Clemson to Host Baseball Regional after ACC Title
The Clemson Tigers were announced on Sunday as a host of an NCAA Tournament Regional. Not just any host but they garnered the #4 overall national seed thanks to a dominant close to the season which included 16 straight wins, 14 straight conference wins, and an Atlantic Coast Conference title. This high of a national seed - their highest since they were No. 1 overall in the 2006 tournament - also means that if they are to advance out of this foursome they will host a super regional next as well.
Joining the Tigers at Doug Kingsmore Stadium will be the No. 2-seed Tennessee (38-19), No. 3-seed Charlotte (34-26) and No. 4-seed Lipscomb (36-24). Tennessee, the likely most difficult out of the regional, was a top 15 ranked team nationally despite finishing only 4th in the ultra-competitive SEC East. They fell in the first round of the SEC tournament to Texas A&M 3-0.
Clemson will host an NCAA Regional beginning on Friday. (David Platt - ClemsonTigers.com)
Lipscomb, Clemson's first opponent on Friday, June 2nd, won the Atlantic Sun Tournament to advance to the big dance. Charlotte, who won the Conference USA Tournament, actually played Clemson way back in February in only the Tigers' 4th game of the year. Despite the fact that Clemson won that game 9-5 it's fairly safe to say this is a very different, and much better version, of the Tigers they'll have to face as we enter June.
When asked by reporters after the selection show about this being yet another memory added to what has already been a memorable season, head coach Erik Bakich responded with a thoughtfulness of the present but a mindset still towards the future with this team, "Any dogpile and anything we're celebrating in this great sport it just anchors in relationships and friendships for life. Part of our shared language is 'teams that win together stay together' and it's just to know that no matter this is team 126 and we'll be celebrated, be in the endzone of Death Valley. You just want to keep building your story and building your journey and you'd like to think that page 126 of the Clemson baseball history book is still being written."