Clemson sleepwalks in 3

Riley Bertram and the Tigers couldn't get by Charlotte in a NCAA tournament regional matchup. Peter McLean/Clemson Athletics

CLEMSON – There was no need to read between the lines as Clemson coach Erik Bakich reviewed the final sentence in the story of this season.

The Tigers were as drained as they seemed in a 3-2 loss to Charlotte at Doug Kingsmore Stadium, never really waking up in the 13 hours that followed an emotionally and physically draining 14-inning defeat to Tennessee on June 3.

"It looked exactly as it was," Bakich said. "Just not much in the tank."

For a team that came into the NCAA tournament with a 16-game winning streak, the turn that ended Clemson's season was quite sharp.

One out short of a 4-2 win over the Volunteers, flipped on its head by a three-run homer in the top of the ninth, and then taxed by the extra innings that were forced in the bottom half of a 6-5 loss. It was, as Bakich put it, "like driving 100 miles an hour and then we just slammed on the brakes."

But as the first-year coach acknowledged an anticlimactic close, he came back to another scene — an image he hopes resonates as the Tigers build toward returning to the College World Series for the first time since 2010.

Bakich, who started his coaching career as a volunteer assistant at Clemson in 2002, had just talked to his former boss, Jack Leggett, who returned to the Tigers’ dugout in 2023 as director of program development. Leggett assessed the crowd during the Tennessee game, and he felt more energy than ever.

There have been games with more fans, maybe. But the level of enthusiasm in Doug Kingsmore Stadium measured above anything Leggett experienced in his three decades as coach.

"As I told the team after the game, we set out to add as much value to an already storied program (as we could) and we accomplished that," Bakich said. "Page 126 in the Clemson baseball history book will be one that will be referenced for all time. Forever and ever, their legacy is they achieved one of the greatest turnarounds in the history of Clemson baseball."

This is a season that falls short of Omaha. But this ending for the Tigers, finding themselves in NCAA tournament play, period, was striving far beyond what seemed destined midseason.

At one point, Clemson was 17-14, including 2-8 in ACC games. In the Tigers’ last 29 games of the regular season and the conference tournament, they won 26. They were, unquestionably, the hottest team in college baseball, the No. 4 overall seed in the NCAA tourney. Then, a college baseball classic put them in what appeared to be a cryogenic sleep.

But what has been preserved — despite the ending — is the story of a forgettable season that turned memorable. The roar of the crowd at Doug Kingsmore Stadium, just before the Tigers met a cruel fate, signals the return of some excitement following back-to-back seasons outside of the NCAA tournament field.

"Every time a Clemson baseball team hits a rough patch, has some adversity, goes through a skid, they are going to hear about Team 126," Bakich said.

There was a moment's worth of hope the Tigers would show similar resilience in the losers' bracket against Charlotte.

They got an early jolt from Caden Grice, who launched a line-drive homer over the right-field wall in the first inning. It was nearly back-to-back homers, only Billy Amick's drive toward the left-field foul pole drifted too far left.

But that brief exhibit of power was all the Tigers had left. Aside from an RBI from pitcher Ty Olenchuk — who started on the mound and at designated hitter in a makeshift lineup — Clemson was unable to produce from the plate.

Meanwhile, the Niners (36-27) wouldn't log a hit until the seventh inning but were able to get baserunners via four walks and three hit-by-pitches. One of those jam-ups led to a sacrifice fly from Charlotte's Cam Fisher to cut the deficit to 2-1. And when Charlotte's first hit arrived, it was a solo homer from Will Butcher over the centerfield fence to tie it up.

A throwing error by shortstop Benjamin Blackwell on the very next at-bat continued the defensive slippage. A groundout moved the runner over, and a single from Jack Dragum drove him in to take a 3-2 lead.

It was a sleepwalk of a performance from Clemson, which was also without ACC freshman of the year Cam Cannarella. The centerfielder was ejected late in the Tennessee game following a verbal exchange with a base runner coming off the field in the top of the 13th inning.

There was a "Free Cam" sign in the stadium before the Charlotte contest, but it was promptly removed in the early innings.

"I don't know if that factored in or not," Bakich said of Cannarella's absence in center, given how sluggish the Tigers were as a whole. "We wouldn't be champions without Cam Cannarella and his competitive fire. He's as competitive as it gets and that's what I love about him."

Bakich was choosing to remember the greatness of this past season, despite what had just transpired. In the days to come, he will have to sit down with his staff and figure out how to take the next step.

This season was a fine beginning, but Bakich has greater ambitions.

"We’re not satisfied with bowing out in a regional," Bakich said. "I get it, it's been too long, and once we finish our exit meetings tomorrow, our staff will turn all of our energy to Team 127 and getting this team back to Omaha."

Follow Jon Blau on Twitter @Jon_Blau. Plus, receive the latest updates on Clemson athletics, straight to your inbox, by subscribing to The Tiger Take.

Jon Blau has covered Clemson athletics for The Post and Courier since 2021. A native of South Jersey, he grew up on Rocky marathons and hoagies. To get the latest Clemson sports news, straight to your inbox, subscribe to his newsletter, The Tiger Take.

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