Baseball Defeats Western Carolina, 16-11

April 7, 1999

CLEMSON, S.C. – Clemson plated 11 runs in the third inning and held off a late rally to earn a 16-11 win over Western Carolina in baseball action on Wednesday night at Tiger Field.

With the win Clemson improves to 18-14 while Western Carolina falls to 18-13-1.

Starter Thomas Boozer (5-3) took the win for the Tigers and leads the team with five wins this season. Taking the loss for Western Carolina was starter John Hutchinson (1-4).

Clemson jumped out ahead early with two runs in the bottom of the first inning when Henr Stanley and Kurt Bultmann both scored for the Tigers. Stanley scored on a wild pitch by Hutchinson and Bultmann scored on a squeeze bunt by Bradley LeCroy.

An inside the park two-run home run by designated hitter Steve Harris highlighted Western Carolina’s third inning in which the Catamounts to a 4-2 lead. Harris hit a towering shot that drove Clemson center fielder Stanley all the way to the wall. Stanley fell attempting to field the ball which enabled Harris to speed around the bases.

Clemson responded with 11 runs in the bottom of the third. Western Carolina pitchers’ Hutchinson, Erik Turnrose, and Brad House combined to walk four and hit three Clemson batters which contributed to the big inning. Clemson third baseman Khalil Greene was hit twice and scored twice in the inning. Stanley and Derek Borgert both contributed two-run singles for the Tigers.

Western’s Austin Smithwick went 5-5 in the game with two doubles and five RBIs. Smithwick’s second double of the game came in the top of the seventh and plated two runs during a four-run Catamount inning. That outburst cut the Clemson lead to 13-10.

The Tigers added three more insurance runs in the bottom half of the seventh thanks in part to a two-out double by Brian Ellis that scored LeCroy and Jason Harris. Ellis would later score on a double by Derek Borgert.

Western Carolina would add one more run in the top of the eighth, but left the bases loaded when Charles Thomas fouled out to LeCroy to end the rally.

Clemson will travel to face number-one ranked Florida State in a three-game series in Tallahassee, FL beginning Friday at 7 p.m.