Baseball Travels To Spartanburg To Take On Wofford

March 9, 2004

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Clemson vs. Wofford Clemson (4-5), ranked as high as #25, will travel up I-85 to Spartanburg to play at Wofford (6-1) Wednesday at Russell C. King Field. Game time is set for 7:00 PM. The game will be broadcast live on the radio by WCCP, 104.9 FM out of Clemson. There will be no livestats for this game.

Clemson football play-by-play announcer Pete Yanity, who is also the sports anchor for WSPA-TV out of Spartanburg, will throw out the first pitch.

The Series Clemson and Wofford have met 93 times on the diamond, with Clemson holding a 69-23-1 lead in the series dating back to 1898.

The two teams have played at Doug Kingsmore Stadium each of the last three seasons and in 1999. Clemson won all four previous meetings, including a 21-7 victory in 2003. Prior to the 1999 game, the last meetings came in 1976 and 1977 at Spartanburg, both Tiger victories. Prior to those two meetings, the two last met in 1949 at Wofford, a 3-1 Terrier win.

Clemson holds a 33-14 lead in the series in games play at Wofford. Head Coach Jack Leggett is 4-0 against Wofford as Clemson’s head coach and was 7-2 against the Terriers as the Western Carolina head coach.

The Starting Pitchers Wofford will start freshman righthander Charles Vartanian (1-0, 2.00 ERA) Wednesday. The 6’6″, 240-pound pitcher and Charlotte, NC native will be making his first career start, as he has appeared in five games out of the bullpen this season. In 9.0 innings pitched, he has allowed just five hits and one extra base hit. He also has both of the team’s saves.

Clemson will counter with sophomore righthander Kris Harvey (2-0, 3.27 ERA). The Catawba, NC native has a team-high three starts this year. In 11.0 innings pitched, he has allowed just eight hits while striking out 10. He also has not allowed an extra base hit.

Wofford Overview Wofford, who is off to their best start in 13 years, enters Wednesday’s contest with a 6-1 overall record. The Terriers have swept two-game series at North Carolina A&T and against Niagara, while winning two of three games against Youngstown State this past weekend. Wofford is hitting .357 as a team, led by Zach Pittman’s .474 batting average. Bert Parker (.462), Steve Casey (.400), and Stephen Johnson (.400) are also hitting at least .400 at the plate. Casey leads the team with three homers and nine RBIs.

The Terriers have a 5.94 team ERA. Charles Vartanian has appeared in five of the Terriers seven games. The freshman righthander has a 1-0 record, 2.00 ERA, and two saves. Wofford is also fielding at a .951 clip.

Clemson Overview Clemson enters the Wofford game with a 4-5 record. The Tigers defeated College of Charleston 15-4 in Mount Pleasant, SC Friday, then lost two games to South Carolina over the weekend. Clemson is hitting .257 as a team, led by Brad McCann’s .375 batting average. Clemson also has a 3.61 ERA and a .971 fielding percentage. The Tigers have lost their five games by a total of eight runs. On the season, Clemson has outscored its opponents 55-36.

Special Days Ahead Clemson has announced special promotions for three upcoming baseball games at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. The game against Auburn on Saturday, March 13 is “Family Day,” as fans can gain admission for their entire family for just $12. The following day, youngsters will be allowed on the playing field and can stand next to their favorite Tiger during the National Anthem. The game against Coastal Carolina on Tuesday, March 16 is a “Businessperson Special Day,” as anyone can receive free admission when they present their business card.

Record Crowd A record crowd of 6,480 fans was on hand to watch #5 South Carolina defeat #18 Clemson at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on March 7. The mark broke the previous Tiger record of 6,392, set in the Clemson Super Regional against Mississippi State in 2000. In just three home games this year, Clemson is averaging 4,268 fans per game, well ahead of the Tiger single-season record of 3,592 set in 2002.

Not Just Solo Clemson has hit 13 home runs in its first nine games this season, led by Brad McCann’s and John Ingram have also hit three-run homers, while Russell Triplett has hit a grand slam.

Last year, Clemson hit 54 homers in 61 games, an average of 0.89 per game. The Tigers’ average homer scored 1.61 runs last season. In 2004, Clemson’s average home run has scored 2.23 runs.