Baseball to Host Coastal Carolina Tuesday

March 15, 2004

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Clemson vs. Coastal Carolina Clemson (6-7) will play host to Coastal Carolina (15-3) Tuesday afternoon at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 4:00 PM. The game will be broadcast live on the radio by WCCP, 104.9 FM out of Clemson. Live stats will also be available on Clemson’s website. The game is a “Businessperson Special Day,” as anyone can receive free admission when they present their business card.

The Series Clemson and Coastal Carolina have met 35 times on the diamond, with the Tigers holding a 30-5 lead in the series dating back to 1986. The two teams have played every year since 1988. The two also split a pair of games at Doug Kingsmore Stadium in 2003. Coastal Carolina won 5-1 on April 15, but fell to the Tigers 7-3 the following day. The Tigers lead the series 22-4 in games played at Doug Kingsmore Stadium, as the last 18 games in the series have been played at Clemson. Clemson is 17-3 against the Chanticleers under Jack Leggett.

Clemson is tentatively scheduled to play in a tournament in Myrtle Beach, SC (near Conway) in 2005, with Coastal Carolina being one of the three other teams in the field. The Tigers are also scheduled to play East Carolina and West Virginia.

The Starting Pitchers Coastal Carolina will start sophomore righthander Mike Costanzo (2-0, 4.30 ERA) on the mound Tuesday. The Springfield, PA native, also the team’s second-leading hitter with a .348 batting average, seven homers, and 30 RBIs, has started one game and relieved in three others. In 14.2 innings pitched, he has allowed 12 hits and six walks while striking out 14. He is also holding opponents to a .214 batting average.

Clemson will counter with sophomore righthander Kris Harvey (3-0, 2.25 ERA) on the mound. The Catawba, NC native has allowed just 12 hits while striking out 17. He has yet to allow an extra base hit as well in 16.0 innings pitched. It will be Harvey’s fifth start and appearance of 2004.

Coastal Carolina Overview Coastal Carolina, led by ninth-year Head Coach Gary Gilmore, enters Tuesday’s game with a 15-3 record. The Chanticleers have only played one game on the road, that being at The Citadel. They are coming off an 8-5 win over Seton Hall Friday and two wins over George Mason over the weekend. Winners of eight straight games, Coastal Carolina is hitting .296 as a team, led by Chris Raber (.388). Mike Costanzo is hitting .348 with a team-best seven home runs and 30 RBIs. No other Chanticleer has more than 12 RBIs.

The Chanticleers have stolen 46 bases in just 18 games, led by Ryan McGraw and Jeremiah Grove, each with 11 steals. Coastal Carolina has a 4.99 team ERA. Closer Byron Binda has appeared in 11 games, as he has a 3.52 ERA and 26 strikeouts against only four walks. The team also has a .960 fielding percentage.

Clemson Overview Clemson enters the Coastal Carolina game with a 6-7 record, losing its seven games by a combined 12 runs. The Tigers are coming off two losses in three games to #7 Auburn at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. The Tigers have outscored their opponents 85-59 despite their losing record.

Clemson is hitting .278 as a team, led by Brad McCann’s .421 average. Garrick Evans is hitting .417 with five doubles in just eight games. Travis Storrer is riding a nine-game hitting streak as well. Clemson also sports a 3.95 ERA and .961 fielding percentage.

Auburn Wins Two of Three Over Clemson Despite being outhit by 52 points, #7 Auburn won two of three games at #25 Clemson from March 12-14 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. The three-game series drew nearly 11,000 fans in a regional-type atmosphere. Clemson also had more total hits, runs, homers, and stolen bases despite losing the series. Brad McCann’s (7-for-13), and Travis Storrer (5-for-11) all had outstanding series, while McCann had a homer and eight RBIs as well. Evans also had a streak of reaching base in eight straight plate appearances.

