Clemson Baseball Faces Huge Opportunity to Upstage Wake Forest in ACC Play

The Clemson Tigers baseball team faces one of the top teams in the ACC this weekend in the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.

Clemson outfieler Cam Cannarella (10) bats against Notre Dame during the bottom of the fifth inning at Doug Kingsmore Stadum in Clemson, S.C. Friday, March 14, 2025. / Ken Ruinard - staff / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Clemson Tigers baseball team has been tested this season. But this weekend’s series with the Wake Forest Demon Deacons represents a chance to change the ACC race.

The Tigers (21-2, 2-1 ACC) take on the Demon Deacons (18-4, 6-0 ACC) in a three-game set that begins on Friday at 6 p.m. at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Saturday’s game is set for 2 p.m. and Sunday’s finale is set for 3 p.m.

Both teams are nationally ranked. Wake Forest is No. 11 in the D1Baseball.com rankings, while Clemson is No. 4 in the Perfect Game rankings.

Look at the standings and Clemson’s opportunity is clear. The Demon Deacons are one of two ACC teams that remain undefeated in league play. The Florida State Seminoles are the other, but Wake Forest already has two ACC series under its belt.

Clemson has the chance to hand the Demon Deacons their first league loss — or perhaps more.

The Tigers have a chance to set the tone with their Friday starter, Aidan Knaak, as the right-hander faces Demon Deacons right-hander Logan Lunceford.

Going into Friday’s start, Knaak is 3-0 with a 3.86 ERA. Batters are hitting .181 against him in five starts, with 44 strikeouts and nine walks in 25.2 innings.

After he set a career high with 12 strikeouts and allowed one hit in seven shutouts innings last Friday against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, the sophomore was named the ACC pitcher of the week and the NCBWA/Perfect Game national pitcher of the week.

Clemson expects to start left-hander Ethan Darden on Saturday, who started last week when the Tigers beat the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Wake Forest is expected to start left-hander Matthew Dallas.

The Tigers haven’t set a Sunday starter, while right-hander Blake Morningstar is expected to take the mound for Wake Forest.

Before the Tigers lost to the Irish on Sunday, they won 17 straight games. Clemson started a new streak earlier this week, sweeping The Citadel Bulldogs in a two-game mid-week series.

The Tigers have been hard to beat at home so far this season, as they have a 16-1 record at Kingsmore. The Demon Deacons have only played four true road games so far this season, and they are 2-2. Their latest road game was at the Liberty Flames at mid-week, which turned into an 11-8 loss.

Clemson’s bullpen has been fantastic so far. As a unit it has a record of 15-0 with 11 saves and a 3.36 ERA. Batters are hitting just .210 against the bullpen and the unit has struck out 143 hitters in 118 innings.

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