Clemson Tigers Have One More Chance to Improve with Final Road Trip of Season

The Clemson Tigers baseball team has one more chance to improve their standing ahead of the ACC Tournament with their final road trip of the year.

Clemson infielder Josh Paino (8) hits the ball agains University of Louisville during the bottom of the second inning at Doug Kingsmore Stadum in Clemson, S.C. Friday, April 18, 2025. | Ken Ruinard / staff / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The stretch run has not been kind to the Clemson Tigers baseball program this year. They still hold a 38-15 record overall, the best mark in the Atlantic Coast Conference, but they hold a much less impressive 15-12 mark in conference play, only the seventh-best in the ACC.

A recent 2-5 run since the start of May, and a 5-10 run since their eight-game win streak was snapped by the Stanford Cardinals on April 13, finds the team in a rough patch as the end of the season draws near.

The Tigers have one more opportunity to right the ship this weekend and improve their standings ahead of the ACC Tournament with their final road trip of the 2025 campaign against the Pittsburgh Panthers.

Clemson Tigers Last Chance to Improve Standing Comes Against Pitt Panthers

The three-game set this weekend will be the first time these two teams have faced each other this year. They enter on far different paths, with the Panthers holding just a 27-23 record overall, with a 10-17 mark in conference play.

While Clemson has struggled to keep things rolling down the stretch, Pitt has come alive. This month, the Panthers have played to a 6-2 record and a 9-8 record since April 13. They have been much better at home than on the road, too, with a 12-7 mark in games played at Charles L. Cost Field.

The ACC Tournament starts next week, and as things stand now, the Tigers would have the seventh seed. They have played more conference games than all but one of the teams ahead of them in the standings, but they could realistically enter the tournament as a strong top-five seed with a sweep of the Panthers.

Manager Erik Bakich has once again led the team to a prime position for postseason play in his third year at the helm. With one final shot to improve the team's standings ahead of the conference tournament, don't expect Bakich to hold anything back.