Jay Dill – Syndication Server

Clemson’s rotation still in flux ahead of another key series

With time running out for Clemson to make a move for the postseason, the Tigers’ search for dependable weekend pitching behind Mack Anglin continues. Clemson coach Monte Lee has yet to decide who will get the ball in the Tigers’ final two games …

With time running out for Clemson to make a move for the postseason, the Tigers’ search for dependable weekend pitching behind Mack Anglin continues.

Clemson coach Monte Lee has yet to decide who will get the ball in the Tigers’ final two games against No. 21 Georgia Tech (27-18, 12-12 ACC) this weekend. Anglin, the one constant in Clemson’s weekend rotation throughout the season with a 3.62 earned run average, will get his usual Friday start in the series opener at Doug Kingsmore Stadium, but Clemson has given the TBA (to be announced) designation for its Saturday and Sunday starters.

Getting depth out of its other weekend starters has been an issue all season for the Tigers, who began the week with a team ERA of 4.45 after giving up 35 runs against Louisville last weekend, including 18 in the Cardinals’ sweep-clinching victory Sunday. Those three losses dropped Clemson (28-17 overall) to 6-14 in ACC play, the second-worst record in the conference.

There are just three weekends left in the regular season, which could be the extent of Clemson’s season if the Tigers aren’t able to put a run together late. Clemson needs to finish with one of the top 12 winning percentages in league play in order to qualify for the ACC Tournament. Duke and North Carolina, which each own a .381 conference winning percentage, would be the final two teams in the tournament if it started today.

Any charge Clemson hopes to make, though, has to start with improvement on the mound.

Freshman right-hander Billy Barlow lasted just 1 ⅔ innings in the series finale against Louisville, allowing five runs (three earned) on three hits with three walks. Barlow, who’s spent much of the season as a midweek starter, moved into the rotation the week before in place of sophomore Nick Clayton, who’s got a 5.97 ERA on the season and hasn’t lasted longer than the fourth inning in any of his last four starts.

Barlow has pitched just 5 ⅓ innings in his first two weekend starts combined. Meanwhile, reliever-turned-starter Geoffrey Gilbert didn’t last long in his second straight weekend starter, yielding six earned runs on four hits and issuing three walks in just 1 ⅓ innings Saturday in the Tigers’ 10-8 loss.

Gilbert was better in his first start against Florida State the previous week, working into the fifth inning and giving up just three earned runs on four hits. His first 13 appearances this season came out of the bullpen before Lee started the sophomore right-hander instead of freshman Jay Dill, who had replaced Nick Hoffman (5.59 ERA) as the Saturday starter against Wake Forest on April 16. But Dill recorded just one out and allowed seven earned runs before getting pulled from that game, prompting Lee to switch it up again a couple of weeks ago.

While Lee could ultimately choose to stick with Gilbert and Barlow or move Hoffman and Clayton back into the rotation, they aren’t the only options.

Lee has mentioned another freshman, Casey Tallent, as someone who could get a crack at a weekend start. Tallent (2.74 ERA) has yielded just seven earned runs in 23 innings this season and didn’t allow an earned run in 2 ⅓ innings in his lone start so far against East Tennessee State on April 20. There’s also sophomore Ricky Williams (1.59), who’s made just seven appearances all season but held Presbyterian to two runs on five hits in 6 ⅔ innings his last time out on April 26.

Congratulations! You did it! You graduated! Now is the time to preserve your diploma in a custom frame. Here at Clemson Variety & Frame, we build all our frames in-house – from the frame to the mats and etchings to the installation – to guarantee the quality. You worked hard for your degree. Trust us to show your diploma in the best light possible.

Clemson’s offense breaks out, pitching concerns still linger midway through ACC slate

Clemson’s ACC baseball season got a much-needed jolt over the weekend, but do the Tigers have enough pitching to make a postseason push in the last month of the season? That’s still the most pressing question facing the Tigers with the first half of …

Clemson’s ACC baseball season got a much-needed jolt over the weekend, but do the Tigers have enough pitching to make a postseason push in the last month of the season?

