2005 Baseball Preview & Media Guide

Feb. 8, 2005

2005 Media Guide

With 18 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, Clemson remains one of the elite baseball programs in the country. Despite a disappointing finish to the 2004 season that saw the Tigers come within one inning of advancing to a Super Regional, many new faces and a solid core of returnees are reasons for optimism in Tigertown.

“I’m very excited about our team,” said Head Coach Jack Leggett, whose 512 wins in 11 years at Clemson is sixth-most in the country during that time period. “I think we have great team chemistry, which is an important component to success. The guys are working extremely hard and are very unselfish. That’s a major part of what has to happen.

“We have new players and critical positions that we’re trying to piece together. Losing a school-record nine players to the draft has made everyone understand that they must step up their game. We have a tough schedule and must bring our team together quickly.”

Clemson will rely upon 15 newcomers in 2005, and that group was ranked as the #12 recruiting class in the nation by both Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball. Four of the signees are listed in the top 50 of Baseball America’s top-50 freshman list entering 2005. Clemson is the only school in the nation to have four freshmen listed in the top 50.

The coaching staff returns intact for the third year in a row. Recruiting Coordinator and Pitching Coach Kevin O’Sullivan, who is in his seventh season, will lead the Tigers’ youthful pitching staff. Third-year Hitting Instructor and Outfield Coach Tom Riginos, and third-year Volunteer Coach Bradley LeCroy will assist in coaching the position players.

With the addition of Miami (FL) and Virginia Tech to the ACC, Clemson will play 30 conference games in 2005, six more than in years past. The Tigers will open the season in the Baseball at The Beach tournament at Myrtle Beach, SC, where they will play West Virginia, Coastal Carolina, and East Carolina from February 18-20.

Clemson will play three-game, non-conference series against California-Irvine (home) and Auburn (away) the next two weekends. After home-and-home games against rival South Carolina the following weekend, the Tigers will play the 10 ACC foes each of the next 10 weekends, including Miami in the regular-season finale at Doug Kingsmore Stadium from May 19-21. The Tigers will also play host to ACC teams North Carolina, Duke, Virginia, and Georgia Tech, and travel to Maryland, Florida State, N.C. State, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest.

Clemson will also play midweek, non-conference games against Winthrop (1), Furman (1), Old Dominion (2), Coastal Carolina (2), Georgia (2), Western Carolina (2), South Carolina (2), Elon (1), Wofford (1), and College of Charleston (1). Thirty-two of the Tigers’ 56 regular-season games will be against teams that played in the 2004 NCAA Tournament, a tough task for a team ranked #21 in the nation in Collegiate Baseball’s preseason poll.

Catchers The catching position will see a new starter in 2005 after losing Lou Santangelo’s 18 homers and 62 RBIs in 2004. Junior Adrian Casanova (Miami, FL), a transfer from Florida International, will compete for the starting job behind the plate with the Tigers’ other two catchers. He had an excellent 2004 season, defensively, for the Golden Panthers, as he threw out 16 of 43 base stealers.

Senior Gene Pierce (Columbia, SC), a former walk-on, has played in 21 games off the bench in three years. In the limited playing time, he is 3-for-10 with a homer and double in his career. Pierce is also one of just two seniors on the 2005 club.

Doug Hogan (Columbia, SC), a red-shirt freshman and brother of 2004 senior Patrick Hogan, will compete for playing time behind the plate as well. After watching his brother become just the third Tiger in history to record double-digits in saves (10) in a season in 2004, the younger Hogan hit .271 with four home runs and 32 RBIs in 43 starts for Florence in the Coastal Plain League during the summer.

Infielders The right side of the infield has several players returning. Junior Herman Demmink (Midlothian, VA), a strength & conditioning All-American in 2004, is a career .293 hitter in 98 games and is a candidate to start at second base. Demmink has won the Omaha Challenge, the Tigers’ offseason strength and conditioning competition, all three years that he has been in the program. The .293 career hitter also won the Bob Bradley Award in 2004, which goes to the MVP of the Clemson-South Carolina four-game series.

Junior Daniel Pritchard (Hartsville, SC) is an infielder who has played in just 33 career games off the bench, but he has earned the respect of his teammates and coaches, as he was voted as one of two team captains for 2005. Sophomore Tanner Leggett (Clemson, SC), son of the head coach, will also compete for playing time. The younger Leggett has yet to play in a game as a Tiger, as he has been hampered by three shoulder surgeries.

