By Will Vandervort (Contact / Staff Bio)
May 9, 2008 - 12:16 a.m. EST

CLEMSON — The last time the Clemson Tigers visited Georgia Tech’s Chandler Stadium, let’s just say it was not a very memorable trip to Atlanta.

The Yellow Jackets, who host Clemson today to open a three-game series, beat the Tigers 22-4 – the largest margin of victory by a Georgia Tech team in the series’ history. And keep in mind that Clemson team went on to play in the College World Series.

“It has always been a tough place for us to play and they always play well against us down there so it will be a challenge,” Clemson coach Jack Leggett said Thursday.

Tough is an understatement. Georgia Tech owns a 66-39-2 advantage on its home field against the Tigers. In fact, the Yellow Jackets have won 12 of the last 15 meetings at Chandler Field between the two teams.

Clemson (25-23-1, 10-16-1 ACC) has not won a three-game series at Tech since 1996.

Those numbers do not bode well for a Clemson squad that may need to win two of these three games to advance to the ACC Tournament, which will be in two weeks in Jacksonville, Fla. This three-game series will close out the ACC season for the Tigers.

“We are going to have to play well,” Leggett said. “This definitely means something because this is a big weekend for us and this is a big weekend for them.”

Georgia Tech currently owns a two-game lead on Clemson in the win column for sixth place in the conference standings, a position they could lose if they are swept by the Tigers and then lose next weekend’s series against Virginia.

But a lot has to happen for the Yellow Jackets (34-14, 12-12) to slide out of the top eight schools, but that’s not the case for Clemson.

The Tigers, who currently sit in seventh place in the ACC standings with Duke, can create some separation by at least winning this weekend series due to the fact Duke and Wake Forest – eighth and ninth place, respectively – play each other this weekend.

“The good thing is with everyone playing each other, somebody has to lose,” Leggett said. “We just have to win. That’s the bottom line, I don’t know how else to put it.”

If Clemson can sweep Georgia Tech, and that’s a big if considering the Yellow Jackets just dusted off 11th-ranked Georgia 10-1 Wednesday, and Duke sweeps Wake Forest, then the Tigers will be in the tournament regardless of what happens the following weekend.

If Clemson should only win two games and Wake sweeps the Blue Devils, then the Tigers should be set regardless of what Duke does the following week at Virginia Tech. If Clemson wins two games and Wake loses two of three to the Blue Devils then Clemson is in as well.

But if the Tigers lose all three games to Georgia Tech and Wake Forest sweeps Duke, and the Blue Devils get two wins at Virginia Tech next weekend, then Duke will be in and Clemson will be out.

“We can’t really focus on what other teams have to do,” Clemson catcher Doug Hogan said. “We have to concentrate on what we have ahead of us and we can’t worry about what other teams have to do in order to determine our fate so if we go down there and take care of our business then the rest will take care of itself.”

For the Tigers to take care of themselves, they have to learn to put a full game together, especially when their season could come down to these last seven games.

“We’re hoping its this weekend,” Leggett said. “We just have to try to put everything together. At times we will see the offense and then the pitching disappears for a little bit and then the pitching is here and then the offense disappears. We just have to try to find that mix. I try to keep these guys loose, focused and concentrating on what they have to do. They know what they have to do. They know what is in front of them. There are no surprises going into this weekend. We will have to do well down there.”