What We Learned About Clemson Baseball In Duke Series, Including How Free Fall Is Impacting Team

CLEMSON — Clemson baseball's free fall continued, but this time, it took place at home.

Duke upset No. 9 Tigers in their three-game series, taking two of three at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Clemson took the opener, 9-7, but dropped the next two: 15-10 on May 10 and 8-4 in the finale May 11.

Clemson (38-15, 15-12 ACC) has lost nine of its past 12 games, continuing to lose ground as a national seed in the NCAA Tournament. Its struggles on offense continued against the Blue Devils (35-16, 16-11), who crushed nine home runs in the series.

Here's what we learned about Clemson's third consecutive conference loss:

Clemson baseball has lost its joy

Clemson coach Erik Bakich couldn't find the right words to describe his dugout after Game 3 starter BJ Bailey allowed a three-run homer in the fifth inning. All Bakich knew was the team was not happy and not showcasing the joy it usually possesses.

That attitude was reflected in Clemson hitters and pitchers' performance, playing tight in games rather than free. Bakich conceded after the series finale the locker room was frustrated amid this rough stretch, where its pitching and hitting has been poor.

"We're our best when we play (and) compete very, very hard pitch-to-pitch, and you visibly see us having fun on the field," Bakich said. "Lots of smiles, lots of talk. You can audibly hear them on defense, and then our dugout is just explosive. It erupts all the time because there's a lot to be excited about."

Bakich is confident Clemson will return to this level of play against Pitt in its final regular-season series, saying it will be an "awesome" week for the Tigers.

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Ethan Darden's injury puts too much stress on Clemson's pitching

Darden has not pitched since April 12 as he deals with a triceps injury. He was Clemson's Game 2 starter behind Aidan Knaak and has a 6.08 ERA. Darden's injury has caused Clemson to move key bullpen pieces into different roles −like starting ones − which has hurt its performance.

Drew Titsworth, a key middle-inning reliever, earned the start in Game 2 but was chased after allowing four runs in three innings. With his exit and Reed Garris and Lucas Malstead having pitched in Game 1, Clemson used unreliable relievers who contributed to Duke's offensive eruption.

Bakich hopes Darden will return for the ACC Tournament that starts May 20, which would help place Clemson's pitchers back in their usual roles.

Erik Bakich is focused on Clemson playing better, not NCAA Tournament

Clemson was projected as a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament in April, but it is now in danger of not being a national seed at all. In the most recent projections, it was not a top-eight overall seed.

The Tigers likely will fall in next week's projections, but Bakich said he is more concentrated on his team performing better, not the postseason.

"To even think about national seed, hosting or even the ACC tournament, it's just too far away because, right now, we've just got to play better," Bakich said. "You can see it on the field. It's just too inconsistent. We give up too many big innings. We have too many non-quality at-bats."

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: Clemson baseball drops ACC series to unranked Duke. What we learned