Clemson Baseball to Face Wofford Wednesday Afternoon at Doug Kingsmore Stadium

March 4, 2008

Clemson vs. Wofford Clemson (5-2), ranked as high as #17 in the nation, will play host to Wofford (6-1) on Wednesday at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. First pitch for is scheduled for 4:00 PM. The game will be broadcast live on the radio by WCCP (104.9 FM) out of Clemson and can be heard live on the internet at WCCPFM.com. Live stats will also be available at ClemsonTigers.com.

The Series Clemson and Wofford have met 97 times on the diamond, with Clemson holding a 73-23-1 lead in the series dating back to 1898.

The two teams have played one game every year since 2001, including five of the last seven years at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. The two also met at Clemson in 1999. Prior to the 1999 game, the last meetings came in 1976 and 1977 at Spartanburg, both Tiger victories.

In 2007, the Tigers defeated the Terriers 12-3 in Clemson’s first-ever game at Fluor Field in Greenville, SC. Clemson belted five home runs in the contest, including long balls by Doug Hogan and Ben Paulsen.

Clemson holds a 36-8 lead in the series in games played at Clemson and 6-0 advantage in games played at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Jack Leggett is 8-0 against the Terriers as Clemson’s head coach as well.

The Starting Pitchers Wofford will start sophomore righthander Tom Dolinak (0-0, 2.84 ERA) on the mound. The Knoxville, TN native has made one start and one relief appearance for a total of 6.1 innings pitched. He has allowed four hits (.167 opponents’ batting average) and five walks with six strikeouts.

Clemson will counter with freshman lefthander Casey Harman (0-0, 2.45 ERA) on Wednesday. The South Burlington, VT native has made three relief appearances for a total of 3.2 innings pitched, therefore he will be making his first career start. He has allowed two hits (.143 opponents’ batting average) and no walks with three strikeouts.

The Terriers Wofford, led by first-year Head Coach Todd Interdonato, enters Wednesday’s game at #17 Clemson with a 6-1 record after winning three of four games over Albany over the weekend. The Terriers, who have yet to play a game on the road, also swept Saint Peter’s in three games to start the season.

The Terriers, who are averaging 9.7 runs per game, are hitting .374 with a .679 slugging percentage and .459 on-base percentage. The team has totaled 17 doubles, three triples, and 17 home runs in seven games, including a team-high five long balls by Adam Kearney.

Jake Williams is hitting a team-best .522 and Emre Caglayan is hitting .476. Shane Kirkley has a team-high 12 RBIs and a .448 batting average.

The pitching staff has a 3.10 ERA and .215 opponents’ batting average. Michael Gilmartin, who is hitting .308 with seven walks against no strikeouts at the plate, has all three of Wofford’s saves. The Terriers are fielding at a .950 clip as well.

The Tigers Clemson enters Wednesday’s game against Wofford with a 5-2 record after falling twice in two games to #3 South Carolina over the weekend. The Tigers, who are 4-1 at home this season, also bring a #17 national ranking into the game.

The Tigers are hitting .324 with a .395 on-base percentage. Doug Hogan is hitting .393 with two homers and five RBIs, as he is riding a current 22-game hitting streak, tied for the sixth-longest hitting streak in Clemson history.

The pitching staff has a 3.77 ERA and .279 opponents’ batting average. Righthander Matt Vaughn has struck out nine against no walks in 5.0 innings pitched and has both of Clemson’s saves this season. The Tigers are fielding at a .966 clip as well.

Worth Noting Clemson has scored 19 runs in the third inning this season. Meanwhile, Tiger opponents have combined to score no runs in both the fourth and fifth innings.

Paulsen Emerging Sophomore first-baseman Ben Paulsen (Acworth, GA) is hitting .364 with two homers and five RBIs on the season. He has been especially hot in recent games. After a 1-for-9 start in the first three games, he is 7-for-13 (.538) in the last four games.

He has an excellent eye at the plate as well. Paulsen has walked six times, been hit-by-pitch two times, and has struck out just two times, therefore he has a team-high .516 on-base percentage.

Gamecocks Take Two From Tigers in March South Carolina, ranked #3 in the country, won both games of a home-and-home series over #13 Clemson on March 1,2. The Gamecocks outscored the Tigers by a combined score of 15-2 and outhit Clemson .329 to .250. South Carolina turned four Tiger errors into seven unearned runs. Wilson Boyd added four hits in eight at-bats. The two Clemson starting pitchers combined to allow just two earned runs in 11.1 innings pitched as well.

Reese Havens hit a grand slam and totaled five RBIs to lead South Carolina to a 10-1 victory over Clemson at Sarge Frye Field on March 1. Havens’ two-out grand slam in the second inning came after a costly error, one of two by the Tigers that led to six unearned runs in the game. Clemson totaled eight hits but could not string them together, as it left nine runners on base to the Gamecocks’ four. J.D. Burgess’ double in the seventh inning plated Lee for the Tigers’ lone run. Lee also went 2-for-2 with a walk. Mike Cisco pitched 7.1 strong innings to earn the win. Ryan Hinson suffered the loss even though he allowed just six hits, one earned run, and no walks with five strikeouts in 6.0 innings pitched.

Blake Cooper and Curtis Johnson combined to limit Clemson to one unearned run on nine hits in South Carolina’s 5-1 win over Clemson at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on March 2. The Gamecocks scored two runs in the top of the sixth inning before the Tigers cut their lead in half in the bottom of the sixth on a South Carolina error. But the Gamecocks added a run in the seventh inning and two more in the ninth inning to cap the victory. Five Gamecocks had at least two hits, as they totaled 14 in the game. Boyd had three of the Tigers’ nine hits, but Clemson was 1-for-18 with runners on base and 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position.