The Tigers defeated Virginia Tech on Wednesday to advance
Fourth-seeded NC State is set to take on #5 seed Clemson Thursday night at 7:00pm (broadcast on the ACC Network; link for live stats here) in the quarterfinals of the 2025 ACC Tournament at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. The Tigers won their second round matchup with Virginia Tech by a 6-1 final score on Wednesday afternoon to advance and face the Wolfpack.
To move on to the semifinals, NC State will need to do one of the hardest things in baseball: beat a team for a fourth consecutive time. The Wolfpack hosted Clemson for a three-game set in Raleigh during the regular season with State sweeping the Tigers there, kicking off a three-series losing streak for Clemson after arriving in Raleigh with a pristine 36-7 record.
Despite that slide, a stretch that saw Clemson go just 2-8 over a 10-game run, the Tigers still sit firmly in NCAA Regional hosting position with a 42-15 overall record and an RPI ranking of 9th in the country. The Tigers course has been corrected over the last week and Clemson is currently riding a 4-game winning streak, during which they’ve outscored their opponents (Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech) by a combined score of 36-10.
Clemson is still very much the same team they were when they came to Raleigh. That is, an very talented lineup and an incredibly deep bullpen, with a surefire ace at the head of the starting rotation. That starting rotation has been a bit in flux due to a mix of injuries and ineffectiveness, but SO RHP Drew Titsworth has put together some promising outings, indicating a potential to create a 1-2 punch that will serve the Tigers well in NCAA postseason play.
The 1 in that 1-2 punch is SO RHP Aidan Knaak, the 2024 National Freshman Pitcher-of-the-Year and 2025 1st Team All-ACC performer. Since getting shelled by the Pack in Raleigh, Knaak has been on a tremendous 4-game run: 3-0, 2.22 ERA, 24.1 IP, 13 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 12 BB, 30 K, 11.8 BB%, 29.4 K%. Thankfully, Knaak will be of no worry for State hitters as he tossed 6.0 innings of 1-run ball in Wednesday’s win over the Hokies.
Instead, State will have their hands full with Titsworth. While the Pack did touch him up for 4 runs (all earned) on 8 hits in 4.0 innings in Raleigh back in April, he busted out one of his best starts of the season last week in a win at Pittsburgh (6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K), so he should be entering this game stacked with confidence.
The bigger issue is that deep and talented Clemson bullpen which allows the coaching staff to use a quick hook on their starter if things aren’t going well. SR RHP Lucas Mahlstedt (2-0, 15 SV, 2.18 ERA, 41.1 IP, 3.5 BB%, 31.8 K%) gets the majority of the glory, but it’s a group that features several other high-end arms including SR RHP Reed Garris (3-0, 3 SV, 1.33 ERA, 27.0 IP, 7.1 BB%, 30.3 K%), JR RHP Joe Allen (4-0, 2.00 ERA, 27.0 IP, 13.9 BB%, 26.1 K%), and SO LHP Jacob McGovern (3-1, 1 SV, 4.32 ERA, 25.0 IP, 9.3 BB%, 29.0 K%). Garris is coming off a minor back injury and hasn’t pitched in two weeks, although he should be good to pitch in Durham. McGovern’s emergence has provided a quality lefty option for Clemson, although he did pitch on Wednesday against VT (2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K) so his availability against the Pack should be limited.
Still leading the experienced lineup is JR CF Cam Cannarella (.332/.473/.475, 19 2B, 2 HR, 19.0 BB%, 14.3 K%, 6-9 SB), who has been on a tear over the last month and put together a 1-for-3 day against the Hokies with a 2B, R, RBI, and BB. SR LF Dominic Listi (.293/.492/.448, 14 2B, 4 HR, 20.0 BB%, 16.5 K%, 9-11 SB) and SO 2B Jarren Purify (.288/.418/.480, 10 2B, 6 HR, 13.0 BB%, 23.0 K%, 25-29 SB) also had big days against VT, with Listi crushing a homer and driving in four runs and Purify having a 3-hit afternoon. Outside of that group, another trio of Tiger hitters each have double-digit home runs on the year: SR 3B Josh Paino (.271/.376/.471, 10 2B, 10 HR, 10.7 BB%, 29.4 K%, 9-10 SB), JR C Jacob Jarrell (.269/.400/.520, 5 2B, 13 HR, 14.4 BB%, 25.9 K%, 0-0 SB), and SO DH Collin Priest (.253/.422/.512, 11 2B, 11 HR, 18.2 BB%, 21.3 K%, 0-0 SB).
NC State will have quite the task ahead of them Thursday if the Wolfpack are to advance towards their third ACC Tournament championship game appearance in the last five years. This Clemson squad is dang good, and they appear to be hitting their stride again at just the right time.