Monday 06/21/1999
March 3, 1999
Clemson will play host to The Citadel on Wednesday afternoon at 3:00 PM. The game is the first of a nine-game homestand for the Tigers. The two last met in the ’98 East Regional at Tiger Field. Clemson (5-3) defeated the Bulldogs 12-3 for its 2,000th school victory. The Tigers hold a 79-17 (.823) advantage over The Citadel (3-5) in the series dating back to 1900.
Lefthander Brian Adams (0-1, 4.26) or righty Skip Browning (0-0, 18.00) will take the mound for the Tigers. Righthander Brian Wiley (1-1, 2.16) or righty Dallas McPherson (0-2, 7.00) will start for the Bulldogs. The Citadel has already faced some outstanding opponents including Virginia, N.C. State, North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, and South Carolina. The Bulldogs defeated Kentucky 4-1 and Tennessee 9-1. On The Citadel’s roster is freshman righthander John Pollock, son of Tiger track and field coach Bob Pollock. Pollock attended nearby Seneca High School.
The game is the first of 11 promotional dates, where fans can either receive free or discounted admission to Clemson baseball home games. The following is a list of the dates:
Clemson Baseball Promotional Dates
Date Day Opponent Time Promotion(s) Mar. 3 Wed. The Citadel 3 p.m. *Business Person SpecialMar. 5 Fri. Liberty 3 p.m. Orange Day Special Mar. 9 Tue. Coastal Carolina 3 p.m. *Business Person Special Mar. 10 Wed. Coastal Carolina 3 p.m. *Business Person Special Mar. 12 Fri. George Mason 3 p.m. *Business Person SpecialMar. 14 Sun. George Mason 1 p.m. #Senior Citizens SpecialApr. 18 Sun. Duke 2 p.m. #Senior Citizens Special Apr. 21 Wed. South Carolina 7:15 p.m. Secretaries Day Special Apr. 25 Sun. Georgia Tech 2 p.m. +Purple Day Special/#Senior Citizens Special May 2 Sun. Virginia (DH) 12 noon #Senior Citizens Special May 9 Sun. North Carolina 4 p.m. #Senior Citizens Special
* – present business card to receive free admission – wear orange shirt or jacket receive $3 off adult admission + – wear purple shirt or jacket receive $3 off adult admission # – present AARP card and receive free admission – secretaries/administrative assistants receive free admission when accompanied by a supervisor or employer who is paying full admission price
UNLV/Coors Desert Classic Review Clemson lost three of five games in the 19th annual UNLV/Coors Desert Classic. The three losses (Creighton 4-3, UNLV 12-11 in 10 innings, and Nevada 7-5) were by a combined four runs and all came in the span of 24 hours. The Tigers defeated #24 Washington 13-12 and Creighton 13-10. Several players had outstanding tournament stats though. Khalil Greene hit a team-best .458 with two homers and five RBIs, while Henr Stanley hit .444 with a homer and five RBIs. Jason Harris hit .421 with a towering homer and eight RBIs, and Kurt Bultmann had two home runs and 10 RBIs. Ryan Mottl also made his first career relief appearance in the tourney finale against Creighton and picked up his first win of 1999 in 7.1 innings of work.
In the first game against Washington, Clemson (4-0) scored seven runs in the sixth inning on its way to a 13-12 nailbiter. Kurt Bultmann had two homers (grand slam and three-run homer) and eight RBIs to pace Clemson. The Tigers withstood a furios Husky rally. After Washington (5-3) scored three runs in the eighth inning, freshman Thomas Boozer closed the game throwing a bases loaded double play and forcing Kyle Woods to foul out to catcher Brian Ellis. Matt Additon (2-0) picked up the win for the Tigers.
In game two against Creighton, the Bluejays (7-2) scored three runs in the fourth inning off starter Brian Adams (0-1) and held on for a 4-3 victory. Clemson’s two-run rally in the ninth was not enough as the Tigers lost their first game of ’99. Bluejay pitchers held Clemson (4-1) to just six hits.
