Clemson has emerged as the team to beat in the ACC after sweeping previously unbeaten Florida State in a wild three-game series that featured an eight-run comeback on Saturday and a nine-run comeback on Sunday.
On Saturday, in the second game of a doubleheader, the Tigers rallied for eight runs in the bottom of the ninth inning en route to a 9-8 walk-off victory. On Sunday, they trailed 11-2 heading into the bottom of the sixth but scored 11 runs over the next two innings and held on for a 14-12 win.
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Blake Wright delivered the decisive blow, smacking a grand slam to left in the bottom of the seventh inning after Florida State had walked five batters. Wright has 13 home runs on the season and an incredible nine in his last 10 games.
Clemson is 22-2 overall and owns series wins at Duke and over Florida State. Dating back to last season, the Tigers are 24-3 in their last 27 ACC games.
OH MY GODDDD. Blake Wright does it again. 🔥🔥
Second grand slam of the weekend. Clemson comes alllll the way back from down 11-2. pic.twitter.com/B6Tm0lVSZJ
— 11Point7 College Baseball (@11point7) March 24, 2024
Around the horn
Elsewhere in the Palmetto State, South Carolina swept Vanderbilt for the first time since 2009, outscoring the Commodores 26-9 along the way. Starting pitching was the story for the Gamecocks. In the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader, junior Eli Jones allowed only one hit and two earned runs in 6 1/3 innings. On Sunday, freshman Tyler Pitzer did not allow an earned run and struck out nine in 6 1/3 innings in his first career start.
The Commodores, who entered the weekend on a 14-game winning streak, are 1-11 in their last 12 SEC road games dating back to last season. This follows a stretch of 11 wins in 15 league road games.
Clemson wasn’t the only ACC team with an improbable comeback over the weekend. NC State scored six runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to stun Duke 9-8 in Raleigh on Saturday. The Wolfpack touched up Duke closer Charlie Beilenson for five hits and four earned runs.
NC State won 4-3 on Friday behind seven strong innings from senior Sam Highfill. Duke starter Jonathan Santucci, a projected first-round pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, did not allow a hit in 5 1/3 innings but walked seven and was charged with three earned runs.
Duke won on Sunday 13-2 in seven innings, but it was an important series win for NC State, which was swept the previous weekend at Georgia Tech. The Pack are 15-7 overall and 5-4 in the ACC.
How about Travis Bazzana? Oregon State’s All-America second baseman has hit a leadoff home run in four consecutive games, including one in all three of the Beavers’ weekend sweep of Washington in Corvallis.
TRAVIS BAZZANA HAS HIT A LEADOFF HOME RUN IN FOUR CONSECUTIVE GAMES! #GoBeavs pic.twitter.com/yrx0mNAwyF
— Oregon State Baseball (@BeaverBaseball) March 24, 2024
Bazanna is hitting .471 with 12 home runs and 32 RBIs.
Is Florida the best nine-loss team in the nation? (Rhetorical question.)
The Gators are 4-2 in the SEC after recording an impressive series win over LSU in Baton Rouge, punctuated by a 12-2 victory on Sunday. That followed a series win at home over Texas A&M, which had not lost a game before its trip to Gainesville. Florida, however, lacks depth on the mound, which has led to struggles in midweek games; the Gators have lost four of their last five midweek games, allowing an average of 8.8 runs in the losses.
LSU, meanwhile, is 2-4 in the SEC and has allowed eight runs or more in four of the six games. Not an ideal start for the defending national champs, who head to Arkansas next week.
Utah is a surprising 5-4 in the Pac-12 after winning two of three at Cal over the weekend, the Utes’ first road conference series win since April 2022. Utah has not had a winning record in league play since 2016 and has played in a Regional only twice in program history (2016 and 2010).
It’s still a bit early to look at the RPI, but Utah currently sits at No. 22 and has already played Oregon State, the only dominant team in the Pac-12.
Looking for a team flying under the national radar? Virginia Tech is 18-4 overall and 8-1 in the ACC after sweeping Boston College on the road. The Hokies rank fourth nationally in batting average (.345) and third in home runs (55) — impressive after losing talented first baseman Garrett Michel to a season-ending injury earlier this month.
