By Sam Walters
The regular season's fruits have been sowed, as the Clemson Tigers were selected for their 46th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history. Not only are they headed to the tournament as a top threat, but they start the series on their home turf.
The Tigers (41-14) start the first round hosting the double-elimination Clemson Regional at Doug Kingsmore Stadium and enter the tournament as the No. 1 seed in the regional and the No. 6 national seed. Other teams selected into the Clemson Regional include No. 2 seed Vanderbilt (38-21), No. 3 seed Coastal Carolina (34-23), and No. 4 seed High Point (34-25).
To open the Clemson Regional, No. 2 Vanderbilt faces No. 3 Coastal Carolina on Friday, May 31, at 12 p.m., followed by the No. 1 Tigers against No. 4 High Point at 7 p.m. The winners and losers of the first games will play each other the following Saturday.
High Point comes into Clemson off their win in the Big South Conference Championship, where they defeated USC Upstate 6-0. Entering the tournament for the first time in program history, they have built an immaculate season filled with broken school records and monumental program performances. Winning seven out of their eight in-conference series’ and wrapping up the season with a streak of series and game wins, they will be a tough opponent.
The Commodores and the Chanticleers face off against each other to start the regional, both powerful adversaries in college baseball. Vanderbilt ended their season with a trip to the SEC Tournament semifinals, beating Alabama, top-ranked Tennessee, and Mississippi State on their escapade. Their 18 consecutive tournament appearances streak marks the longest active streak in Division 1 baseball, proving they are a familiar foe in the postseason action. Coastal Carolina makes their 20th regional appearance following two Sun Belt Tournament losses, making a disappointing end to their regular season. Their prowess speaks for itself, as they went on a 15-game winning streak to begin the season and showed their strength for the rest.
Tune into The ROAR at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, May 31, for pregame coverage of Game 2 of the Clemson Regional at Doug Kingsmore Stadium!
