After clinching the Stillwater Regional Championship, the Florida Gators (32-28, 13-17 SEC) are set to take on Clemson baseball in a best of three series inside Doug Kingsmore Stadium, with the winner advancing to the College World Series.
The Tigers advanced through their own regional behind a pair of 4-3 victories over High Point and Costal Carolina before taking down the Chanticleers for 12-5 in the Championship game.
Clemson holds a 44-14 (20-10 ACC) record on the 2024 season, including 30 come from behind wins. The Tigers have played in 15 one run games, winning 11 of them. Erik Bakich’s squad has won seven of their last eight games.
Florida’s head coach Kevin O’Sullivan returns to Clemson for the first time since coaching for the Tigers under former Clemson coach Jack Leggett from 1999-2007 as an assistant. Both O’Sullivan and Bakich were on Legget’s staff in 2002, a year Clemson made it all the way to the College World Series, finishing 2-2 in Omaha.
“It’s hard to put into words right now,” O’Sullivan said on being back in Clemson. “This is literally the first time I’ve been back; I didn’t even stop by here yesterday. Really just focused on our own team. I don’t want this to be about me. Obviously there will be a lot of talk about me and Jack and Eric of course. But the focus is really about our team right now.”
Projecting pitching matchups
Saturday (game one): RHP Liam Peterson (3-4, 5.61 ERA) vs LHP Tristan Smith (2-0, 3,88 ERA)
Sunday (game two): LHP Jac Caglianone (5-2, 4.57 ERA) vs RHP Aidan Knaak (5-1, 2.96 ERA)
Sunday (game three, if necessary): LHP Pierce Coppola (0-4, 9.16 ERA) vs LHP Ethan Darden (5-4, 4.96 ERA)
Doug Kingsmore Stadium Dimensions
Clemson’s ballpark is a launchpad for baseball’s, which could favor a 125-home run ballclub in the Florida Gators.
Left: 310
Left Center: 360
Center: 390
Right Center: 365
Right: 320
Clemson also doesn’t have a warning track on their field. Instead, it’s a small hill leading up to the fence.
“We did talk about it. We spent quite a bit of time in practice about it,” Kevin O’Sullivan said. “It’s not as steep as I thought it was going to be, as it used to be. We took the outfielders in three different groups and threw them up the hill and then we took some balls off the machine, then we did about 15 minutes of live defense. I feel like they are a bit more prepared than I thought they would be coming in because it used to be a bit steeper, so I think it should be fine.”
Stat Comparisons
Batting average
Clemson: .299
Florida: .273
Home runs
Clemson: 103
Florida: 125
On base percentage
Clemson: .401
Florida: .379
Slugging percentage
Clemson: .512
Florida: .513
Earned run average
Clemson: 4.45
Florida: 6.13
WHIP
Clemson: 1.36
Florida: 1.56
Strikeouts per nine
Clemson: 9.5
Florida: 10.6
Walks allowed per nine
Clemson: 3.91
Florida: 4.72
Batting average against
Clemson: .244
Florida: .265