What we learned from Clemson baseball 19-inning scoreless streak in losing series to NC State

CLEMSON — After rolling through its schedule with little hiccups, Clemson baseball faced some adversity, losing 9-5 to USC Upstate Tuesday and dropping its first ACC series to NC State.

The loss ended Clemson's streak of 15 straight regular-season series wins, but the No. 2 Tigers (29-6, 11-4 ACC) still lead the ACC’s Atlantic Division.

"It certainly feels like we've hit a little rough patch here this week — we've had a tough week — but that doesn't have to lead into any further," Clemson coach Erik Bakich said Saturday.

The Wolfpack (20-13, 10-8) won in an 11-8 shootout Friday and shut out the Tigers 4-0 on Saturday. Clemson rebounded Sunday, winning 7-0 to avoid the sweep. Its five-run seventh inning snapped an 19-inning scoreless streak that dated back to the series opener.

In the opener, NC State won the back-and-forth contest behind 10 of its runs coming with two outs. On Saturday, Clemson was shutout for the first time since March 25, 2022, recorded only five hits and striking out 11 times. In the finale, the Tigers scored five runs in the seventh.

Here are three takeaways from the series:

Errors lead to Clemson baseball's first series loss this season

Bakich described the Tigers' defense as sloppy on Friday, committing three runs and allowing six unearned runs. Clemson continued its struggles Saturday, logging four errors and three unearned runs. The Tigers bounced back Sunday, fielding cleanly to commit no errors.

Still, Clemson has committed 44 errors this season, which ranks among the top in the ACC.

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Ethan Darden, Aidan Knaak continue impressive pitching

Although Matthew Marchal struggled in the opener in his third start of the year, allowing five runs across 3 2/3 innings, Darden and Knaak kept up their ace-level play.

Darden pitched his first complete game of his collegiate career Saturday, allowing seven hits and four runs (one earned) with seven strikeouts. He kept Clemson around, but its offense could not support him, going 5-for-33 at the plate and leaving 11 batters on base. The sophomore has a 5-0 record this season and a 3.90 ERA.

On Sunday, Knaak pitched a career-high eight scoreless innings, giving up one walk and tying his career-high in strikeouts with 10. He has allowed only one earned run in his past three starts across 23 innings. The freshman has been dominant this season, posting a 3-0 record with a 2.87 ERA.

Cam Cannarella rebounds in finale after up-and-down week

The reigning ACC freshman of the year had a shaky start to the week, going 3-for-14 in the first three games and committing his first error of the year in the opener. In the finale, Cannarella responded, going 2-for-5 including an RBI single that contributed to the five-run seventh.

Clemson plays Charlotte on Tuesday at home and will host Pitt for a three-game series starting April 19.

"I think everybody was pressing, even the fans," Bakich said Sunday. "You can feel it, and that's why we felt like we needed to force the action a little bit, get the short game going and just do something different."

Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at dcarter@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: What we learned from Clemson baseball losing ACC series to NC State