The schedule hasn’t been too taxing — Tech’s three ACC opponents are a combined 6-18 in league play — but this is still a very promising start after John Szefc’s club missed out on postseason play last season.
Texas A&M’s All-America outfielder Braden Montgomery, a two-way player during his time at Stanford, got his first start on the mound for the Aggies in a midweek game against Prairie View A&M last Tuesday. It did not go well. Montgomery allowed four earned runs in one inning, due mostly to control issues. He allowed only one hit (a three-run home run) but walked four and threw one wild pitch. In his only previous appearance, Montgomery threw a perfect inning to close out a 13-2 win over Lamar in late February.
There have been no issues at the plate. Montgomery leads the team in average (.375) and RBIs (39) and is tied for the team lead in home runs (12).
We are in for a wild ride in the Sun Belt this spring. Coastal Carolina, the preseason conference favorite, lost two of three at Appalachian State over the weekend and is 3-3 in league play.
Louisiana went 0-3 at the Astros Foundation Classic in Houston earlier this month but is 11-2 since, including a 5-1 start in the Sun Belt. The Ragin’ Cajuns are tied for the league lead with surprising Georgia State, which has series wins over South Alabama and ULM.
Southern Miss and Texas State are both 4-2.
What a bounce-back week for Charlie Condon and Georgia. The Bulldogs opened SEC play by getting swept at Kentucky two weeks ago, with Condon limited to one hit in three games.
Georgia returned home and swept Alabama by a combined score of 25-15, powered by a get-right weekend from Condon. The junior utilityman went a combined 6-for-11 with three home runs against the Crimson Tide and leads the nation in both average (.524) and home runs (16) on the season.
Dallas Baptist is 19-4 overall and 2-1 in Conference USA after taking a series from Sam Houston on the road. Lefty Ryan Johnson anchors a pitching staff that ranks 17th nationally with a 3.76 ERA. Johnson, a member of Team USA over the summer, threw a complete game on Friday night, allowing only four hits and one earned run while striking out 15. For the season, Johnson is 4-0 with a 1.93 ERA and has an impressive 64 strikeouts and only five walks in 42 innings.
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DBU has wins over Oklahoma (two), Oklahoma State, Arizona and Alabama in nonconference action.
And finally
• Indiana State took two of three from visiting Missouri State in a key series between two teams expected to contend in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Sycamores, who reached a Super Regional last year, are 17-5 overall and 2-1 in the league.
• Oklahoma threw a combined no-hitter on Friday to beat West Virginia — and to improve to 7-0 in the Big 12 — but lost the next two games, 9-5 and 8-3. The Sooners remain in first place in the league with a 7-2 record.
• It was a lovely day for baseball on Friday in upstate New York. Iona and Niagara started their MAAC opener but play was halted in the second inning due to a snowstorm. The game was resumed on Saturday, with Niagara winning 15-14 on a walk-off single by Nick Groves. The Purple Aces completed the series sweep with wins of 12-3 and 7-6 on Sunday.
Baseball weather! pic.twitter.com/kxJsYPNJfU
— Stephen Schoch (@bigdonkey47) March 22, 2024
• Kansas State extended its winning streak to nine games by sweeping Big 12 newcomer Houston on the road. The Wildcats are 5-1 in league play and also have a series sweep over Missouri State.
• North Carolina is quietly on a roll. The Tar Heels swept Georgia Tech in Chapel Hill and are 21-4 overall and 7-2 in the ACC.
• Hagen Smith pitched another gem for Arkansas on Friday night. The junior left-hander struck out 12 in six scoreless innings in the Razorbacks’ 1-0 win at Auburn. Smith has struck out 56.9 percent of batters faced this season; no other player is over 50 percent.
• There are only two teams nationally unbeaten in conference play (minimum six games) — Bowling Green (9-0 in the MAC) and Northern Kentucky (6-0 in the Horizon League). Bowling Green hasn’t had a winning record in the MAC since 2015 (14-13).
(Photo of Blake Wright: Austin Christensen / Clemson Athletics)
