Sunday 05/28/2000
May 28, 2000
LAST WEEK’S RESULTS (3-0, Clemson Regional Champions)
Friday, May 26 Middle Tennessee at Clemson W, 4-0
Saturday, May 27 Illinois at Clemson W, 9-3
Sunday, May 28 Middle Tennessee at Clemson W, 21-3
UPCOMING GAMES
Friday, June 2 Clemson vs. Mississippi State
Saturday, June 3 Clemson vs. Mississippi State
Sunday, June 4 Clemson vs. Mississippi State
Note: site and times to be announced Monday.
Noteworthy
Tigers to Face Mississippi State in Super Regional Clemson (48-16) will play Mississippi State in the Super Regional starting Friday at a site to be announced Monday, May 29 at 3:00 PM. Clemson is making its second straight Super Regional appearance, after playing in the College State (TX) Super Regional in 1999.
Clemson swept through its regional by a combined score of 34-6. Mississippi State went 3-1 in its regional. The Bulldogs defeated Notre Dame in the championship game on a walk-off home run by Ty Martin.
Clemson and Mississippi State have met eight times on the diamond, with the last coming in the 1991 Northeast Regional in Orono, ME. The Tigers won that game 10-9. Clemson holds a 5-3 advantage in the series dating back to 1968. Clemson also played in the 1992 Mideast Regional at Starkville, but did not play the Bulldogs in that regional.
Tiger Bats Explode in 21-3 Championship Clinching Win Over Middle Tennessee Clemson set a team record for hits in an NCAA Tournament game with 24 as the Tigers captured the Clemson Regional Championship with a 21-3 win over Middle Tennessee on May 28. After the Blue Raiders jumped out to a 3-1 lead after one inning, Clemson scored 20 unanswered runs, including at least one run in each of the first seven innings, including five in both the fifth and sixth innings and six runs in the seventh. Ryan Riley led Clemson with five RBIs, three runs scored, and two hits in two at bats. Henr’ Stanley and Patrick Boyd each had four hits as well. All nine Tiger starters had at least one hit by the fifth inning and eight Tigers in all had at least two hits. The Tigers set season highs for both runs and hits. Jarrod Schmidt pitched superbly after allowing three first-inning runs. In 6.0 innings, he allowed eight hits, three runs, and one walk while striking out five to get the win.
Five-Run Eighth Inning Propels Tigers to 9-3 Win Over Illinois Clemson scored five runs in the eighth inning and Kevin Lynn pitched 5.1 outstanding innings in relief as the Tigers downed Illinois 9-3 in the second round of the Clemson Regional on May 27. Lynn, who relieved Scott Berney in the fourth inning, allowed two hits, one run, and no walks to run his record to 4-1. Clemson scored three runs on three separate Illinois wild pitches, as the Tigers had just four RBIs in the contest. Clemson, who had just six hits, was led by Casey Stone, who had two hits. Brian Ellis walked three times and scored three times as well. Justin Singleton, who was a defensive replacement in the seventh inning, lined a key two-run triple in the eighth inning off lefthander Andy Dickinson. It was just Singleton’s 12th at bat against a lefty all season. Khalil Greene’s 20-game hitting streak came to an end, as he was robbed twice by outstanding defensive plays.
Mottl Shuts Out Middle Tennessee in Clemson Regional Opener No current Tiger had pitched a shutout coming into Clemson’s game with Middle Tennessee in the first round of the Clemson Regional on May 26, but Ryan Mottl changed that by allowing just four hits and one walk in 9.0 innings as Clemson defeated the Blue Raiders 4-0. The last shutout by a Tiger came against Florida State in 1996, when Ken Vining blanked the Seminoles. Mottl also pitched back-to-back complete games for the first time since 1996 (Kris Benson). Mottl, who set the Clemson record with his 66th career start, struck out eight and improved to 9-3 in 2000 and 22-2 at home in his career. He had command of all his pitches, including his specialty pitch called a “fosh”. Jeff Baker added two solo homers in his first career NCAA Tournament game. Baker had two homers two games ago against Virginia, therefore hit four homers in the last three games. Khalil Greene also extended his hitting streak to 20 games with his first inning double down the right-field line. Casey Stone added a clutch two-out, run-scoring hit and a sacrifice fly as well. Former Tiger pitcher Jeff Parsons, who pitched in Tigertown as a freshman in 1997, allowed four runs and nine hits in 7.1 innings, as he suffered the loss. The meeting between Clemson and Middle Tennessee was the first.
