Baseball Hits the Road For Five Games Over Spring Break

March 21, 2005

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Clemson vs. Old Dominion Clemson (8-8) will take to the road for five games during Spring Break, starting with Norfolk, VA when it plays at Old Dominion (14-12) on Tuesday and Wednesday. Game times are 7:00 PM for both games. Both games will be broadcast live on the radio by WCCP (104.9 FM) out of Clemson. Live stats will be available at ClemsonTigers.com for both games as well. The Tigers will then travel directly to College Park, MD to play at Maryland this weekend in a three-game series starting Friday at 7:00 PM. The Tigers and Terrapins will face each other again on Saturday (7:00 PM) and Sunday (1:00 PM)

The Series Clemson and Old Dominion have met 36 times on the diamond, with Clemson holding a 30-6 lead in the series dating back to 1983. Clemson has won 22 of the last 23 meetings dating back to 1989, with the Monarchs’ only win during that span coming in a two-game series at Norfolk, VA in 2001. That was also the last time the two teams played at Old Dominion. Clemson swept a three-game series at Doug Kingsmore Stadium in 2003 by a combined score of 25-3. The Tigers lead the series 3-1 in games played at Old Dominion and are 17-1 against the Monarchs under Head Coach Jack Leggett.

The Starting Pitchers Old Dominion’s starters were not determined as of Monday AM. The Tigers will start freshman righthander David Kopp (0-2, 9.58 ERA) on Tuesday. The Margate, FL native has made one start and five relief appearances for a total of 10.1 innings pitched. He has allowed 15 hits and five walks while striking out eight.

Clemson is tentatively scheduled to counter with senior righthander Jeff Hahn (0-0, 4.80 ERA) on Wednesday. The Winchester, VA native has yet to make a start and has made six relief appearances for a total of 15.0 innings pitched. He has allowed 14 hits and three walks while striking out 13.

The Monarchs Old Dominion, led by former South Carolina Pitching Coach and first-year Head Coach Jerry Meyers, enters the midweek series with a 14-12 overall record after falling twice in three games to Princeton over the weekend. The Monarchs, who are 11-9 at home, has a win against Virginia this season.

Old Dominion is hitting .301 as a team and is led by Bryan Cipolla, who is batting .366 with 12 doubles, four homers, and 41 RBIs. No other Monarch has more than 20 RBIs. The team has stolen 32 bases, including 11 in 11 attempts by Evan Chipman. The team is fielding at a .959 clip as well.

The Monarchs sport a 4.60 team ERA and a .282 opponents’ batting average. They have also walked just 85 in 240.2 innings pitched. James Burok leads the team with a 1.85 ERA and two saves in one start and nine relief appearances. The senior righthander has also struck out 27 against only eight walks and has a .193 opponents’ batting average.

The Tigers Clemson enters the series with an 8-8 overall record and 2-1 ACC mark thanks to two wins in three games against #9 North Carolina over the weekend. The Tigers will go on the road for nine of their next 11 games, which includes weekend series at Maryland and at Florida State after a two-game series at Old Dominion. The team, which is 1-4 in road games this year, has a .280 batting average, 3.92 ERA, and .978 fielding percentage.

Freshman Taylor Harbin continues to lead the team in hitting, as the second baseman is batting .373 with 10 doubles, two homers, 12 RBIs, and four steals in 16 games. Kris Harvey leads the team in homers (5) and RBIs (23) after a three-homer, 10-RBI week in four games last week. Tyler Colvin is hitting .333, but leads the team with a .600 (12-for-20) batting average in games away from home.

The pitching staff has a .279 opponents’ batting average and a 2.33 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Stephen Faris has allowed just 11 hits and one run in 15.1 innings pitched, and has a 0.59 ERA in one start and five relief appearances. Stephen Clyne has the team’s only save.

Three Tigers will return to their home state when the team takes on Old Dominion this week. Jeff Hahn (Winchester) are all Virginia natives.

Tigers Rebound to Win Series vs. #9 Tar Heels Clemson won two of three games over #9 North Carolina from March 18-20 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. After losing a heartbreaker 2-1 in game one, the Tigers outscored the Tar Heels 16-4 in the final two games to take the series. Taylor Harbin was also 5-for-11 with a homer and double. The Tigers hit just .226 in the series, but walked 14 times and played excellent defense, committing just two errors in the series, while North Carolina committed eight. The Tiger pitching staff was superb, as it allowed just 21 hits, six runs, and seven walks while striking out 25 in 27.0 innings pitched.

In game one, the two teams combined for 25 strikeouts, as North Carolina escaped with a 2-1 victory. Andrew Miller struck out 11 and allowed just one unearned run on two hits in 7.0 innings to improve to 5-0 on the season. Jonathan Hovis pitched 2.0 scoreless innings to earn the save. The loss spoiled an outstanding effort by Tiger starter Josh Cribb, who struck out a 10 ni 7.2 innings pitched, both career highs. He also did not walk a batter and allowed only two runs, but suffered the loss. Harbin has two of the Tigers’ three hits, while freshman Reid Fronk led the Tar Heels with three hits. Clemson stranded seven runners on base and could not score after getting the leadoff runner on base in four different innings.

