Clemson is set to open up the 2024 baseball season on Friday as the No. 9 Tigers will host Xavier for a three-game weekend set.
SERIES SETUP
- Who - Xavier (0-0) vs. Clemson (0-0)
- Best Ranking - XAV - NR; CU - No. 9 Baseball America, USA Today
- When - Friday (4 p.m.), Saturday (2 p.m.), Sunday (1 p.m.)
- Where - Clemson, S.C. (Doug Kingsmore Stadium)
- Watch - ACC Network Extra
After an injury limited him to just three appearances last season, Billy Barlow gets the start for Clemson in the opening game of the series. Lefty Tristan Smith gets the nod on Saturday and freshman Aidan Knaak will make his debut for the Tigers on Sunday.
"Billy Barlow has made a huge jump," head coach Erik Bakich said. "He is poised to have a breakout campaign."
STARTING PITCHERS
- Friday - RHP Luke Hoskins (XAV) vs. RHP Billy Barlow (CU)
- Saturday - LHP Nolan Hughes (XAV) vs. LHP Tristan Smith (CU)
- Sunday - RHP Nick Boyle (XAV) vs. RHP Aidan Knaak (CU)
Clemson is coming off an ACC championship in Bakich's first season at the helm. The Tigers took a 16-game winning streak into regional play, but would once again fail to reach a super-regional, continuing a drought that stretches back to 2010, the last time the program punched its ticket to the College World Series.
Xavier is coming off a Big East championship, their first conference title since 2017. While the Musketeers did eliminate Vanderbilt in regional play, they also failed to make it to a super-regional.
SERIES HISTORY
- Overall Record - Xavier leads 1-0 (2014)
CLEMSON OVERVIEW
- Clemson had a 44-19 overall record and 20-10 ACC mark in 2023, as it won the ACC championship.
- The Tigers are led by second-year Head Coach Erik Bakich.
- Clemson has 15 of its first 17 games at home.
XAVIER OVERVIEW
- Xavier is led by seventh-year Head Coach Billy O'Conner.
- The Musketeers, who eliminated Vanderbilt in the 2023 Nashville (Tenn.) Regional, had a 39-25 overall record in 2023.
- They hit .275 with a .374 on-base percentage and 74 steals, a 4.55 ERA and .978 fielding percentage in 2023.
Bakich has referenced how much depth his team has on multiple occasions throughout the preseason, and the head coach said he plans to play a lot of guys in the early part of the season in an effort to get the right players in the right spots.
"It's not that we are trying to identify roles in three days," Bakich said. "The roles are going to evolve and transform and be fluid throughout the course of the first few weeks, if not the first couple of months. It's just more of an understanding to say we are not in kind of a rush to say this is our Friday guy. This is our Saturday guy. This is our shortstop."
"We're going to play a lot of guys, we are going to pitch a lot of guys and we have the luxury, and it is a luxury item, to have the depth that we have. Both on the mound and positionally. We are going to want to see that. We are going to want to give guys opportunities and see guys in different roles and see guys in different spots."
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