Game three against host UNLV saw the 3-10 Rebels rally with three runs in the top of the 10th inning after Clemson (4-2) took a 11-9 lead in the 10th to win 12-11. Eliott Sarabia’s single to the left field fence with two outs won the game for the Rebels. UNLV (4-10) was led by Ryan Hamill, who hit three homers and had seven RBIs. Hamill had not homered through 13 Rebel games. The Tigers were down 5-0 before scoring nine runs in the fifth inning. Steve Reba (0-1) pitched 4.0 innings in relief, but suffered the loss. Clemson left 14 men on base, including 13 in the first eight innings.
Clemson lost for the third straight game in game four against Nevada. The Tigers (4-3) were led by Greene, who had three hits in five at bats, including an inside-the-park home run. Nevada (10-5) scored in only two innings and was led by catcher Matt Ortiz, who had two hits and four RBIs. Boozer (1-1) took the loss.
In game five, the final game of the tournament, the Tigers (5-3) rallied with nine runs combined in the fifth and sixth innings to overcome a seven-run second inning by Creighton to defeat the Bluejays (9-3) 13-10. Junior Ryan Mottl (1-0) pitched 7.1 innings out of the bullpen in his first career relief appearance to pick up the win. He allowed just five hits and two earned runs while striking out eight Bluejays. Henr Stanley was 4-for-4 with a homer, double, two stolen bases, and four RBIs, and Jason Harris had three hits, including a homer and double, and four RBIs to pace the Tigers. Clemson had eight extra base hits while Creighton had none.
Tigers Sweep Kansas State To Open ’99 Season Clemson opened its 1999 schedule against Big XII opponent Kansas State with a three-game sweep at a chilly Tiger Field from Feb. 12-14. Clemson stole 10 bases and Kansas State committed 16 errors as the Tigers outscored the Wildcats 31-14 in the three games. Clemson, who won by scores of 10-7, 10-4, and 11-3, only committed two errors, both by pitchers, in the series.
Patrick Boyd Has Shoulder Surgery Entering this season, Clemson returned just one of its starting outfielders from ’98. Now the Tigers will be without its lone returnee in Patrick Boyd for an unspecified time, as he had successful orthroscopic surgery to repair a torn labrum in his shoulder on Feb. 15, 1999. He is expected to be back before the end of the season. Despite the eminent surgery, Boyd played in all three games against Kansas State (Feb. 12-14) and went 5-for-10 with a homer, three RBIs, and a team-best six runs scored as a designated hitter. He did not play in the UNLV/Coors Desert Classic from Feb. 25-28. Boyd along with Ryan Mottl played for the USA National Team this past summer in the World Championships in Italy. Boyd hit .264 in 39 games while Mottl was 3-0 with a 3.45 ERA in 44.1 innings pitched.
Bultmann Moving Up In Tiger Charts Second baseman Kurt Bultmann gets the most out of his 5′-8″ frame. He showed he belonged when he hit .471 in the College World Series as a freshman after hitting just .243 in the first 41 games of his career. Then he hit a school record 31 doubles and 48 extra base hits as a sophomore. Now he is rising to the top of the Tiger career doubles and home run lists. He has 63 career doubles, tied for second place with Bert Heffernan (1985-88), and 34 career home runs, tied for seventh best. He had one of his best games against #24 Washington on Feb. 25 when he was 3-for-5 with two homers (grand slam and three-run) and eight RBIs. He also has shown why Baseball America listed him as the best defensive second baseman in the ACC. Bultmann went 29 consecutive games (dating back to last season) without committing an error (127 chances) before his streak ended on Feb. 26 at UNLV. He is a career .393 hitter (22-for-56) in NCAA Tournament play as well. All this for a player who was all but resigned to attending junior college out of high school. Below is a list where Bultmann ranks in the all-time Tiger doubles list:
Clemson Career DOUBLE Leaders
Rk. Name (Years) Doubles 1. Gary Burnham (1994-97) 77 2. Kurt Bultmann (1996-present) 63 3. Bert Heffernan (1985-88) 63 4. Chuck Baldwin (1984-87) 62 5. Shane Monahan (1993-95) 60
Freshman Khalil Greene Has Outstanding Tournament This fall, Jack Leggett said that freshman Khalil Greene (Key West, FL) was the Tigers’ most consistent hitter. He has down nothing to disprove Leggett, as he is hitting .406 with two homers and seven RBIs as the everyday third baseman. Greene shined in the UNLV/Coors Desert Classic from Feb. 25-28, hitting .458 with two homers (one of which was an inside-the-park homer) and five RBIs in five games.
