Clemson Baseball Weekly Wrapup

Feb. 21, 2010

Clemson University Overall Season Record: 3-0 ACC Regular-Season Record: 0-0

Last Week: 3-0 Fri. W, Home vs. Miami (OH), 11-0 Sat. W, Neutral* vs. Michigan State, 10-2 Sun. W, Home vs. Furman, 8-5 * – Greenville, SC (Fluor Field)

Next Week Fri. Home vs. Wright State, 4:00 PM Sat. Home vs. Wright State, 2:00 PM Sun. Home vs. Wright State, 1:00 PM

Notes Clemson, ranked as high as #15 in the nation, went 3-0 against three different opponents from February 19-21. The Tigers outscored Miami (OH), Michigan State, and Furman by a combined score of 29-7 and hit .324. Clemson also totaled nine doubles, five homers, and six stolen bases. Mike Freeman and Kyle Parker both totaled five hits, one homer, and five RBIs. Freshman Jonathan Meyer retired all nine batters he faced over two relief appearances, a big reason Clemson had a 2.00 ERA, .179 opponents’ batting average, and 20 strikeouts against only four walks in the three games.

In the first game against Miami (OH) at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on February 19, Will Lamb went 4-for-4 with a homer, three runs, and three RBIs (all career-highs) to lead Clemson to an 11-0 win. The Tigers scored four runs in both the seventh and eighth innings to blow the game open. Lamb, who made his first career start at first base, also hit a double and led Clemson’s 13-hit attack. Parker blasted a three-run homer, while Jeff Schaus added three RBIs. Casey Harman, the first of four Tiger pitchers, earned the win by pitching 5.0 innings of one-hit ball. The four Tiger hurlers combined to limit the RedHawks to only two hits and faced just three batters over the minimum.

In the second game against Michigan State at Fluor Field in Greenville, SC on February 20, John Hinson, Wilson Boyd, and Freeman all hit home runs in Clemson’s 10-2 win. Hinson’s three-run homer in the second inning gave the Tigers a 4-0 lead, then Boyd blasted a two-run homer in the sixth and Freeman hit a three-run homer in the seventh to put the game out of reach. Boyd had a game-high three hits for the Tigers, who outhit the Spartans 10-8. Starter Scott Weismann earned the win in 4.2 innings pitched, while Lamb, Meyer, and Scott Firth combined to pitch 4.1 scoreless innings in relief to close out the game.

In the third game against Furman at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on February 21, Clemson took a 7-2 lead after four innings and held on for an 8-5 win. Freeman went 2-for-3 with two doubles, three runs, one RBI, two walks, and two stolen bases to lead Clemson’s 10-hit attack. Jason Stolz went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs, while Schaus added two hits and two RBIs. Kevin Brady earned his first career win in a starting role, while Meyer pitched 2.0 perfect innings to record his first career save. The Tigers were aided by six Paladin errors.

The Tigers sport a 3-0 record on the young season. Clemson is hitting .400 with runners in scoring position and has gotten over half (13 of 25) of its leadoff batters on base. Lamb went 4-for-4 in his one game in the field and pitched 2.1 scoreless innings of one-hit ball on the mound this past week, while freshman Richie Shaffer went 3-for-7 (.429) with four runs and a .600 on-base percentage in his first three collegiate games.

The pitching staff has a 2.00 ERA and .179 opponents’ batting average along with 20 strikeouts against four walks in 27.0 innings pitched this season. The Tigers are fielding at a .975 clip as well.

The Tigers will be off for four days before hosting Wright State in a three-game series at Doug Kingsmore Stadium starting Friday at 4:00 PM. The Raiders are coming off a trip to the Fort Worth (TX) Regional in 2009.