That’s still the most pressing question facing the Tigers with the first half of the conference slate in the books. Clemson (22-13, 4-10 ACC) ended it on perhaps its highest note of the season so far, taking two out of three at No. 23 Wake Forest for its first league series win.

“Really proud of our guys, the way that we fought and the way that we swung the bats (Sunday),” Clemson coach Monte Lee said.

Those bats nearly carried the Tigers to a sweep. Clemson combined to score 19 runs over the final two games of the series with Max Wagner and Caden Grice providing most of the fireworks in the series finale.

Tabbed as a preseason All-American by some publications, Grice (.245 average, six HR, 21 RBIs) has struggled to find a rhythm at the plate for much of the season. But the Tigers’ power-hitting sophomore launched two home runs Saturday and drove in three runs. Meanwhile, Wagner continued his power surge with another homer – his 11th of the season – and four RBIs in Clemson’s 10-8 win.

“That one felt really good all around,” Grice said of the offense’s performance Sunday. “We had 13 hits and scored 10 runs. On offense, you really couldn’t ask for a better day than that.”

Yet the Tigers had one less than 24 hours earlier when the lineup pounded out 15 hits to rally from a 9-2 deficit in Saturday’s game. Clemson plated five runs in the seven and eighth innings to send it to extras before Wake Forest notched a 12-9 victory in 10 innings.

The Tigers could have used a win there, too, since there’s still plenty of work to do if Clemson hopes to not only avoid missing an NCAA regional for the second straight season but also being left out of the ACC Tournament, which is limited to 12 teams (highest conference winning percentages regardless of division). Since that 14-0 start, Clemson is just 8-13 in its last 21 games with series losses to Miami, Pittsburgh, North Carolina State and Notre Dame. Clemson has the second-worst record of any ACC team in league play and is just one game in the win column above Boston College – a team that’s lost 15 of its first 18 ACC games – at the bottom of the Atlantic Division standings.

In other words, Clemson, which sits at No. 46 in the latest RPI rankings, needs to start racking up wins in a hurry if it wants to be part of any postseason, which means the Tigers need to get something figured out on the mound Saturday and Sunday.

Mack Anglin (3.18 earned run average) helped Clemson get off on the right foot against Wake Forest in Friday’s series opener with another strong outing. The sophomore right-hander hurled six scoreless innings to combine with Geoffrey Gilbert for a 1-0 shutout, but it’s the remainder of the weekend that’s been problematic for the Tigers’ rotation.

Nick Hoffman and Nick Clayton, the Tigers’ usual Saturday and Sunday starters, both have ERAs north of 5 on the season. And neither has been working deep into games, putting plenty of stress on the Tigers’ bullpen.

The relievers answered the bell Sunday after Clayton lasted just one inning, his third straight start working fewer than four frames. Clemson faced a 3-0 deficit once Clayton’s day was done, but five Tiger relievers held Wake Forest’s offense at bay long enough for the offense to help out. Lee called Jackson Lindley the “MVP” of the day after the right-hander held the Demon Deacons scoreless over the final 2 ⅓ innings to preserve the win.

“I just tried to go out there and be the biggest competitor on the field,” said Lindley, who didn’t allow a hit and struck out three. “Go out there and be aggressive, throw strikes and put myself in a good place to win.”

Lee didn’t stick with the same two starters for the series’ final two games. After hinting that a change to the rotation could be coming earlier in the week, Lee gave freshman Jay Dill his first career start in place of Hoffman on Saturday. But the bullpen was taxed for nine innings after the young right-hander gave up seven earned runs in Wake Forest’s first-at bat. The Demon Deacons combined to score 13 runs in the first four innings of the series’ last two games.

Clemson’s team ERA now sits at 4.45 on the season, though that’s tame compared to how the Tigers’ arms have collectively performed against ACC competition. Clemson has a 6.31 ERA in league play, fourth-highest in the conference.

It won’t get any easier for the Tigers either. Next up is a road trip Tuesday to take on No. 14 Georgia followed by another midweek game Wednesday against East Tennessee State. Then Clemson will host Florida State, winners of four straight, beginning Friday.

