Tennessee Baseball: A closer look at the Clemson Regional

Tennessee baseball on Monday afternoon was given a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament and will play in the Clemson Regional beginning Friday at 6 p.m. Eastern Time. The Tigers are hosting the Vols, No. 3 seed Charlotte and No. 4 Lipscomb.

The Tennessee-Charlotte game can be televised through ESPNU on Friday. Clemson, the regional host, will face Lipscomb at 1 p.m. ET Friday on ESPN+. The winner of the Clemson Regional’s double-elimination format advances to face the winner from the Auburn Regional, which includes Auburn, the No. 13 overall seed, along with Samford, Southern Miss and Penn.

Here’s a closer look at the other three teams playing in the Clemson Regional, starting with Tennessee’s opening opponent:

Charlotte 49ers

Overall: 34-26 | Conference USA: 17-12 | Away: 10-13 | Neutral: 5-1

RPI: No. 67

How They Got Here: Charlotte was the No. 3 seed in the Conference USA Tournament and lost its opening game to No. 6 Louisiana Tech 13-8 in Houston. All the 49ers did from there was win five straight elimination games over the next four days, winning their first Conference USA Tournament title in program history with a 5-2 win over No. 1-seed Dallas Baptist on Sunday.

The Bats: Sophomore outfielder Cam Fisher, a Knoxville native who attended Hardin Valley Academy, leads all of college baseball with 30 home runs. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound outfielder has a .352 average, a .831 slugging percentage and a 1.340 OPS. He has 64 RBI, has scored 70 runs and has 12 doubles to go with the 30 home runs. He also has more walks (61) than strikeouts (60) in his 60 games played this season.

The Rotation: Junior righty Wyatt Hudepohl made 16 starts for Charlotte this season. He’s 6-6 in decisions with a 4.44 ERA over 97.1 innings pitched. He has a 1.17 WHIP with 118 strikeouts to just 26 walks. Sophomore right-hander Cameron Hansen, a Hendersonville, Tenn., native, started 11 times and made 18 appearances. He has a 4.54 ERA over 71.1 innings pitched with 64 strikeouts and 25 walks. Sophomore left-hander Collin Kramer has 12 starts and 19 appearances with a 4.55 ERA over 61.1 innings pitched. He has 64 strikeouts and 34 walks while giving up 33 runs. 

Clemson Tigers

Overall: 43-17 | ACC: 17-12 | Home: 24-10

RPI: No. 6

How They Got Here: Clemson, the No. 4 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, was the No. 2 seed in the ACC Tournament, finishing behind Wake Forest in the regular-season standings. The Tigers beat Virginia Tech, Boston College, North Carolina and Miami over the course of five days to win the ACC Tournament title, beating Miami 11-5 on Sunday in Durham, N.C. Clemson named Erik Bakich its new head coach last June after former head coach Monte Lee failed to take the Tigers to the postseason the last two years.

The Bats: Freshman Cam Cannarella, the ACC’s freshman of the year, leads Clemson with a .382 batting average. In 57 games, Cannarella has 93 hits, 70 runs scored and 43 RBI. He has a .544 slugging percentage and .459 on-base percentage, to go with a .993 fielding percentage. Junior first baseman Caden Grice is a semifinalist for Golden Spikes Award. He has a .336 batting average, leading the Tigers with 16 home runs and a .595 slugging percentage. 

The Rotation: Grice, the 6-foot-6, 250-pound junior left-hander, is just as good on the mound as he is at the plate. He has an 8-1 record through 13 starts this season, with a 3.25 ERA over 69.1 innings pitched. He has 91 strikeouts against 32 walks and has allowed 31 runs on 48 hits. Opponents batting average against Grice is just .195. Sophomore righty Austin Gordon has a 2-4 record with a 4.41 ERA in 15 starts. Over 79.2 innings, Gordon has given up 41 runs on 71 hits, with 70 strikeouts against 21 walks. Freshman left-hander Ethan Darden has started 12 games and has a 5.56 ERA over 55.0 innings pitched.

Lipscomb Bison

Overall: 36-24 | ASUN: 23-7 | Away: 14-15 | Neutral: 4-2

RPI: No. 90

How They Got Here: Lipscomb, like Charlotte, lost the first game of its conference tournament, then won four straight elimination games to win the ASUN Championship and punch its ticket to the NCAA Tournament. Lipscomb, the No. 1 seed in ASUN tournament, lost to Liberty 12-11 on Tuesday but bounced back with wins over No. 2 Florida Gulf Coast on Thursday and No. 4 Jacksonville on Friday. The Bison won their rematch with No. 3 Liberty on Saturday then beat FGCU 12-6 for the title on Sunday. Head coach Jeff Forehand this season was named the ASUN Coach of the Year for the second year in a row.

The Bats: Sophomore infielder Trace Willhoite leads Lipscomb with a .311 batting average. He has 17 home runs, 65 RBI and 52 runs scored on 66 hits in 60 games this season. Redshirt sophomore catcher Austin Kelly was First Team All-ASUN with 21 home runs, a .302 batting average and a .659 slugging percentage. He has 62 RBI and 43 runs scored on 62 hits in 52 games.

The Rotation: Junior left-hander Logan Van Treeck was the ASUN Pitcher of the Year with an 8-4 record and 3.50 ERA over 82.1 innings pitched. He started nine times and made 16 appearances on the season, giving up 36 runs on 62 hits. Righty Braydon Tucker has a 3.54 ERA and a 7-0 record, making 15 starts and 16 appearances. Through 86.1 innings, he has given up 37 runs on 73 hits. Left-hander Noah Thompson has a 6-3 record and 4.07 ERA in 13 starts and 6 appearances. He has given up 32 runs on 51 hits.