No. 12 Virginia Tech hosts Clemson, which is receiving votes, this weekend in a key ACC showdown.
The teams had contrasting series last weekend. The Hokies (31-4, 7-2 ACC) recorded three run-rule wins at Boston College, while the Tigers (23-13, 6-6) were swept by Florida State at home by scores of 4-1, 4-2 and 7-3.
Tech leads the all-time series 7-5, but this will only be the Tigers’ second trip to Blacksburg since the program’s formation in 2020. The Hokies will be looking to avenge a heartbreaking 10-9 loss in last year’s ACC Tournament, which featured a torrential downpour in the sixth inning that led to eight Clemson runs that were assisted by six Tech walks, a hit by pitch and an error.
All three games this weekend are scheduled for 6 p.m. ET at Tech Softball Park, with the series starting on Thursday due to Easter Sunday. Saturday’s finale is on the ACC Network.
- Thursday, April 2: 6 p.m. ET, ACCNX
- Friday, April 3: 6 p.m. ET, ACCNX
- Saturday, April 4: 6 p.m. ET, ACCN
Clemson, which was picked second in the ACC preseason poll, has played a challenging schedule, one that is ranked 16th by the NCAA’s RPI metric. It has a 7-4 record against top-25 teams, including:
- Two wins over No. 23 Baylor (3-0, 8-0)
- Two wins over No. 24 Georgia Tech (9-4, 1-0)
- A run-rule win over No. 11 Georgia (10-1)
- A win over No. 9 Mississippi State (3-0)
- A win over No. 17 Oregon
The Tigers also run-ruled No. 28 South Carolina (8-0) in Columbia earlier this season.
In the ACC, they’ve won series over Georgia Tech, Louisville and Notre Dame before being swept by Florida State. After Virginia Tech, they have road series in Pittsburgh and Durham and host Virginia.
The Virginia Tech offense continued to click in Boston and is currently ranked third in the country in hits (373), sixth in batting average (.378), second in doubles per game (2.20), seventh in slugging percentage (.671) and eighth in home runs per game (1.83).
Meanwhile, Clemson has a team batting average of .294 and averages 5.4 runs per game. It’s also smacked 29 home runs this season (0.78 per game).
The Tigers are led by freshman Mac Pavese, a former top-10 recruit, who is hitting .370 with four home runs. Sophomore Marian Collins (.365, 5 HRs), junior Kiley Channell (.327) and senior Jamison Brockenbrough (.324, 4 HRs) round out their bats over .300. Channell, a transfer from Florida Atlantic, was the 2024 AAC Rookie of the Year.
Oklahoma transfer Corri Hicks leads Clemson in home runs with seven and is tied for the RBI lead (29) with Pavese and Collins. Junior Kylee Johnson leads the team in stolen bases with nine (in 10 attempts).
Here are the hitting statistics:
In the circle, the teams appear to be evenly matched. Virginia Tech has a team ERA of 2.60 while Clemson has a 2.78 mark. Neither team allows many home runs — 14 and 19 on the year, respectively.
The Hokies are fifth in the country in strikeouts per seven innings (8.57) while the Tigers are tied for eighth in shutouts with 11. Among Clemson’s shutout victims have been BYU, Mississippi State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Notre Dame, South Carolina and Baylor (twice).
Individually, the Hokies’ Bree Carrico leads the ACC in ERA (1.33), while the Tigers’ Sierra Maness leads the conference in wins (14). A transfer from USC Upstate, Maness also paces the conference in shutouts (4). On the other side, Carrico guides the league in opposing batting average (.159).
Maness and Boston College transfer Abby Dunning have started 27 of the Tigers’ 37 games, and Maness leads the team with 10 complete games.
Here is a comparison of the two pitching staffs:
Defensively, the Hokies appear to have a slight advantage, committing an average of 0.7 errors per game compared to Clemson’s 1.1. Virginia Tech has only allowed eight stolen bases in 10 attempts, while the Tigers have allowed 26 thefts in 34 tries.
Here is the tale of the tape:
