Clemson is squarely on the bubble for the NCAA Baseball Tournament as it enters the final weekend of the regular season.
The Tigers have had a roller coaster season as they prepare to host Duke in a three-game series that begins on Thursday at Doug Kingsmore Stadium in Clemson.
D1 Baseball and Baseball America both released their latest projections for the field of 64 earlier this week and have Clemson in the tournament but with little margin for error as it closes out the season.
Clemson currently sits at 24-23 overall and 16-17 in the ACC but has picked up some quality RPI wins in the last few weeks with a sweep of Louisville, midweek win over USC Upstate, midweek win over South Carolina and avoiding a sweep at Florida State this past weekend.
In the ACC, Clemson sits in a three-way tie for ninth in the standings with Virginia and Virginia Tech at 16-17. The Cavaliers own the tie breaker and sit at ninth and Clemson currently holds the 10th spot over the Hokies.
At the moment Duke sits nine spots ahead of Clemson in the RPI despite having a worse record in conference play at No. 40 while the Tigers are at No. 49. So this weekend’s home series could have a major impact on the postseason.
D1 Baseball has Clemson in the “last four in” as a three seed in the Starkville, Miss. Regional at the No. 8 overall seed Mississippi State.
Baseball America also has the Tigers in the “last four in” as the three seed in the Tuscon, Ariz. Regional at Arizona who is projected as the No. 4 overall seed in the tournament.
The Tigers desperately need a series win over Duke and possibly a sweep to leave no doubt that they are a tournament team. The series gets underway on Thursday at 6 p.m. at Doug Kingsmore Stadium in Clemson.
—Photo Courtesy of Clemson Athletic Communications