Wednesday 05/24/2000
Clemson, led by seventh-year Head Coach Jack Leggett, is participating in is 14th consecutive regional. The Tigers enter the regional with a 45-16 overall record. The 45 wins are their most since 1996, when Clemson won 51 and played in the College World Series.
The 2000 team saw pitching dominate in the first half of the season. Scott Berney led the Tiger pitching staff, as he went his first 32.2 innings without allowing a run. In the last half of the season, the Tiger bats have come alive. Clemson was hitting .280 as late as April 7, but has raised its average over .300 thanks to the hot hitting of Khalil Greene and Casey Stone among others.
Greene is riding a 19-game hitting streak, the longest by a Tiger since Matthew LeCroy had a 22-game hitting streak in 1996. Stone, who was hitting in the .280s at midseason, is up to .359 and has given the Tigers a much needed boost in the leadoff spot.
Freshmen have also played a prominent role, as Jeff Baker and Jarrod Schmidt have showed why Baseball America rated their recruiting class #1 in the nation. Baker, the starting shortstop, is hitting .325 with a team-best nine homers along with 58 RBIs. Schmidt has a perfect 8-0 record and 3.63 ERA. Schmidt, who was a Second-Team All-ACC starting pitcher, also plays in the field and has five homers and 25 RBIs.
The Tigers finished in second place in both the ACC regular season race and tournament. They have also carries a top-10 ranking in all three polls for 10 consecutive weeks.
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