Clemson Heads to Wake Forest In Dire Need of ACC Series Win

Clemson heads to Wake Forest this weekend in dire need of an ACC series win.

After getting swept last weekend at Notre Dame, the Tigers have now dropped each of its four weekend series against ACC competition this season and currently have the worst record in conference play (2-9).

SERIES SETUP
• Who - Clemson (20-12, 2-9 ACC) vs. Wake Forest (26-7, 9-6 ACC)
• When - Friday (7 p.m.), Saturday (4:30 p.m.), Sunday (1 p.m.)
• Where - Winston-Salem, N.C. (David F. Couch Ballpark)
• Watch - ACC Network (Friday), ACC Network Extra (Saturday, Sunday)

Monte Lee's team did manage to bounce back with an 11-2 midweek win over USC Upstate in Greenville on Tuesday. However, the head coach knows his team is in for one of its toughest challenges of the season this weekend, as the Demon Deacons are 19-4 at home.

“We know we’re going into a tough place to play against a really good club,” Lee said. “We need to pitch, defend and put together good at-bats.”

In fact, the Tigers' odds of winning the CWS plummeted to +10000, according to Fanduel.

SERIES HISTORY
• Overall Record – Clemson leads 140-59-1 (1901-2021)
• Record at Wake Forest – Clemson leads 53-32 (1952-18)

The Tigers started the season on a 14-game winning streak, much of that due to solid pitching. However, since the start of ACC play, the pitching has fallen off, in particular the starting pitching, with Clemson sporting just a 6-12 record over its last 18 games.

No starting pitchers have been announced for this weekend, but after the midweek win over the Spartans, where Saturday starter Nick Hoffman was used in relief, Lee hinted that a change to the rotation could be in the works. At least in the Saturday and Sunday spots.

“I would say that’s a discussion we’ll have (Wednesday) in regards to the weekend,” Lee said on Tuesday. “We’ll hopefully solidify things (Wednesday) in the office as far as what we’re going to do Saturday and Sunday.”

One possible candidate could be Billy Barlow. The freshman has made eight midweek starts this season, and outside of two of those, has been a model of consistency. Another possibility is freshman Casey Tallent, who has a 2.57 ERA in 14 innings pitched.

“Barlow has been very good for us,” Lee said. “He’s got a good enough fastball to where he can beat anybody with his fastball because of the amount of sink and run he has on his fastball. Tallent is another guy that’s thrown outstanding here lately. He’s a true three-pitch mix guy. And that’s what we like to see with a guy that we’re going to potentially start. Both of those guys could be candidates to start this weekend."

Either way, Lee knows he needs more out of his starting pitching. He's looking for guys that can get through the order at least twice, something his starters have routinely struggled to do since the start of league play.

“We look for guys that can get through a lineup twice and have a three-pitch mix,” the head coach said.

CLEMSON OVERVIEW
• Clemson, who has a 2-5 road record, defeated USC Upstate 11-2 at Greenville, S.C. on Tuesday night.
• The Tigers are averaging 7.4 runs per game and hitting .277 with a .449 slugging percentage, .390 on-base percentage and 17 steals.
• The pitching staff has a 4.25 ERA, .250 opponents’ batting average and 2.25 strikeout-to-walk ratio, and Clemson is fielding .977.

WAKE FOREST OVERVIEW
• Wake Forest, who has a 19-4 home record and is averaging 9.8 runs per game, is led by 13th-year Head Coach Tom Walter.
• The Demon Deacons beat UNC Greensboro 10-7 on the road on Tuesday. They are hitting .322 and have a 3.91 ERA and .976 fielding percentage.
• Pierce Bennett is hitting .356, Nick Kurtz is batting .354, Brendan Tinsman is hitting .350 with 12 homers and Brock Wilken has 10 homers.

Clemson Athletics Communications contributed to this story.

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