Two of the best teams in college baseball and golf will be in action this weekend to continue their quests for National Championships.
Baseball
On Thursday night, No. 6 Clemson(45-13) beat Miami 7-1 in the ACC Baseball Tournament. The Tigers scored six runs in the sixth inning against the Hurricanes and if you take into account, the 17-run fourth on Wednesday in the 21-4 win over Notre Dame, Clemson has shown that they can explode at any moment. Along with the 28 runs(23 scored in two of the 16 innings played), they also had 24 hits, 25 RBIs and six home runs in the two games.
Clemson leads the ACC and is second in the nation with 93 home runs. So far in the tournament, the usual suspects have continued to hit home runs. Junior Seth Beer(1), fourth overall in the nation, senior Chris Williams(2), sophomore Logan Davidson(2) and senior Drew Wharton(1) all hit homers and the trio of Beer, Williams, and Davidson, now have 20, 16, and 15, respectively on the season.
The Tigers are still chasing a national seed and a chance to host a regional. A win in the semifinal game over No. 9 Florida State on Saturday will get them closer to another conference title and it could cement a national seed. Of course, winning the title seals the deal.
Golf
There is another nationally ranked Clemson sports team already vying for a championship this weekend. The 14th ranked men’s golf team began play in the NCAA Tournament Championships Friday at Karsten Creek in Stillwater, OK, and they hope to have the school’s second NCAA Division I Golf Championship on Wednesday.
The Tigers finished second in both the 12-team ACC Tournament Championship and their 13-team NCAA Regional bracket. Can Head coach Larry Penley get them to shoot low for a third consecutive tournament?
Thus far, No. 11 seed Clemson is 1 under par and tied for sixth place. Play was suspended because of darkness and will resume Saturday morning. Upon completion of the 72-hole stroke play, the top eight teams will advance and fight it out in match play for the National Championship.
An individual champion will also be selected and that happens on Monday. Junior Bryson Nimmer(-5) is currently third overall, sophomore Doc Redman(-2), 13th and freshman Kyle Cottam(E), 37th to lead the scoring. They have 38 holes remaining in their first round.
Penley coached the school to its only national title in 2003 at Karsten Creek.