Clemson baseball's Caden Grice is about to hit a milestone — a bad one
Clemson baseball top prospect Caden Grice could reach a significant number during the upcoming ACC tournament.
But it's one he'll try to avoid.
Grice, a sophomore first baseman and outfielder from Greer (Riverside), is six strikeouts away from 100 this season. No Clemson player during the past two decades has struck out even 70 times.
Clemson (35-21, 13-16) clinched the final spot in this week's 12-team event in Charlotte with a 6-2 home win Friday against Boston College. Pairings are set for the first games. The Tigers will play 7 p.m. Tuesday against North Carolina and 7 p.m. Thursday against Virginia Tech.
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Grice was listed in the preseason as a top-15 national player by D1Baseball and Perfect Game. He has a dozen home runs, but his batting average is down to .247 and his strikeout rate has worsened from 39.7% to 42.9%. As a result, he's been slipping in the order. In a May 17 game against Coastal Carolina, he dropped all the way to the bottom, behind the .217-hitting Jonathan French.
"I didn't say anything to (Grice) about it. He didn't say anything about it," Clemson coach Monte Lee said. "... I don't have conversations with guys unless I feel like I need to explain to them why I move a guy up or down. If they come to me, obviously, we'll have the conversation."
"Honestly, it doesn't matter where I bat as long as I get a chance to compete," Grice said. "It's just about helping my guys win. If that means I'm at the bottom of the order, then I'm at the bottom of the order."
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Clemson's highest number of strikeouts by a batter in the past 20 years was 66 by Lou Santangelo in 2004. But that was only at a rate of 26.0% and he hit .300 with 18 home runs. Doug Hogan struck out 65 times (28.3%) in 2008.
Grice went 0-for-3 with a strikeout against Coastal Carolina, making him 2-for-19 with eight strikeouts during a five-game stretch. In the next game, though, the start of a series against Boston College to end the regular season, Grice was 3-for-4 with a double and a homer.
"You look at the guys who are hitting above him and they're all swinging the bat pretty dang good," Lee said. "So, it's just a matter of trying to put guys in position to be successful. You know, sometimes bumping a guy down in the order helps him tremendously because it takes some of the pressure off of him as a player. And that's all I'm really trying to do."
Todd Shanesy covers Clemson athletics for the USA Today network.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson's Caden Grice could hit 100 strikeouts in ACC tournament
