Why Erik Bakich Called Clemson Baseball's Season 'Underperforming' After ACC Tournament Exit

Clemson baseball and head coach Erik Bakich have had one primary goal in mind since he took the helm in 2022: get to Omaha for the College World Series.

That’s going to have to wait another year, however, with the Tigers bouncing out of the ACC Tournament in only one game, falling to Notre Dame 5-4 in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Tuesday evening.

After the game, Bakich envisioned a potential run for the No. 15-seed Tigers, who needed to win the entire tournament for the only possibility of an NCAA Tournament bid. However, his team didn’t do enough against first-team All-ACC pitcher Jack Radel and the Fighting Irish despite a late ninth-inning rally.

“Both teams hit three solo home runs,” Bakich said. “They were a swing better than us and, you know, executed just a little bit better and close ball. So, tip of the cap to Jack and the Notre Dame team.”

Then, he took the time to say his apologies for the season. Clemson finished with a 10-20 record in conference play, tied for the worst in program history since the ACC moved to 30 games.

However, he ensures that all of his focus will be on not allowing this to happen again.

“In terms of the bigger picture, just, you know, want to apologize ot the Clemson fans, and it’s my responsibility to get this program competing for championships,” Bakich said. “Failed to do that this year, and I will ensure that 100% of my energy is getting this program back where it needs to be.”

As for the issues, everything went wrong over the season. The Tigers had times when they couldn’t score runs, being 174th in runs per game. Pitching improved as the season went on, especially the bullpen, but still allowed a 4.54 ERA (35th). Perhaps fielding was the worst part, only recording a .966 fielding percentage. That’s outside the top 200 in the country.

All in all, Bakich said that the team underperformed in every aspect, and when one part of the game was playing well, another was letting the team down.

“I haven’t felt this way in a long time, where the feeling is that we underperformed our ability and underperformed our talent, didn’t play to our potential,” he said. “Not that we’ve got first rounders all over the place, and a bunch of All-Americans, but we’re certainly better than the team that was out there and the way that our team finished.”

The Clemson baseball coach wants to get back to his basics: attention to detail, fundamentals and being a tough team. Frankly, the Tigers didn’t play with the swagger that previous Bakich teams had. Those groups went to Super Regionals and made deep runs in the ACC Tournament.

This team was different in different ways, and Bakich will take full blame.

“It was a multitude of things, but ultimately falls on my shoulders, and it starts with me,” he said. “I have to be better. I will be better.”

Now, an important offseason awaits Bakich and the program, and scrutiny will be on the program to make the necessary changes to get back to a College World Series-caliber team.

Don’t expect a complete overhaul with staff and players, but “sweeping improvements” are set to come to Doug Kingsmore Stadium next season.

“I think it’ll be a bump in the road in terms of when we look back at, historically, our success,” Bakich said. “Not that our first three years were some magical success, but it felt like, at times, especially the first two years, we were trending in a good direction.”

Add us as a preferred source on Google