We would write a full preview for this one like the other series, but the sheer amount of data to sift through is too much for me in a short timeframe. Its also rather pointless since we'll face everyone once, and the CU main page has a preview up. Most of the games should be available to you on Fox/SS, and all of them are on ESPN3 streaming, so you'll see the statistics for the lineups. Like previous years, whomever has the best records out of the pool goes to the ACC Championship game. Pool A: FSU, UVA, Clemson, Georgia Tech

Pool B: UNC, NC State, Miami, Wake Forest

The tournament starts on Wednesday morning at 11am. Clemson will begin play on Thursday at 11am EST against UVA (36-16-1, 18-12), who swept us earlier this year by scores of 6-3, 5-1, and 5-3 in Charlottesville. Those games were not even as close as the scores indicated. The Tigers hold a 10-7 lead in ACC Tournament games against them, but they've won the last 4. Clemson is the visiting team in this contest.

Virginia will start junior righthander Branden Kline (6-3, 3.89 ERA) on the mound, who 2-hit Clemson in the 2nd game of the series earlier this year. He needed 112 pitches and didn't walk a single batter, facing only two over the minimum. 14 damn pop ups and fly outs by Tiger hitters.

Jack has decided to toss out freshman Daniel Gossett (6-3, 4.83 ERA), presumably because UVA hasn't seen him and they handled everyone else. The UVA lineup is very talented, but younger this year than in previous seasons due to graduation losses, which shows in their poorer record coming in.

Kevin Brady will only be available a couple innings at a time for the Tournament. Brady went just 2 1/3 IP against UVA the first time 'round.

Could Clemson win here? Yes, but with Kline going out and our prior ABs against him over the last couple years, I will say no.

-- Friday's game will be #1 FSU (43-12, 24-6) vs Clemson at 3pm. I'm sure you recall that Clemson took two games at home against the Noles. Clemson will be the home team. Clemson handled FSU's two good young starters very well in the two wins, but Meyer stunk in game 3 Monday night.

Florida State will start freshman lefthander Brandon Leibrandt (6-2, 2.93 ERA). Clemson is expected to start Dominic Leone (6-4, 5.18 ERA). Leone went 5 innings, giving up 2 runs, in last weekend's start vs FSU. Leibrandt went 5 2/3 and gave up 4 runs.

Saturday's game is Georgia Tech (33-24, 12-18) at 11am. The home team will be determined by pregame coin flip. The Tigers put forth a strong showing in Atlanta, which we normally do not do, and pounded the Jackets pitching in 2 of the 3 contests. Clemson lost 6-5 in 13 innings to start that series, blowing a 5-2 lead in the 9th, but won the next two 13-7 and 11-8. However, by the 3rd game of the ACCT, our pen will be heavily taxed, and the pen got killed in Atlanta.

GT has not announced a starting pitcher for this game yet, but Clemson will send out Kevin Pohle (6-3, 3.25 ERA), who got shelled in Atlanta (3.2IP, 6H, 3ER). GT sent out Cole Pitts against us in that Sunday game, so it is possible we get a rematch, and we shelled him worse.

This will be the gamethread for the weekend's games.

They came into this series playing their best ball of the season and completely shit the bed at Wake, just like we did the last time we went. Either they did not take this series seriously, or Jack did a pisspoor job of preparing them for it. Our hitters could not hit, and our pitchers got their asses kicked. I'll be shocked if this team makes it out of a Regional and would almost welcome the defeat just to get this season over and done.

Wake Forest 5, Clemson 2

The Demon Deacons hit five singles in the third inning to score three runs, then a two-out double by Pat Blair plated another run in the fourth inning, while Blair also came around to score on the play thanks to a McGibbon error on a wild throw to 3rd. That was all they needed because the offense couldnt do shit against Tim Cooney.

The Tigers would hit a ball hard here or there but there was no energy from this team at the plate. Every chance at a rally would quickly fail. It looked like they didn't even care until the 6th inning. Only Richie Shaffer seemed to show up ready to play. If you wait til the game is half done to start playing, you dont have much chance of winning.

In the 6th, a blooper from Stolz fell in LF, but Wilkerson hit a pitch right at Cooney who started the double play. In the 7th, both Pohl and Shaffer singled, but a FC and a popout ended the inning. In the 8th, Stolz reached on a HBP, Wilkerson singled, and Shaffer finally doubled in our first scores of the game.

WF 2, Clemson 1

We continued our pisspoor hitting, but took it to the next level. We didnt do a damn thing until the very end. This game remained 0-0 until the 8th when Brett Armour hit a 2-run shot, and ended up with Daniel Gossett taking the loss (L, 6-3) despite a solid start (7.1 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7Ks).

The Tigers managed only 4 hits off Jack Fischer in 8 innings, and two of those were in the 8th. In the 9th, we started putting up a fight. We loaded the bases with no outs after a single, walk, and HBP....and managed to get just one of them home on a Sac Fly. When McGibbon followed Kieboom's flyout with a long fly ball to the wall in RF, Pohl tagged and scored, but the right fielder threw to second and beat Slaton by a country mile to end the game. A horrible job of baserunning.