Junior college transfer Ben Hall (Ormond Beach, FL) adds to the depth of the second baseman, as he joins the program after one season at Stetson and one at Daytona Beach Community College. While with the Hatter program in 2003, he was named to the Atlantic Sun Conference All-Freshman team after he hit .321 in 48 games.

Sophomore Andy D’Alessio (Naples, FL) hit .333 with a .440 on-base percentage in 50 starts at first base last year. He will be counted on to provide power in the middle of the lineup this season. D’Alessio, who is rated as the 17h-best sophomore in the nation and best defensive first baseman in the ACC by Baseball America, led the team with a .371 batting average in ACC regular-season games. His .483 on-base percentage in ACC regular-season contests was second-best in the conference as well.

Another sophomore, John Ingram (Alpharetta, GA), can play either of the corner infield positions as well as the corner outfield spots. Ingram hit four homers and 21 RBIs in limited action last season. The former high school baseball teammate of Tiger quarterback Charlie Whitehurst, hit his first career homer in his first career at-bat last year, and had two homers and 10 RBIs in just 13 pinch-hit at-bats.

With the departures of All-ACC performers Brad McCann (3B) and Russell Triplett (SS), the left side of the infield is an area open for several newcomers to become starters in 2005. Freshmen Taylor Harbin (Travelers Rest, SC) and Stan Widmann (Hurst, TX) are highly-recruited players that are expected to make an immediate impact there.

Widmann, Clemson’s first player from the state of Texas since 1993, is rated as the 14th-best freshman in the nation by Baseball America. He played in two national all-star games, and his fielding ability and work ethic during fall workouts has drawn rave reviews from the coaches.

Harbin, who will also compete for the second base position, was named “Mr. Baseball” as a senior in 2004 and set the South Carolina record for career home runs (52). In fact, he broke the state record during his junior season at Travelers Rest High School. Harbin’s ability to exhibit a powerful bat despite his 5’10” frame is one reason he is rated as the 17th-best freshman in the nation by Baseball America.

Junior college transfer Jorge Andrade, Jr. (San Diego, CA), who has three years of eligibility remaining, will also compete for the starting nod at third base. Andrade, who hit .391 at San Diego City College a season ago, is one of three new Tigers from the state of California.

Outfielders Sophomore Tyler Colvin (North Augusta, SC) is a player who can play the outfield and first base. He is a candidate for the starting job in left field after hitting .289 with 10 doubles in 128 at-bats as a freshman. Colvin also hit .345 in ACC regular-season games, second-best on the team. In one of those games, he became just the 10th Tiger in history to total three doubles in a game when he did so against #24 Florida State on May 3.

Kris Harvey (Catawba, NC), who is a career .328 hitter, is also a player who has experience at first base and in the outfield. Harvey hit .335 with eight homers and 41 RBIs in 2004 and returns as one of the top hitters in 2005. He is one of 58 players selected to the Brooks Wallace Award watch list presented to the national-player-of-the-year. Clemson’s only First-Team All-ACC performer from 2004 is listed as having the best outfield arm in the ACC by Baseball America.

Perhaps the team’s hottest hitter in the 2004 postseason was Travis Storrer (Mount Vernon, WA). The junior made 25 starts at second base and 25 in the outfield last year, but is slated to play primarily in right field in 2005. He made both postseason all-tournament teams, as he hit .395 with 13 runs scored, five doubles, three homers, and 14 RBIs in nine postseason games. The native of Washington state is a preseason second-team All-ACC selection by SEBaseball.com as well.

Freshman Brad Chalk (Greer, SC) is a speedy centerfielder who fits the mold of a leadoff hitter. The Riverside High School alum is rated as the 34th-best freshman in the nation and third-best newcomer in the ACC by Baseball America. His defensive skills, including his range, has been noted by Leggett in the preseason.

Sophomore C.J. Gaddis (Raeford, NC), a cornerback on the Clemson football team, was a member of the 25-player postseason roster in 2004. Gaddis’ outstanding speed and athletic ability will allow him to be an effective defensive player and baserunner. Sophomore Jesse Ferguson (Redmond, WA) will also compete in the outfield. After red-shirting at Clemson in 2004, he hit .272 with 16 stolen bases in 46 starts for Wilmington of the Coastal Plain League in the summer.

David Williams (Burnsville, NC), a junior transfer from UNC Asheville, will also be in the mix in both the outfield and infield. He is listed as the 15th-most significant transfer in the nation by Baseball America. In 2004, he hit .345 with four homers, 29 RBIs, and 16 stolen bases in 57 starts.