In game one Friday, Clemson scored in every inning in which it batted and hung on for a 14-9 victory. The Tigers hit five homers, including a three-run shot by Brad McCann’s, Brady Everett, and Russell Triplett also added long balls. Clemson led 9-0 before a furious Auburn comeback. The SEC Tigers cut Clemson’s lead to 11-9 in the eighth inning, but Clemson scored three runs in the eighth to put the game away. Jason Berken struck out a career-high eight batters to earn his second win of the season, while Patrick Hogan picked up his second save. McCann had a game-high four hits and four RBIs.

In game two Saturday, left fielder Sean Gamble threw out Garrick Evans were both 2-for-2 as well. Relievers Steven Jackson and Collin Mahoney pitched the final 4.2 innings without allowing a hit or run.

In game three Sunday, Auburn scored seven straight runs and held on to beat Clemson 9-6 and take the series. A five-run fourth inning was enough for the SEC Tigers. The two teams combined for nine errors, including a season-high five by Clemson. Ben Sprague led Auburn with three RBIs, while three other Tiger hitters had two hits apiece. Evans led Clemson with three hits and two RBIs.

Webcasts Available for Texas Tech Series Clemson baseball fans that will not be traveling to Lubbock, TX for the three-game series at Texas Tech from March 19-21 can tune in via the internet, as all three games of the series will be webcasted through Texas Tech’s College Sports Pass.

The College Sports Pass will provide both audio (Red Raider Baseball Radio Network) and video of the three game series between Texas Tech and Clemson and it can be accessed through Texas Tech’s official athletic website, www.texastech.com. Fans can purchase a month-long subscription for just $6.95, and that will allow full access to the site for the weekend. The College Sports Pass works in conjunction with Real Networks and users must have the Real Player installed on their computer system.

For more information, including account setup and technical support, log on to www.texastech.com.

Two-Way Tigers In recent years, Clemson has not had many players both pitch and play in the field. But this season, three Tigers have already seen action in both roles. Kris Harvey has also started four games on the mound, while starting three at first base and two in right field. And Collin Mahoney, who never pitched in college before this year, has been impressive in his four outings on the mound in 2004. He has struck out 10 and walked just three in 5.2 innings pitched. He is also 3-for-8 with two RBIs at the plate this year.

Another Tiger is a different kind of two-way player. Outfielder and true freshman C.J. Gaddis is also listed as a quarterback on the Tiger football team. Gaddis red-shirted this past fall, as the Clemson football coaching staff is excited about the abilities he brings to the gridiron.

Garrick Evans Bringing Good Things to Plate Despite missing five games due to a leg injury, Garrick Evans has been one of the Tigers best hitters this season. In just eight games, he has five doubles and 10 hits for a .417 batting average. The starting centerfielder was 5-for-8 with five runs scored and three doubles against #7 Auburn in three games from March 12-14 and had a streak of reaching base in eight straight plate appearances.

McCann Leading Team With .421 Average In 13 games this year, Brad McCann’s has 24 hits and leads the team with a .421 batting average along with 14 RBIs. He also has a team-best 14 runs scored and five doubles. The 2003 Second-Team All-ACC selection had eight RBIs in three games against #7 Auburn from March 12-14 and has batted in the #3 spot in the lineup all season. McCann has a career batting average of .360 (111-for-308) in two seasons as well.

Bringing the Heat Junior righthander Collin Mahoney has been one of the Tigers most effective pitchers out of the bullpen in 2004. That was not the case in his previous two seasons, as he played solely at catcher and did not appear on the mound. But after the coaches saw him throw off a mound towards the end of 2003, they knew they could count on the Patterson, NY native as a pitcher in 2004.

In four appearances, Mahoney has struck out 10 and allowed just three hits in 5.2 innings pitched. The reason for his high strikeout total is his fastball, clocked in the high 90s. He has been able to throw it with control as well. He even threw it well against his brother, a catcher for South Carolina. In the game against the #5 Gamecocks on March 7, he struck out Ryan (who was pinch-hitting) on a fastball clocked at 99 mph. His brother is a red-shirt freshman at South Carolina. Collin, who is one academic class ahead of Ryan, is also 3-for-8 at the plate this year.