CLEMSON — A day removed from celebrating the ACC Championship in the middle of the field at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, the Clemson Tigers were back to business Monday as they learned their seeding for this week’s NCAA Tournament and who they will be playing in the Clemson Regional.
The Tigers (43-17), the No. 4 overall seed, will take on Lipscomb in Game 1 of the Clemson Regional Friday at 1 p.m. Tennessee, the No. 2 seed in the Clemson Regional, will take on No. 3 Charlotte in the 7 p.m. game.
Clemson also learned its region is paired up with the Auburn Regional and will host the winner of that regional should it get past the three other teams in the Clemson Regional.
“The message to the team, this is the Lipscomb Tournament, the Lipscomb Regional,” Clemson head coach Erik Bakich said. “We are not overlooking them. They are an excellent team.”
Though the Tigers are thrilled to be hosting an NCAA Regional, there was no celebrating or anything like that going on Monday afternoon. They left all of that in Durham, N.C. There focus now is on the Clemson Regional and beating Lipscomb in the Game 1.
“It was fun. It was a good team moment to celebrate that and have a fun celebratory night with the team,” second baseman Riley Bertram said. “But as coach always says, ‘Once the head hits the pillow, it is a new day.’ That especially comes into play with the selection show today, finding out who we play and then trying to get better this week to prepare for the weekend.”
The Bisons of Lipscomb come to Doug Kingsmore Stadium with a 36-24 record. After suffering through an 11-game losing streak earlier this year they ran through the Atlantic Sun Conference by winning every conference series before winning the conference tournament and earning the league’s automatic bid.
Don’t think the Bisons are going to be a pushover for Clemson. Though they lost three-game series to Auburn and Mississippi State and were beat by Tennessee (10-0), Georgia Tech (10-5) and Vanderbilt (11-1), they also opened the year by beating Notre Dame in a three-game series.
They also beat Louisville (12-7) back in April and also knocked off No. 3 overall seed Arkansas (8-6 in 11 innings) earlier this month.
“I have known Coach (Jeff) Forehand for a long time. They run an awesome program,” Bakich said. “It will be a huge challenge. They have the A Sun Pitcher of the Year. They got over a hundred home runs, a hundred stolen bases.
“It is an excellent team. So, we will have all of our energy locked in on this and not overlook anything. We are excited to keep playing, though we have a huge challenge ahead of us.”
Clemson heads into the Clemson Regional on a 16-game winning streak and winners in 21 of their last 22 games. Since April 4, Clemson is 27-4.
Clemson Regional (Friday, Saturday, Sunday)
Friday
Game 1: No. 1 Clemson vs. No. 4 Lipscomb, 1 p.m. ESPN+
Game 2: No. 2 Tennessee vs. No. 3 Charlotte, 6 p.m. ESPNU
Saturday
Game 3: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, Noon, TBD (elimination game)
Game 4: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 6 p.m., TBD
Sunday
Game 5: Game 4 loser vs. Game 3 winner, Noon, TBD (elimination game)
Game 6: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 6 p.m., TBD
Monday
Game 7: If necessary, TBD, TBD
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