Pitchers Junior righthander Jason Berken (De Pere, WI), who missed the last half of 2004 and had “Tommy John” surgery to repair the damage, was slated to be the team’s #1 starter after filling that same role in the first half of 2004. But his elbow will not heal in time for him to pitch in 2005. Despite this fact, he was voted as one of two team captains for 2005. His 2.90 ERA and .229 opponents’ batting average in his two-year career will be missed.

Another righthander, Jeff Hahn (Winchester, VA), is a seasoned veteran who has experience as a starter and reliever. The righthander, who is one of two seniors, has an 11-7 career record in 63 appearances. Hahn’s specialty has been his ability to keep the ball down in the strikezone. In three seasons, he has thrown 223 ground-ball outs compared to only 79 fly-ball outs.

An area that has been lacking the past two years has been depth of lefthanded pitchers. For each of those two seasons, Clemson had only two lefties on the active roster. This season, the Tigers have six lefthanders to turn to.

Junior Robert Rohrbaugh (Littlestown, PA) is the leader of the southpaws. The quiet-natured hurler is a control pitcher who has walked just 34 in 106.1 career innings pitched. His consistency on the mound has been evident, as he has allowed more than four runs in just one of his 46 career appearances. Rohrbaugh is also effective in keeping baserunners from advancing on steals, as he allowed just five stolen bases in 13 attempts and had six pickoffs in 2004.

Red-shirt freshman Aaron Eubanks (Moultrie, GA) played for Wilson in the Coastal Plain League in the summer of 2004, where he was 4-2 with a 1.65 ERA in 12 appearances (seven starts).

The Tigers brought in four more true freshman lefties to the program, including William Bond (Lawrenceville, GA), Chris Fidrych (Beaufort, SC), Alex Martin (Charlotte, NC), and Daniel Moskos (Alta Loma, CA).

Bond had a remarkable high school career at Greater Atlanta Christian School, where he threw four no-hitters and five one-hitters. Fidrych, a distant relative of former Major League pitcher Mark Fidrych, won the Omaha Challenge competition among the pitchers, a significant feat for a freshman.

Martin is a spot-thrower who Leggett believes can contribute in 2005, while Moskos brings a hard-throwing slider to the team. Moskos, a native of California, was born in nearby Greenville, SC.

Junior righthander Josh Cribb (Lake View, SC) has performed well, both as a starter and reliever. He was 5-1 with a 3.71 ERA and .222 opponents’ batting average a year ago, and was especially effective in the postseason. Cribb is slated to be one of the team’s top starters in 2005 after his 3.87 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 2004 was the seventh-best mark in Clemson history.

Righties Harvey, a junior, and Stephen Faris (Richmond, VA) both have starting experience. Harvey was 6-0 in 14 starts last year and has a 10-1 career record. The 90.9 winning percentage is tied for the second-best mark in ACC history. Furthermore, Clemson has a 17-3 record in Harvey’s 20 career starts.

Faris was 1-3 with a 6.86 ERA in 42.0 innings pitched as a freshman last year, but his control (only 11 walks) and ball movement will make him a factor. Faris had an outstanding summer while playing with New Market in the Valley League. He had a 5-2 record and 2.26 ERA in nine appearances (eight starts).

Six other righties, including three newcomers, hope to make an impact. Red-shirt freshman P.J. Zocchi (Bronx, NY) showed promise in three early-season outings before he suffered a season-ending injury. He is still recovering from surgery on his elbow and hopes to be at full strength by midseason.

Sophomore Stephen Clyne (Parkland, FL) has yet to appear in a game in two years in the program due to injury. Chris Howard (Fort Wayne, IN) also hopes to contribute as a red-shirt freshman. He is from the same hometown and high school as former Tiger All-America righthander Steve Reba (1999-02). The coaches dropped his arm slot down in the offseason.

Junior college transfers Sean Clark (Los Angeles, CA) and Drew Fiorenza (Atlanta, GA), along with freshman David Kopp (Margate, FL), are talented righthanders as well. Clark is also coming off of an arm injury, so his effectiveness will not be known until the season begins. The junior played in the Arizona Junior College All-Star game and was a second-team all-conference selection at Chandler-Gilbert (AZ) Community College in 2004.

Fiorenza played in the Cape Cod League this past summer and is a candidate to be the closer. While playing for Hyannis, he had a 2.45 ERA. Fiorenza has been drafted twice, including last year when he was taken in the 45th round by the New York Yankees. Kopp has shown a fastball in the low 90s and is a candidate to be a starter in 2005. He is also rated as the ninth-best freshman in the nation by Baseball America.