Clemson enters top 20 for baseball ranking |
Brandon Rink
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- Monday, May 01 2023
Few teams are hotter in the country than Erik Bakich's Clemson Tigers, and that was rewarded with a spot in a top 25 ranking on Monday.
Perfect Game debuted Clemson at No. 18 after taking 2-of-3 at a top-15-ranked Boston College and also finishing off a season sweep of Kennesaw State in run-rule fashion, 15-5. Clemson (28-17, 11-10 ACC) goes for five-straight ACC series wins hosting Louisville (28-15) this weekend, which has a top-30 RPI (28). The Tigers will have another high-RPI opportunity shortly after with a May 10 trip to Coastal Carolina (7), seeking another season sweep there. Clemson has won 12 of its last 16 games overall to a No. 12 spot in the RPI metric rankings. That's bolstered by a No. 3 strength of schedule and No. 9 non-conference strength of schedule. Against Quadrant 1 teams, Clemson is 12-12 and 8-1 against Q2 opponents, with no losses against Q4 teams. In addition to Perfect Game's ranking, D1Baseball analyst Kendall Rogers said Clemson is that site's No. 26 team at the moment. In conference-only stats at the plate, Clemson is up to a tie for third in team batting average (.284), third in doubles (46) and eighth in on-base percentage (.369). Freshman center fielder Cam Cannarella ranks fifth in batting average there (.383), while two-way standout Caden Grice is third in RBIs (28), fifth in OPS (1.166) and sixth in slugging percentage (.734). On the mound (conference-only), Clemson is sixth in ERA (5.09) with the third-best opposing batting average (.252). Righty side-arming reliever Nick Clayton is third in ERA there (2.55) and opposing batting average (.186), while Grice has the fifth-most strikeouts (48) and fifth-most wins (4). Clemson is fourth in fielding percentage in league play (.980). Clemson and Louisville start the three-game series in Doug Kingsmore Stadium at 6 p.m. on Friday. Clemson in college baseball rankings Perfect Game: 18 D1Baseball: NR Baseball America NR Collegiate Baseball: 25 Coaches Poll: NR Clemson was our No. 26 team without a doubt. We went back and forth on that one for sure. They are right there. https://t.co/PKNx35INW0
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