With series against No. 11 Virginia, Georgia Tech and Boston College still on the schedule, too, Lee could make more tweaks on the mound. He recently mentioned midweek starter Billy Barlow (4.40 ERA in 10 appearances) and fellow freshman Casey Tallent (2.70 in 16 ⅔ innings of relief) as viable candidates to potentially get a start on the weekend.

Clemson doesn’t have any more time to waste.

Clemson Variety & Frame is doing their part to help bring you some classic new barware and help one of the local businesses that helps make Clemson special.

Order your Nick’s barware and do your part to help. #SaveNicks

Freshman moving into Clemson’s weekend rotation

Monte Lee is making the move. After hinting to at least one potential change to Clemson’s weekend rotation earlier in the week, the Tigers’ coach is handing the ball to freshman Jay Dill for the middle game of the team’s series at Wake Forest today. …

Monte Lee is making the move.

After hinting to at least one potential change to Clemson’s weekend rotation earlier in the week, the Tigers’ coach is handing the ball to freshman Jay Dill for the middle game of the team’s series at Wake Forest today. First pitch is set for 4:30 p.m.

It will be the first career start for Dill, who has a 3.60 earned run average in 17 relief appearances this season. His longest outing to this point came his last time out against Notre Dame on Sunday when he allowed one run on two hits in 2 2/3 innings.

For now, Dill is supplanting sophomore Nick Hoffman in the rotation. Hoffman had a 5.66 ERA in his first eight starts before making his first relief appearance of the season Tuesday, tossing one scoreless frame in the Tigers’ 11-2 win over USC Upstate.

Lee mentioned fellow freshmen Billy Barlow and Casey Tallent as candidates who could also enter the rotation this weekend. Clemson’s usual Sunday starter, Nick Clayton, has a 5.06 ERA and has lasted less than four innings in his last two starts.

Clemson (21-12, 3-9 ACC) got another quality start Friday from Mack Anglin, who hurled six scoreless innings to combine with Geoffrey Gilbert for a shutout of the 23rd-ranked Demon Deacons. The Tigers are going for their first ACC series win today.

Clemson Variety & Frame is doing their part to help bring you some classic new barware and help one of the local businesses that helps make Clemson special.

Order your Nick’s barware and do your part to help. #SaveNicks

Clemson’s pitching, particularly in relief, off to strong start

Coming into the 2022 season, Clemson coach Monte Lee pinpointed the mound as the primary area the Tigers’ baseball team needed to improve if they are going to successfully rebound from last season’s disappointment. One weekend is a minuscule sample …

One weekend is a minuscule sample size, but Clemson is at least off to a strong start in that regard.

Thirteen pitchers combined to hold Indiana to eight earned runs in 28 innings over the weekend, helping the Tigers start the new campaign with a sweep of a fellow Power Six program. In three games, including a 10-inning finale on Sunday, Clemson limited the Hoosiers to 19 hits while piling up 31 strikeouts.

“You look at the weekend with 28 innings of baseball, we really only had one inning where we struggled to throw strikes. I’ll take that,” said Lee, whose team ranked 10th in the ACC last season with a 5.00 earned run average. “We forced the other team to swing the bat to beat us. I’ll take that.”

Sophomore right-hander Mack Anglin befuddled IU’s lineup for five no-hit innings at the start of a 9-0 win for the Tigers on Friday, but Clemson’s bullpen was just as strong in helping lock down the last two victories. The Tigers’ relievers limited IU to just two runs in 17 ⅓ innings on the weekend.

The bullpen having to log that many innings means not everything was perfect on the bump. Anglin was the only starter to get past the third inning. Nick Clayton couldn’t get out of the second in Saturday’s game before yielding four runs, and Nick Hoffman lasted just three innings in Sunday’s start.

“We need to get deeper into the ball game,” Lee said. “I’m not as concerned about getting hit as I am that we’ve got to be able to make some pitches with runners on base and get a little deeper in the game from the starting pitcher side.”

Hoffman walked three batters before his day was done, part of nine free passes issued by the Tigers on Sunday. But 10 relievers picked up the slack over the final two games to keep IU’s offense at bay.

