Clemson Heads to Pittsburgh for Final Regular Season Series

Clemson is looking to bounce back after only taking game one last week.

Clemson took game one last weekend vs. Duke with a score of 9-7.

The Clemson Tigers return to action on Thursday night after losing two out of three games to the Duke Blue Devils last weekend. Clemson will face the Pittsburgh Panthers on Thursday night for a three-game weekend set as the Tigers look to finish the regular season on the right note. Clemson comes into this game with a 38-15 record overall and a 15-12 record within ACC play, while Pittsburgh is sporting a 27-23 overall record and a 10-17 conference record. Clemson must have a strong series against Pittsburgh to be a host site for the NCAA Regionals. 

Pittsburgh Overview

The Pittsburgh Panthers come into this game off the back of a 15-1 win over the Penn State Nittany Lions in seven innings. Pittsburgh will hope their offense continues their strong play of late to end the season on the right foot. The Panthers will also wish to gain momentum heading into the ACC Tournament. 

Last season, the Pittsburgh Panthers went 26-29 overall and 10-20 within the ACC, which was not enough to reach the NCAA Tournament after being knocked out of the ACC Tournament by North Carolina. Pittsburgh has only made three NCAA Regional appearances, with their last one coming in 1995. 

Head Coach Mike Bell is in his seventh season as skipper for Pittsburgh after being hired in 2018. Bell has amassed a 133-147 overall record and a 57-96 ACC record during his time at Pitt. Before being named the fifth head coach in program history, Bell was a pitching coach for the Florida State Seminoles from 2012-2018. 

Scouting Report: Who to Watch Out For

Luke Cantwell - The Pennsylvania native has been the star of this Pittsburgh team all season. After spending the first two years of his collegiate career at Fairleigh Dickinson, Cantwell transferred to Pittsburgh and has become one of the ACC’s best players. Last season, Cantwell set a program record for most walks in a season (57) while also leading the team in on-base percentage (.515) and runs scored (49). This season, Cantwell has gotten even better. The Senior has a .348 batting average (highest on the team), a .504 on-base percentage (highest), a .541 slugging percentage (second-highest), and a 1.045 OPS (highest) this season. Cantwell also leads the team in walks (50) and doubles (18) while being tied for the team-high in runs scored (43) and hits (63). Clemson will have to be very careful when dealing with Cantwell this weekend. 

Ryan Zuckerman - The Sophomore from Yardley, Pennsylvania, has been the power threat for the Panthers this season. Zuckerman had a very successful freshman season last year (.853 OPS) but has upped his game significantly in his sophomore season. The Pennsylvania native is tallying a .312 batting average, a .398 on-base percentage, a .578 slugging percentage (highest on the team), and a .976 OPS (second-highest) this season. Zuckerman also leads the team in home runs (12), RBIs (46), and total bases (115). The Pennsbury High School graduate is second on the team in hits (62) and doubles (15) while being tied for first in runs scored (42). The Clemson pitching staff cannot give Zuckerman a chance to do damage, as he can change a game with one swing of the bat. 

AJ Nessler - The Tampa, Florida native is another offensive threat that the Clemson pitching staff must watch out for. Nessler started his collegiate career with Pittsburgh but decided to transfer to UCF for his sophomore year before returning to Pitt this season. The Junior has had a really strong year for the Panthers, tallying a .335 batting average (third-highest on the team), a .446 on-base percentage (second-highest), a .476 slugging percentage, and a .922 OPS (third-highest). Nessler is also tied for the most hits on the team (63) while being second in runs scored (41), walks (32) and stolen bases (8). Clemson will have to pitch carefully to all three of these hitters if they want to end the regular season strong. 

Possible Starting Pitching Matchups

Thursday, May 15, at 6:00 PM - Clemson’s ace, Aidan Knaak, will get the ball from Erik Bakich in his final start of the regular season. For Pittsburgh, Patrick Gardner will get the start as he looks to bounce back from his tough outing against Wake Forest. 

Friday, May 16, at 3:00 PM - Drew Titsworth will be making his fifth start of the season, looking to go further than three innings, as he did against Duke. Expect Kyle Demi to also make his fifth start of the season after struggling last weekend against Wake Forest. Pitt has not announced a starter, but based off past weekends, this is my prediction. 

Saturday, May 17, at 1:00 PM - Neither team has announced probable starters, but Clemson could go with BJ Bailey on Saturday to close out the regular season for the Tigers. As for Pitt, look for Ryan Reed to get the ball from Mike Bell on Saturday as he looks to close out the regular season with a win. 

Where to Watch

Pittsburgh will host Clemson at 6:00 PM in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, at Charles L. Cost Field and available to watch on ACC Extra.