Clemson baseball captured its fourth straight ACC series during the weekend.
The No. 7 Tigers swept Cal this weekend in their three-game series at Stu Gordon Stadium in Berkeley, California. They took Game 1 after a late-inning comeback and earned a run-rule victory Saturday after scoring 13 runs in the first two innings.
Clemson (30-5, 9-3 ACC) held on to escape the Golden Bears (16-15, 6-9) in the finale, winning 4-3, after its bullpen held Cal scoreless for 3⅔ innings.
Here's what we learned about Clemson's sixth series win this season.
Clemson baseball's home-run potential finally erupts vs Cal
Clemson hit 109 home runs in 2024. It lost 72.5% of that production, including four of its top five home run hitters, and their departure has been felt this season.
In conference series, the Tigers hit two home runs vs. Notre Dame, none against Wake Forest and four vs. Georgia Tech. They entered this series against Cal with 32 home runs, ranking in the bottom half of ACC teams.
Clemson found its slugging on the West Coast, crushing six homers. Dominic Listi (Indiana State transfer), Collin Priest (Michigan) and Josh Paino (Cal Baptist) were among six batters who homered in the three-game set. It hopes to carry over its slugging when it returns to Doug Kingsmore Stadium.
"We've felt like that's been coming. We've needed that," Clemson coach Erik Bakich said Saturday. "We've hit some balls and just haven't really had that explosion like that."
Clemson baseball's transfer players show out vs Cal
Speaking of transfers, Clemson's portal additions provided massive offensive contributions over the weekend. Listi went 2-for-5 with three RBIs Friday, including a home run and then a two-out, two-run double that ignited a four-run seventh inning that helped Clemson take Game 1.
On Saturday, Priest was 3-for-4 with a home run and five RBIs. Paino joined in to got 2-for-4 with two runs and a first-inning grand slam. Purdue transfer Luke Gaffney had two RBIs on Sunday, including a go-ahead sacrifice fly in the seventh; he has logged an RBI in three of his past four games.
Clemson baseball sits atop ACC standings
With No. 4 Florida State's series loss to No. 23 Wake Forest this weekend, Clemson is the only ACC team not to lose a conference series this season. The Tigers have faced adversity but have found ways to win, including engineering comeback wins in finales against Wake Forest and Georgia Tech to win both series.
Clemson has concerns about starting pitching and consistent hitting, but when it's time to ...