Clemson faced a four-run deficit before the third inning Saturday, but freshman Casey Tallent and sophomore Geoffrey Gilbert kept IU off the board in the middle innings to give the Tigers a chance to rally and then some. Tallent followed Clayton with 2.1 hitless innings in his collegiate debut while Gilbert allowed just one hit and struck out four in two innings of work.

By that time, Clemson had a nine-run lead in what turned into a 19-4 rout. Austin Gordon, Rocco Reid and freshman Jay Dill combined to throw the last three frames, allowing just one hit and one walk among them.

“We have several guys that are built to start,” Lee said. “Those guys can go long. We can stretch those guys out and get them a time through the lineup if needed. That certainly helps when you’re able to go to those guys early in the game if your starter struggles.”

Things were dicier Sunday with the Hoosiers leading 4-3 after six innings. Jackson Lindley allowed one run in 2 ⅔ innings of relief, and IU scored the go-ahead run in the sixth against Ryan Ammons, who couldn’t get out of the inning.

But Alex Edmondson came on to get the final out of the frame and joined Ty Olenchuck and Dill to throw 3 ⅓ scoreless innings of relief to help the Tigers send the game to extras. In the 10th, Lee turned to first baseman/outfielder Caden Grice, who worked out of a bases-loaded jam after allowing a hit and two walks in his first mound appearance of the season.

“I knew I had the stuff to get us through that inning,” Grice said.

It allowed Clemson to walk it off in the home half of the inning on Bryar Hawkins’ sacrifice fly.

“I thought that was the difference in the game,” Lee said. “With the game being tied like that and us having the last at-bat, we had to keep it tied. Our bullpen was going to have to do a great job, Those guys at the end, they were just outstanding.”

Clemson will try to keep the momentum going Tuesday when the Tigers host College of Charleston for their first midweek game. Clemson will then entertain Hartford for a three-game series beginning Friday.

Clemson Variety & Frame is doing their part to help bring you some classic new barware and help one of the local businesses that helps make Clemson special.

Order your Nick’s barware and do your part to help. #SaveNicks

Clemson going with ‘dominant’ lefty as closer

Clemson not only had to figure out who all was going to start games on the weekend this baseball season, but head coach Monte Lee also had to decide on his best option to finish them. Lee has settled on the former heading into the Tigers’ opening …

Clemson not only had to figure out who all was going to start games on the weekend this baseball season, but head coach Monte Lee also had to decide on his best option to finish them.

Lee has settled on the former heading into the Tigers’ opening series against Indiana beginning Friday at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. As for the latter, it could vary based on the situation, but Lee said sophomore left-hander Ryan Ammons will begin the season as the closer.

Ammons is short on experience having thrown just 4 ⅓ innings in nine relief appearances during his first two seasons with the program. He posted a 4.50 earned run average with nine strikeouts and six walks in just four innings last season, but Lee said he’s been impressed with what he’s seen out of the 6-foot, 200-pounder during the preseason.

“He’s been absolutely dominant throughout the whole course of the season,” Lee said. “He’ll be the guy that gets the ball in the ninth inning in a save situation.”

Lee said he won’t be shy about calling on Ammons to get more than three outs if needed. Should that happen before the last game of any series, which would make Ammons unavailable for the rest of the weekend, there are other young arms that could be candidates to close out a game, Lee said.

“Look, we’re going to try to win Game 1,” Lee said. “If we have to use Ryan, for instance, in the eighth and the ninth and he’s not available, another guy that could be in the mix would be an Alex Edmondson or Casey Tallent, who’s a true freshman that’s been awfully good. And Jay Dill, another freshman who’s been up to 95, 96 as a power arm.”

Edmondson, Tallent and Dill are all right-handers. Edmondson threw just two innings as a freshman last season.

Friday’s first pitch is set for 4 p.m.

Clemson Variety & Frame is doing their part to help bring you some classic new barware and help one of the local businesses that helps make Clemson special.

Order your Nick’s barware and do your part to help. #SaveNicks