Tigers look to stay hot, hosting Stanford and Japanese baseball prodigy this weekend

Sasaki looks to become the first player to forgo the NPB (Nippon Professional Baseball) draft, play collegiately in the U.S. and play in MLB. (Photo: Darren Yamashita / Imagn Images)

David Hood - Senior Writer - Thursday, April 10 2025

Clemson baseball continues its march to the postseason, hosting Stanford and a Japanese baseball prodigy this weekend.

The No. 4 Tigers defeated Gardner-Webb 4-2 Wednesday evening but dip back into ACC play this weekend with a three-game set against Stanford. The Tigers are now 31-5 overall and 9-3 in the ACC, good for first place ahead of Georgia Tech (11-4), Florida St. (8-4), and Louisville (8-4).

The Tigers are No. 2 nationally in RPI, just behind Arkansas (31-3). With 20 games remaining, the Tigers are on pace for another 40-plus win season, and there are chances to keep the RPI high with series remaining against Louisville, NC State, Duke, Florida State and Pitt and single games against Coastal Carolina (No. 10 RPI) and Georgia (No. 4 RPI). Florida St. sits 23rd and Louisville is 28th.

But it all starts with Stanford this weekend. Stanford and Clemson have met only twice in program history, with both games coming at the College World Series in Omaha, Neb. The Cardinal eliminated Clemson from the 1995 World Series with an 8-3 victory before defeating the Tigers 10-4 en route to a runner-up finish to LSU in 2000.

The Cardinal- ranked as high as No. 18 that week – swept Duke in late March to improve to 15-3 overall and 5-1 in the ACC. Stanford has since lost nine consecutive ACC games and nine of 12 overall to fall to 18-12 overall and 5-10 in the ACC.

All eyes will be on Stanford freshman Rintaro Sasaki, who hails from Hanamaki, Iwate (Japan) and the same high school as Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani. The 6-0, 270-pound first baseman was coached by his father in high school and broke all of Ohtani’s home run records with 140.

Sasaki, 19, looks to become the first player in Japan to forgo the NPB (Nippon Professional Baseball) draft, play collegiately in the U.S. and then launch a professional career through Major League Baseball’s draft – for which he’ll be eligible in 2026.

Sasaki entered this season with plenty of accolades and expectations. He was the D1Baseball Preseason ACC Freshman of the Year, the Baseball America Preseason ACC Freshman of the Year, the Baseball America Preseason Top 25 Freshmen (No. 1), in the Perfect Game Preseason Top 75 Freshmen (No. 3), and in the D1Baseball Preseason Top 50 First Basemen (No. 15).

Like his team, Sasaki came out firing on all cylinders, with 28 hits in his first 78 at-bats, a .359 clip that included all four of his homers. He had a six-game hit streak end on Monday night, but has hit safely in 22 of his first 30 collegiate games and has reached in all but four contests after opening his career with a string of 14 straight games where he reached base. He’s currently hitting .280 with four homers and 25 RBI but has just five hits over his last six ACC games.

However, the rest of the Stanford lineup is scoring runs. The Cardinal offense has been strong through the first eight weeks of the season, batting .307 with 204 runs scored, 312 hits, 47 doubles, seven triples, 39 home runs and 192 RBIs while slugging .482 and posting a .387 on-base percentage. The batting average is fifth-best in the ACC, while the 312 hits, 39 homers, and .482 slugging rank eighth. Stanford is averaging 6.80 runs per game, 10.40 hits per game, 1.57 doubles per game and 1.30 home runs per game.

SERIES SETUP

• Who – Stanford (18-12, 5-10 ACC) vs. Clemson (31-5, 9-3 ACC)

• Best Ranking – STA – NR; CU – No. 3 Perfect Game

• When – Friday (6 p.m.), Saturday (6 p.m.), Sunday (3 p.m.)

• Where – Clemson, S.C. (Doug Kingsmore Stadium)

• Watch – ESPNU (Friday), ACC Network (Saturday, Sunday)

• Video Announcers – Mike Ferrin, Gaby Sanchez

• Listen (Radio) – Clemson Athletic Network (locally on WCCP (105.5 FM))

• Listen (Internet) – ClemsonTigers.com

• Live Stats – ClemsonTigers.com

• Social Media – ClemsonBaseball

• Tickets – ClemsonTigers.com, 1-800-CLEMSON