Bakich rejects idea of ACC tourney games not mattering: 'We’re going to try to win' |
CLEMSON - Clemson is headed to the ACC Baseball Championship in Durham this week with the mindset of wanting to win.
Clemson baseball was off to a rough season under first-year head coach Erik Bakich initially, but after finishing their regular season with 12 straight wins, the Tigers are a top contender in the ACC and ranked as high as No. 5 in the nation. Bakich gives credit to the players for their dedication to the game and mental fortitude. “To think we were 2-8 in the league a couple of months ago, and now we’re 20-10. It’s just, credit to them and their mindset and how they’ve trained and how they’ve worked and what they’ve done,” Bakich said. “Very grateful to have (junior) Caden Grice on our team...He was a one-man wrecking crew (on Saturday).” Grice has been a star for the team this season. He’s hit more home runs than any other Tiger with 14, including a two-run homer in the first inning in the regular season finale against North Carolina on Saturday to ultimately give Clemson the victory. As a pitcher, he’s pitched 62.1 innings, only allowing three home runs and a batting average of 0.199. His earned run average (ERA) this season is 3.18. His performance has been a strong factor in the turnaround, but he’s a true team player who attributes this success to the brotherhood of the team overall and their approach to each game. “We were sort of treating everything like a one-game series,” Grice said. “We take that approach and that mindset every game and we don’t really think about the big picture like that. We just go out and play one game at a time and just attack and we let everything else take care of itself.” Another player who has made a strong impact is sophomore infielder Billy Amick. He leads the team in batting average (.431) and is second on the team in home runs with 11. Between him and Grice, they account for almost half of the team’s home runs this season. In addition, they are the only Tigers this season with at least 50 runs batted in (RBIs). Almost all of Amick’s season-highs have come during the 12-game win streak, including five RBIs in Clemson’s 12-2 victory over USC Upstate on May 16. The early struggles the team faced were necessary, Bakich argues, to get to where they are now. “We had to struggle in order to develop those calluses. If we just started off and everything was going great and then we didn’t know how to take a punch, that’s where you see some teams just can’t respond,” Bakich said. “But we just kept getting knocked down and this is where the leadership of the team comes in, and players’ buy-in comes, they just keep getting back up knowing that at some point, the tide is going to turn and that’s where our players, you know, have just exceeded expectations of never losing that positive mindset.” Last season in the ACC Tournament, Clemson lost both of their games - 9-2 versus North Carolina and 18-6 versus Virginia Tech. Things are very different from last season and one of those things, according to Bakich, is going to the ACC's tournament because the Tigers are coming to win, even though he is not a fan of the pod format. “We’re going to go into the tournament trying to win it so, we’re not going to, I’ve never done pool play, pod tournament,” Bakich said. “But, (I’ve) never done it this way, so people are saying there’s games that don’t matter. That doesn’t resonate. I have no comprehension of that kind of thinking. So, we’re going to go into every game and, no matter who we’re playing, when we’re playing, we’re going to try to win.” One important thing from him, though, is bringing energy and excitement back to Clemson’s baseball program. They have not won an ACC Tournament game since 2021 and many other sports at Clemson, such as their softball program, have been doing incredibly well. It is important to him that baseball becomes a part of the elite sports the Tigers have and to share that with the community. “I’m happy for the Clemson community and, you know, really excited I think personally, just wanted the regional to come back to Clemson for the Clemson community,” Bakich said. “It just needs to be a part of what Clemson does. You know, softball’s doing it the last couple of years; baseball needs to be right there.”
2023 ACC BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
Durham Bulls Athletic Park; Durham, N.C.
POOL A – #1 Wake Forest, #8 Notre Dame, #12 Pitt
POOL B – #2 Virginia, #7 North Carolina, #11 Georgia Tech
POOL C – #3 Clemson, #6 Boston College, #10 Virginia Tech
POOL D – #4 Miami, #5 Duke, #9 NC State
Tuesday, May 23
No. 10 Virginia Tech vs. No. 6 Boston College, 11 a.m. (ACC Network)
No. 11 Georgia Tech vs. No. 7 North Carolina, 3 p.m. (ACC Network)
No. 9 NC State vs. No. 5 Duke, 7 p.m. (ACC Network)
Wednesday, May 24
No. 12 Pitt vs. No. 8 Notre Dame, 11 a.m. (ACC Network)
No. 2 Virginia vs. No. 11 Georgia Tech, 3 p.m. (ACC Network)
No. 3 Clemson vs. No. 10 Virginia Tech, 7 p.m. (ACC Network)
Thursday, May 25
No. 1 Wake Forest vs. No. 12 Pitt, 11 a.m. (ACC Network)
No. 7 North Carolina vs. No. 2 Virginia, 3 p.m. (ACC Network)
No. 4 Miami vs. No. 9 NC State, 7 p.m. (ACC Network)
Friday, May 26
No. 6 Boston College vs. No. 3 Clemson, 11 a.m. (ACC Network)
No. 5 Duke vs. No. 4 Miami, 3 p.m. (ACC Network)
No. 8 Notre Dame vs. No. 1 Wake Forest, 7 p.m. (ACC Network)
Saturday, May 27
Pool A Winner vs. Pool D Winner, 1 p.m. (ACC Network)
Pool B Winner vs. Pool C Winner, 5 p.m. (ACC Network)
Sunday, May 28
ACC Championship, Noon (ESPN2)
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