Notes (PDF)
No. 2 Clemson returns to Fluor Field to play USC Upstate on Tuesday in the second of three meetings this season.
GAME SETUP• Who – Clemson (24-3) vs. USC Upstate (18-11)• Best Ranking – CU – No. 2; SCU – NR• When – Tuesday (6 p.m.)• Where – Greenville, S.C. (Fluor Field)• Watch – ESPN+• Video Announcers – Dan Scott, Tom Van Hoy• Listen (Radio) – Clemson Athletic Network (locally on WCCP (105.5 FM))• Listen (Internet) – ClemsonTigers.com• Live Stats – ClemsonTigers.com• Social Media – ClemsonBaseball
SERIES HISTORY• Overall Record – Clemson leads 8-2 (2009-24)• Record at Neutral – 1-1 (2022-23)
STARTING PITCHERS• RHP Billy Barlow (CU) vs. RHP Cooper Ellingworth (SCU)
CLEMSON OVERVIEW• Clemson, which has a 2-0 neutral record, won two of three games at Miami (Fla.) last weekend by a combined score of 12-5.• The Tigers are averaging 8.3 runs per game and hitting .294 with a .512 slugging percentage, .416 on-base percentage and 29 steals.• The pitching staff has a 4.01 ERA, .234 opponents’ batting average and 2.42 strikeout-to-walk ratio, and Clemson is fielding .968.
USC UPSTATE OVERVIEW• USC Upstate, which has yet to play a neutral game and is averaging 8.9 runs per game, is led by fifth-year Head Coach Mike McGuire.• The Spartans swept UNC Asheville in three home games last weekend. They are hitting .314 and have a 6.08 ERA and .974 fielding percentage.• Jace Rinehart is hitting .398 with 10 homers and 33 RBIs, Grant Sherrod has nine homers and 45 RBIs and Julian Parson has two saves.
QUICK HITS• Clemson defeated USC Upstate 12-6 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on Feb. 27, 2024 thanks to five home runs, including three by Will Taylor.• Clemson is the designated visiting team and occupies the third-base dugout against USC Upstate on Tuesday.• Clemson’s bullpen has a 16-1 record, seven saves, a 4.06 ERA, .211 opponents’ batting average and 132 strikeouts in 124.0 innings pitched.
TIGERS AT FLUOR FIELD• Clemson has a 30-9 all-time record in 39 games at Fluor Field in Greenville, S.C.• The Tigers have outscored the opposition 308-161 at Fluor Field, an average score of 7.9-4.1.• South Carolina (2010,11,14,15,21,23), Presbyterian (2011), Michigan State (2015) and USC Upstate (2023) have beaten Clemson at Fluor Field.• Clemson has won 14 of its last 17 games at Fluor Field dating to 2015.• Clemson is 1-1 against USC Upstate at Fluor Field, as the Tigers won in 2022 (11-2) and the Spartans won in 2023 (6-3).
KNAAK OPENING THE DOOR• Freshman righthander Aidan Knaak has stepped in to become one of the team’s weekend starters.• He is 2-0 with a 3.76 ERA, .234 opponents’ batting average and 48 strikeouts against 14 walks in 38.1 innings pitched over seven starts.• He leads the team in starts on the mound, innings pitched and strikeouts.• Clemson has a 7-0 record in his seven starts.• He is 1-0 with a 3.44 ERA, .232 opponents’ batting average and 26 strikeouts versus three walks in 18.1 innings pitched in three ACC starts.• He has an 0.68 ERA, a .220 opponents’ batting average and 19 strikeouts against one walk in 13.1 innings pitched over two road starts.• He pitched 7.0 innings, allowing two hits, no runs and one walk with 10 strikeouts to earn the win at Miami (Fla.) on March 30.
TWO TIGERS IN THE MAJORS IN 2024• Dominic Leone (Chicago White Sox) and Spencer Strider (Atlanta Braves) have played in an MLB game in 2024.• Leone, who had a 16-8 career record at Clemson, made his major league debut with the Mariners in 2014.• Strider, who had a 5-2 record in his two active seasons (2018,20) at Clemson, was a 2023 MLB All-Star Game selection.• Every Tiger team from 1974 to 2020 had at least one future major leaguer on its roster.• Clemson has had at least one former Tiger play in an MLB game each of the last 69 years (streak started in 1956).• Clemson has had multiple former Tigers play in an MLB game each of the last 51 years (streak started in 1974).• Clemson set a school record with 12 former Tigers in the majors in 2021, breaking the previous record of eight.
