 6-5 victory at the Clemson Regional earlier Sunday.

The Tigers and Chanticleers will meet for the second time in 24 hours at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. EDT. The game can be seen on ESPN+. Clemson will be the designated home team.

In a way, it’s somewhat fitting that the regional will be decided by Clemson and Coastal Carolina. The two teams had planned to meet in the regular season, but both scheduled contests were postponed due to inclement weather: March 26 in Clemson and May 14 at Spring Brooks Stadium in Conway.

Left-hander Ethan Darden will be on the bump for the Tigers Sunday, The Clemson Insider‘s Will Vandervort reports. Darden is 5-4 with a 5.04 ERA in 17 appearances (10 starts) this season. His last start came in Clemson’s ACC Tournament loss to Miami on May 23. In that game, Darden surrendered six runs and five hits in 1 1/3 innings.

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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

Ethan Darden leads No. 2 Clemson past Notre Dame for series win

Clemson Baseball: Ethan Darden pitched a career-high seven solid innings to help No. 2 Clemson defeat Notre Dame in ACC play Saturday.

NOTRE DAME, IND. – Sophomore lefthander Ethan Darden pitched 7.0 strong innings to lead No. 2 Clemson to a 3-2 victory over Notre Dame at Frank Eck Stadium on Saturday. The Tigers, who took a 2-0 lead in the series and won their fifth game in a row, improved to 27-3 overall and 9-2 in the ACC. The Fighting Irish dropped to 14-14 overall and 2-12 in ACC play.

With the victory, Clemson secured its 15th regular-season weekend series win in a row dating to 2023. That includes 11 straight in ACC regular-season play.

Darden (5-0) earned the win in a career-long outing. He allowed just five hits, one unearned run and no walks with five strikeouts. Austin Gordon pitched 1.1 innings to record his fourth save of the year. Notre Dame starter Jack Radel (2-1) suffered the loss, as he yielded three hits, two runs and three walks with three strikeouts in 5.0 innings pitched.

Estevan Moreno lofted a sacrifice fly in the third inning to score the game’s first run, then Jacob Hinderleider led off the fourth inning with his seventh home run of the season to extend his hitting streak to 10 games. Cam Cannarella gave Clemson the lead with a solo homer, his fifth of the year, in the fifth inning. Blake Wright doubled the Tigers’ lead in the seventh inning with a sacrifice fly.

The series concludes Sunday at 1 p.m. on ACC Network Extra.

–via Clemson Athletic Communications

Clemson ‘the opportunity of a lifetime’ for new commit

Clemson welcomed a new addition to its 2022 class on Monday. The Tigers secured the verbal commitment of Rock Hill (S.C.) Northwestern High School’s Ethan Darden. Darden (5-11, 145) is a left-handed pitcher and outfielder. He considers himself to be …

Clemson welcomed a new addition to its 2022 class on Monday.

The Tigers secured the verbal commitment of Rock Hill (S.C.) Northwestern High School’s Ethan Darden. 

Darden (5-11, 145) is a left-handed pitcher and outfielder. He considers himself to be an adaptive and strategic ballplayer.

He recently caught up with The Clemson Insider regarding his decision to verbally commit to Clemson.

“Clemson has blessed me with the opportunity of a lifetime,” Darden told TCI. “They have believed in me when no one else has. They see me as a great competitor and a highly regarded prospect on the field. I’m just extremely thankful to call myself a Tiger.”

It’s been hard for Darden to control his emotions throughout this process.

“When Coach (Monte) Lee first contacted me, I was full of emotions and at a loss of words,” Darden said. “I really wanted to do the commitment process during the tour, but the coaching staff gave me an amazing offer that I could not refuse.”

Darden went down to Clemson anyways, but he arrived on campus as a future member of the baseball team. 

What was it that separated Clemson from the other schools that Darden considered?

“Just the atmosphere on the campus is amazing, there’s really no better feeling,” he said. “The support that I have received from all of the Clemson alumni and students on social media has made me feel very loved and wanted.”

Darden’s fastball sits 87-89 MPH, but he tops out around the low 90s. 

Clemson likes how Darden is a competitor and that he’s willing to do anything it takes to win, he added.

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