In game two, Harvey hit two homers and pitched 7.0 scoreless innings of one-hit ball to lead the Tigers to a 9-1 win. Harvey earned the win, as he improved to 3-1. He added two solo home runs, his fourth and fifth of the year. Harbin added a double, a homer, and two RBIs, while Herman Demmink had two singles and two RBIs as well. Clemson batters struck out just once and walked seven times. A five-run sixth inning put the game out of reach. North Carolina did not have a runner go past second base until two outs in the ninth inning when a run-scoring double by pinch-hitter Bryan Steed prevented the shutout. Daniel Bard suffered the loss, as three of his six career losses have come against the Tigers.

In game three, Harvey had two hits and four RBIs to lead the Tigers to a 7-3 victory and series win. Andy D’Alessio gave the Tigers the lead with a long three-run homer in the fourth inning. Harvey then drove in the next four runs. Robert Rohrbaugh earned the win by pitching 6.1 innings, allowing two runs and one walk on six hits. North Carolina committed four errors to the Tigers’ none.

Clemson 5-3 Against Top-25 Teams in 2005 Thanks to the three-game sweep of #18 UC Irvine from February 25-27 and two wins in three games against #9 North Carolina, Clemson is 5-3 against top-25 ranked teams in 2005. In over 11 seasons at Clemson, Head Coach Jack Leggett has 133 wins over teams ranked in the top 25. Only three times in his first 11 seasons has he had a losing record against teams in the top 25.

Leggett Approaching 900 Career WinsJack Leggett, who won his 500th game as Clemson’s head coach in 2004, has a 897-518 (.634) career record in his 26th season as a head coach. He needs three more wins to reach the 900-win mark in his career. A total of 34 coaches in NCAA history have reached 900 career wins as a Division I head coach.

Tiger Rotation Stood Up to One of the Nation’s Best The Tiger starting weekend rotation of Kris Harvey, and Robert Rohrbaugh matched one of the best weekend rotations in the nation from March 18-20. The #9 North Carolina team brought in a rotation of Andrew Miller, Daniel Bard, and Adam Kalkhof, arguably the nation’s top three-man rotation. But Clemson’s trio matched them toe-to-toe. Cribb, Harvey, and Rohrbaugh combined to pitch 21.0 innings, and allowed just 15 hits, four runs, and six walks while striking out 19 to go along with a 1.71 ERA. The three also held the #9 Tar Heels to a .205 batting average. Meanwhile, North Carolina’s starting three combined for 16.1 innings pitched, 13 hits, nine walks, and a 3.86 ERA to go along with 13 strikeouts.

Harbin Perfect in the Field Taylor Harbin not only leads the team with a .373 batting average, he has been perfect in the field. In 74 chances, he has not committed an error. He is a big reason the Tigers have a .978 fielding percentage, ahead of the Clemson single-season record of .971, which was set in 2002.

D’Alessio Making Most of It Sophomore first-baseman Andy D’Alessio (Naples, FL) would admit that he has not gotten off to a good start, but the hits he has gotten have certainly counted in a big way. He has just eight hits, but six are for extra bases, including four homers and two doubles. He also has 16 RBIs, which equates to two RBIs for every hit. A big reason for that is the fact that he is 2-for-2 with a grand slam, double, and seven RBIs with the bases loaded this season. He also crushed a three-run homer against #9 North Carolina on March 20.

Harvey Has Week to Remember Kris Harvey had one of the best all-around weeks and games in Clemson history during four games from March 16-20. In four games, three of which were against #9 North Carolina, he was 6-for-13 (.462) with five runs scored, two walks, a double, three homers, and 10 RBIs at the plate.

His best game during the week was against the Tar Heels on March 19. He started on the mound and earned the victory by pitching 7.0 scoreless innings of one-hit ball. He did not allow a Tar Heel runner past second base. That same game, he hit two towering home runs to lead Clemson to a 9-1 win. On the season, he leads the team in homers (5), RBIs (23), and wins (3).

Harvey Helping Himself on the Mound Kris Harvey has been his own best friend. He has helped the Tigers win this year with his bat and right arm this year. He leads the team with five homers and 23 RBIs, and has been effective on the mound as well. In five starts and 29.2 innings pitched, he has allowed just 27 hits and 10 walks while striking out 24 to go along with a .237 opponents’ batting average and 3.34 ERA. And those starts are against solid competition. His five starts have come against East Carolina, #18 UC Irvine, Auburn, #4 South Carolina, and #9 North Carolina. After a shaky outing against East Carolina in the team’s third game, he is 3-0 with a 2.08 ERA (six earned runs in 26.0 innings pitched) in his last four starts.