Baseball To Face North Carolina This Weekend

May 9, 2003

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Clemson (33-16, 10-8 ACC), ranked as high as #14, will play host to North Carolina (34-5, 11-7 ACC) from Saturday to Monday. Game one on Saturday will start at 1:00 PM and be televised live by Fox Sports Net South. Game two Sunday will start at 2:00 PM. All mom’s attending Sunday’s game will receive free admission and will be allowed to stand on the field next to their favorite Clemson player for the national anthem. The series finale Monday will start at 4:00 PM. All three games will be broadcast live on the radio by Clemson Tiger Sports Properties and can be heard live via the internet at www.clemsontigers.com. Live stats will also be available for all three games on Clemson’s website.

The Series Clemson holds an 86-65-1 lead in the series dating back to 1901. Last season, Clemson won two of three games at Chapel Hill. In 2001 at Clemson, the Tigers also won two of three games. Clemson is also 32-7 all-time against the Tar Heels at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Tiger Head Coach David Slevin leads all Tigers with a .308 lifetime batting average against the Tar Heels. Collin Mahoney is the only current Tiger to ever hit a homer against North Carolina, while Steve Pyzik has four RBIs in six games.

The Starting Pitchers Junior lefty Daniel Moore (5-2, 3.59 ERA) will start game one Saturday for the Tar Heels. Moore has a complete game to his credit and has pitched 62.2 innings this year. Freshman lefthander Adam Kalkhof (7-1, 3.84 ERA) will start game two. Kalkhof has struck out 61 against only 19 walks. Sophomore righty Garry Bakker (6-2, 3.54 ERA) will start game three Monday. Bakker has held opponents to a .244 batting average in 10 starts and two relief appearances.

Clemson will counter with sophomore lefthander Tyler Lumsden (7-0, 3.34 ERA) in game one Saturday. Lumsden, one of just two lefties on the staff, has held opponents to a .233 batting average this year. Junior righthander Patrick Hogan (2-2, 4.24 ERA) will start game two Sunday. Hogan, who has three saves to his credit, will be making his sixth start of the season. Junior righty Steven Jackson (7-2, 4.23 ERA) will start game three Monday. The Summerville, SC native is 6-0 with a 2.01 ERA in seven starts at Doug Kingsmore Stadium this year.

North Carolina Overview North Carolina enters the series on a positive note, blanking Richmond an All-American Tim Stauffer 10-0 Thursday. The Tar Heels are hitting an ACC-best .323, led by Jeremy Cleveland’s .431 batting average. The junior slugger also has 16 homers and 55 RBIs to go along with a .535 on-base percentage. Sean Farrell also has 10 homers and 49 RBIs for the Tar Heels, who are fielding at a .964 clip in 2003. The North Carolina pitching staff has a 4.08 ERA, led by reliever Whitley Benson. The junior righthander has a 2.96 ERA and four saves. North Carolina has played just 10 games on opponents’ home fields this year, totaling a 6-4 record, including a 5-4 record in ACC play.

Clemson Overview Clemson is coming off back-to-back non-conference losses on Wednesday and Thursday. Clemson has played its last six ACC games at home, totaling a 5-1 record. The Tigers are hitting .312 as a team, led by David Slevin is riding an 11-game hitting streak, the longest by a Tiger in 2003. Clemson is 25-4 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium, including a 7-2 record in ACC games. At home, the Tigers are also hitting .332 with a 2.86 ERA. Clemson is also out-hitting its ACC opponents .325 to .280 on the season and has won its last 28 games when out-hitting the opponent. The Tigers sport a 4.06 ERA and .969 fielding percentage as well.

Furman Rallies to Down Clemson 10-8 Furman plated six runs in the eighth inning to down #14 Clemson 10-8 at Furman Baseball Stadium on May 8. Clemson led 8-4, but the Paladins scored the six runs thanks to three Tiger errors. Five of the six runs were unearned. Andrew Greene hit was could have been an inning-ending double play, but an error extended the inning and allowed the Paladins to score six runs. Kyle Frank hit his first career grand slam in the game. The loss broke Clemson’s 29-game winning streak in the series.

Shutting the Door After Eight In the last three seasons, Tiger pitchers have been perfect in shutting the door when Clemson has had the lead after eight innings. In fact, since the beginning of the 2001 season, Clemson is 113-0 when leading after eight innings, including a 35-0 record in 2001, 51-0 record in 2002, and 27-0 record in 2003. The last team who rallied in the ninth inning to down the Tigers was the last game of the 2000 season, when Louisiana-Lafayette scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth to win 5-4. The game was on June 14 at the College World Series.

Lefty vs. Lefty It’s standard practice by most coaches to bring in a lefthander to face a lefthanded batter in a pinch. But Clemson’s four lefthanded batters (Zane Green’s, and Michael Johnson) have combined to hit .343 against lefties.

Four Tigers Above .384 in ACC Competition Clemson’s three middle infielders, David Slevin (2B), and Russell Triplett (SS) along with first baseman Michael Johnson are all hitting over .385 or better in ACC play this season. Slevin is hitting .420, Demmink is hitting .400, Johnson is hitting .394, and Triplett is hitting .385. Demmink, a freshman, has provided a spark from the leadoff spot of late, as he has a .489 on-base percentage in ACC play. As a team, Clemson is out-hitting its ACC opponents .325 to .280, a margin of 45 points.

Frank the Graduate Kyle Frank, a fifth-year senior, received his undergraduate degree Friday, May 9 at Littlejohn Coliseum. He received his degree in computer information systems. The night before, he hit his first career grand slam at Furman in front of many family members, who made the trip down from New Hampshire.

Jackson Showing Good Action at Home Junior righthander Steven Jackson has all the makings of being a high draft pick. And this year, he is living up to his potential, especially at home. The hurler who has been clocked in the mid-90s this season has a 7-2 record overall, but a 6-0 record and 2.01 ERA at home in seven starts. He is also holding opponents to a .208 batting average at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. He has picked up wins in six of his last seven starts and is 7-1 since is his first start of the year at #16 Auburn. Jackson has a 15-4 career record in three seasons.