WF 7, Clemson 0

This game was horrible to watch. Our guys clearly did not care if they lost. WF jumped out to a big lead, 6 runs all scored with 2 outs in the 5th, and Clemson never woke up from the weekend slumber. Clemson had scored at least one run against Wake Forest in 130 consecutive games. It was the Demon Deacons' first three-game sweep over the Tigers since 1999 as well.

Clemson got just 2 hits off starter Brian Holmes in 6 innings, then got only 2 more off the next 3 Deacons to finish the game.

Kevin Pohle, who is clearly the best starter we've got, lost all focus in the 5th after a couple long battles with 2 strikes on hitters. Pinch-hitter Kevin Jordan fouled off several two-strike pitches to draw a leadoff walk and moved to second on Brett Armour's sacrifice bunt. Two batters later with two outs, leadoff hitter Pat Blair was intentionally walked, a move I did not agree with. After fouling off several two-strike pitches, Conor Keniry blooped a 2-2 pitch to shallow right-center for a single to score Jordan, who became the first player in the game to reach third base. Mac Williamson loaded the bases with a hit-by-pitch, then Carlos Lopez laced a single up the middle to score Blair and Keniry. Charlie Morgan kept the inning alive with a triple down the right-field line to score Williamson and Lopez. Mark Rhine followed with a chopper to Wilkerson, who fumbled the ball for his 17th error, allowing Morgan to score.

The lone bright spot was the return of Kevin Brady in relief, he struck out 2 batters in his only inning of work.

Clemson finished in a tie for fifth place with Miami (FL) in the ACC overall standings with a 16-14 league mark. Since the Tigers won the season series against the Hurricanes, Clemson will be the #5 seed in the ACC Tournament at NewBridge Bank Park in Greensboro, NC. The Tigers will play at least three games in the ACC Tournament, which starts on Wednesday. Clemson's tourney schedule will be announced on Sunday.

I'd be surprised if we won 2 games in the tournament.

I had a good feeling coming into this series, even with FSU ranked so highly and playing so well. They've pretty much dominated their schedule aside from Kevin O, but they've done that well before and gotten spanked in Clemson. This weekend the Tigers came in playing our best ball of the season and we put a licking on #1 FSU. If we had had more pitching depth we might have swept the series outright.

Game 1 - Clemson 7 FSU 2

Brad Felder, Shaffer and Spencer Kieboom all homered and Clemson battered touted frosh Brandon Leibrandt for 4 runs in 5 2/3 Friday night. This was Clemson's first victory over a #1-ranked team since 2010 vs Arizona State.

The Seminoles held a 2-0 lead until Felder's solo homer in the fifth inning. Then in the 6th, Shaffer lined a solo shot to tie it before Kieboom untied the score with a two-out, three-run homer. Pohl later added on a 2-run 2B in the 7th. Pohl led the offense by going 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. Stolz added two hits and a run, while Kieboom had a game-high three RBIs on his three-run homer.

Leone got the start and did well enough, giving up 2 runs in 5 innings before being yanked too quickly. Daniel Gossett came in and finished the contest, getting his 6th W with 4 IP and no runs allowed. Both pitchers stifled FSU's lineup with runners on base, and FSU stranded 14 in the game. Only 2 of 19 total baserunners scored.

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#1 Florida State Seminoles (40-9, 21-3 ACC, #2 RPI) @ Clemson Tigers (29-20, 14-10 ACC, #23 RPI)

I don't think this is a supremely talented FSU squad, but they are playing ball really really well and rolling through their opponents (aside from Kevin O's UF team) so they deserve their #1 ranking. They swept UVA at home, GT in Atlanta, Miami, Duke and Virginia Tech. They have not lost an ACC series, but were defeated by Florida in all games played.

FSU isn't statistically dominant, per se. The lineup isn't particularly intimidating, except for two .400 hitters: James Ramsey and Jayce Boyd. They are hitting very well against ACC pitching overall however. Where I think they've made some strides this year is with the starting pitching and some key stoppers in the pen, but overall they are just doing what it takes to win. At this point last year, the team ERA was 3.38, and its 3.27 coming in this weekend. However the conference play team ERA is a Run lower this year. The team average is actually down (.294 vs .286) compared to this time last year, and that team lost a few more games.

Both teams field about the same (.970 FSU vs .972 for CU) this season.

Historically, the home team does really well in this series, like with Georgia Tech. Strangely enough, I do feel like we can win here if the bats show up, even without Kevin Brady.

Clemson AD Series Preview -- FSU AD series preview

Monday's game is live on ESPNU, but all are on ESPN3.