Tigers Off To Fast Starts Under Leggett Under Head Coach Jack Leggett, Clemson has gotten off to some fast starts. In over five February’s at Clemson, Leggett has amassed a 46-10 record (.821). That record includes eight wins over ranked teams.
Leggett coached in his 1,000th game on Feb. 13, 1999 against Kansas State. He has reached that plateau before his 45th birthday and currently has a 628-378 record (.624) in 19 seasons (five at Vermont, nine at Western Carolina, and five-plus at Clemson). Legendary Tiger coach Bill Wilhelm, who won 1,161 career games at Clemson, coached in 1707 games in 36 seasons.
At Clemson, Leggett has won 246 games in his first five seasons. The 49.2 wins per year is the fifth best mark in the country, behind only Florida State (260), Wichita State (259), Louisiana State (250), and Miami (FL) (249). His next win will be his 250th at Clemson. Leggett’s current record in Tigertown is 251-91 (.734).
1999 Preseason Honors Clemson * #21 recruiting class by Collegiate Baseball
#24 Patrick Boyd * #1 college prospect for 2000 Major League Draft by Baseball America * First-Team All-American by Baseball America * ACC Player-of-the-Year by Baseball America * Best defensive outfielder in the ACC by Baseball America
* First-Team All-ACC by Baseball America
#18 Kurt Bultmann * Best defensive second baseman in the ACC by Baseball America
#27 Ryan Mottl * #29 college prospect for ’99 Major League Draft by Baseball America * #3 prospect in ACC for ’99 Major League Draft by Baseball America
#30 Mike Paradis * #42 college prospect for ’99 Major League Draft by Baseball America * #7 prospect in ACC for ’99 Major League Draft by Baseball America
Clemson’s 246 Wins Since ’94 Fifth In The Nation The barometer of a great season in college baseball is getting to Omaha and winning 50 games. Since Jack Leggett took over as Clemson’s head coach in 1994, the Tigers have won 246 games (excluding ’99) for an average of over 49 per season. Leggett has led Clemson to three 50-win seasons and two appearances in the College World Series in five seasons. Included in that total is 61 wins over top 25 team and a 33-13 record against the SEC.
A Look Back At 1998 Despite the disappointing end to the 1998 season, Clemson went beyond expectations considering only having two seniors. Below is a list of accomplishments in ’98:
* Won 40 games for the 13th straight season. * Participated in the NCAA Tournament for the 12th straight season. * Hosted a Regional for the fourth time in the last five seasons. * Set a national record against Maryland on Mar. 21 by scoring 19 runs in the third inning. It was the highest scoring third inning in NCAA history. * Scored 11 or more runs in an inning five times in the span of 22 days. * Was 4-0 against the SEC. * Was 8-5 against top-25 teams. * Had 25 come-from-behind wins. * Was ranked in every week by all three polls once the season began. * Had an incredible .434 team on base %. * Had a team fielding percentage of .965, its highest figure in 21 years. * Had six players named All-ACC, tied for the most by any ACC team. * Tiger Field was ranked as the eighth best facility in the country in the preseason by Baseball America.
Clemson also had four All-ACC selections that return for the ’99 season. Kurt Bultmann (2B) was a first-team selection while Jason Harris (1B), Patrick Boyd (OF), and Ryan Mottl (SP) were second-team players. Boyd also garnered ACC Rookie-of-the-Year honors, becoming just the second Tiger to be so named.
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