Bakich talks mindset heading into regional play

After winning the ACC Tournament Championship on Sunday and locking up a top-eight national seed, the only suspense the Clemson baseball program dealt with on Monday is finding out who was traveling to Clemson for its regional.

On Monday, the NCAA announced that Charlotte, Lipscomb and Tennessee would travel to Clemson for regional play. Lipscomb will be the four-seed and take on the hosting Tigers to open up play.

The Bisons locked up their bid after winning the ASUN Conference Tournament and finishing the season with an overall record of 36-24.

“I just know about Lipscomb,” Clemson head coach Erik Bakich said when asked about the other three teams in the Tigers’ regional. “As soon as I saw that’s who we’re playing, I immediately looked them up and I’ve known Coach (Jeff) Forehand for a long time and he does a great job and has always done a great job. So, his team will be ready, there’s no doubt.”

Despite hosting and being a considerable favorite over their opening opponent, the Tigers’ first-year head coach is not overlooking the Bisons.

“This is a Lipscomb regional, this is a Lipscomb tournament,” Bakich said. “They’ve got the ASUN Pitcher of the Year (Logan Van Treeck), got over 100 home runs, 100 stolen bases, so it’s an excellent team and we will have all of our energy locked in on this and not overlook anything. Excited to keep playing and know that we’ve got a huge challenge ahead of us.”

The Tigers will begin their regional on Friday at 1 p.m. when they face the Bisons. The game will be televised on ESPN+.