Clemson and Florida State have met 121 times on the diamond, with the Seminoles holding a 65-55-1 lead in the series dating back to the 1958 season. The Tigers have won five of the last seven games in the series after Florida State won five of the previous six meetings. The Tigers hold a 28-18 lead over the Seminoles in games played at Clemson and a a 31-29 advantage in ACC regular-season games. Jack has a 31-38 record against Florida State

Last Week:

Clemson defeated Tennessee Tech 9-8, coming from an 8-2 deficit. We took 2 of 3 against CofC at home barely, losing our first game EVER against Charleston in the final after nearly losing the first.

FSU took 2 of 3 against Maryland at home, and split the midweek games with Stetson.

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Pitching was at a premium this weekend in Atlanta, and if you know anything about how we've been playing lately, that tends to favor out guys. It ended up going our way in the end, as we took 2 games from the Yellow Jackets in Atlanta for the first time since 1996.

As great as it is to escape a "house of horrors" of sorts with a series win, this should have been a sweep. Giving up 3 runs in the 9th inning is absolutely inexcusable. Losing on a walkoff homerun sucks, but Meyer should have never been in that spot in the first place.

I won't dwell on that too much, because all in all, this team got the job done that I thought they could, they just let Friday slip. Any more games like Friday later in the season though and this team is going to find itself sitting at home very quickly.

Summaries after the jump......

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Georgia Tech (25-17, 9-12 ACC, RPI 30) vs. Clemson Tigers (24-18, 12-9 ACC, RPI 36)

This year's Tech squad had to replace quite a bit on both offense and the staff, so a rebuilding year was expected for them. As you can see below, the offense has done well in reloading but the pitching staff really misses the top Fri/Sat starters they have been fortunate enough to have the last few years. Their pitching has really taken a hit and that the the primary culprit for the poor record, bad D being another (.956). Tech usually waits until the postseason to choke (like us, but usually with a much better record by May), and this year the staff is doing it during the regular season.

Unfortunately we suck ass in Atlanta in pretty much any sport against anyone, and I expect us to lose the series, if not get swept altogether. Home team usually does really well in this series, like FSU v Clemson.

SEBaseball Regional Projections

Clemson AD Series Preview -- Georgia Tech AD series preview

The games on Friday and Saturday will be televised live by CSS, while Sunday's game will be available live via webcast at ESPN3.

Clemson and Georgia Tech have met 206 times on the diamond, with the Tigers holding a 103-100-3 lead in the series dating back to the 1902 season. The two teams have faced each other at least one time every year since 1974. Georgia Tech has won each of the last seven series against Clemson at Russ Chandler Stadium, as the Tigers' last series win in Atlanta came in 1996.

The Yellow Jackets hold a 70-39-2 lead in games played at Georgia Tech, while the Tigers own a 46-41 advantage in ACC regular-season games. Jack has a 38-31 record against Georgia Tech.

Last Week:

GT won 2 at Chapel Hill, then beat UGA this week.

Clemson swept Maryland, then followed it with a bad loss to Coastal.

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The Tigers needed this badly. Our chances of making the NCAA tournament at this point are still up in the air, but they could have been shot down completely if we couldn't prove we could handle a team like Maryland. With that said, Maryland has a VERY solid pitching staff, and I was surprised to see us put up enough runs in what was dubbed a "cripplefight" in our preview article. Honestly, that description couldn't be more spot on. These two teams are struggling for runs, and while I wish we would score more, I can't complain about a sweep when we get one.

Summaries after the jump...

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Maryland Terrapins (25-14, 7-11 ACC, #29 RPI) vs. Clemson Tigers (21-17, 9-9 ACC, #34 RPI)

UMD has been historically bad in baseball for quite some time. Their coach started throwing out youngsters into starting roles a few years ago and it has paid off for them this season a bit. For the first time in my memory, we might actually be worse than Maryland baseball. They've defeated NC State and Duke 2-1, but also lost 2 to BC and were swept by Wake Forest, which mimics our up & down year. Their problem, like ours, is that they cant score runs.

Maryland entered the week ranked eighth nationally with a 2.72 ERA, and saw that mark drop to an ACC-best 2.64 after Tuesday's 3-0 win over James Madison. That marked the ninth shutout this season for the Terps, which is a school record and is nearly twice as many as the next closest conference team (Florida State with five).

Clemson AD Series Preview -- Maryland AD series preview

Clemson and Maryland have met 156 times on the diamond, with the Tigers holding a 116-40 lead in the series dating back to the 1923 season. The two teams have faced each other at least one time every year since the 1954 season.The Tigers hold a 40-28 lead in games played at Maryland and a 103-36 advantage in ACC regular-season games. Jack has a 47-9 record against Maryland.

Last Week:

The Terps took two of three from Duke last weekend, winning Friday's game 4-2 on a walkoff before pounding out a season-high 21 runs in Saturday's 21-2 win. They beat JMU 3-0 midweek.

Clemson lost 2 to NC State, one because we can't move the bat off our shoulders with RISP and 2 strikes. We beat Chas. Southern 3-2 midweek.

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