Tigers Outscore Opponents 34-6 in Clemson Regional In Clemson’s three games in its own regional from May 26-28, the Tigers hit .345 along with a 2.00 ERA. The Tigers also had a .432 on-base percentage and were a perfect 9-9 on stolen bases. The defense played solid as well, committing only three errors in the three games. Tiger pitchers allowed just 21 hits, including just four extra-base hits (three doubles, one triple).
Justin Singleton and Henr’ Stanley were the two most productive Tigers in the regional. Singleton went 4-for-6 with five runs scored and four RBIs, while Stanley was 5-for-8 with four runs scored and four stolen bases. Ryan Riley was 4-for-8 with five RBIs, and Brian Ellis led the entire regional with seven runs scored. Casey Stone was 5-for-14 with six RBIs and two stolen bases.
Stone was named the Clemson Regional MVP, while five other Tigers made the All-Regional squad, giving the Tigers six of the 11 spots on the team. Ryan Riley was the All-Regional second baseman, Stone and Singleton made it as outfielders, Ellis as the catcher, Stanley as the designated hitter/utility, and Ryan Mottl as one of the two pitchers.
Tiger Bats Alive And Well in Postseason Clemson’s 6-2 record in postseason play can be attributed to the hot Tiger bats, as Clemson is hitting .344 in its eight postseason games. The Tigers are averaging 9.4 runs per game and 12.6 hits per contest along with 4.1 extra-base hits per game. The team also has a ..428 on-base percentage and is 15-19 on stolen bases. The Tigers have committed just eight errors in eight games for a .974 fielding percentage.
Clemson hit .343 in the five games of the ACC Tournament along with hitting 12 doubles, three triples, and seven home runs. Clemson also slugged at a .558 clip and had a .426 on-base percentage.
In the Clemson Regional, the Tigers hit .345 with eight doubles, a triple, and two homers in three games. Clemson scored 34 runs in the three games as well, including 21 in the championship game against Middle Tennessee. Clemson also stole nine bases in nine attempts.
In the eight postseason games, Henr’ Stanley leads the team with a ..538 batting average. Patrick Boyd is second at .400 with 11 RBIs, while Jeff Baker also has four homers and 12 RBis in the postseason.
Clemson’s NCAA Tournament History Clemson (48-16) enters the Super Regional against Mississippi State with more wins already than its totaled since 1996, when Clemson finished 51-17. The Tigers have now participated in 26 NCAA Tournaments overall and 14 in a row. Clemson has also won at least one game in all 14 of the regionals. Only Miami (FL), Florida State, and Oklahoma State have longer current streaks. Clemson’s 26 appearances also ranks seventh in the nation, while the 14-year run ranks tied for sixth all-time in NCAA history. Clemson has a 67-53 (.558) all-time record in the tournament, including a 38-27 (.585) record during the 14-year run. Jack Leggett has a 22-13 (.629) record in NCAA Tourney play as the Tiger Head Coach as well. Leggett was 4-10 in the tourney at Western Carolina in five years (1985-89), therefore is 26-23 (.531) in his career in 11 NCAA Tournaments.
Clemson, who hosted for the first time in the new regional format, has hosted six times previously, with the last coming in 1998. Clemson went 1-2 in that regional and fell to eventual National Champion Southern California. The Tigers also hosted in 1980 (3-0), 1981 (0-2), 1994 (2-2), 1995 (4-0), and 1996 (4-0). Therefore, Clemson has a 17-6 (.739) record in tournament play as the host school. Clemson advanced to the College World Series in three of the previous six host seasons (1980, 1995, 1996). Clemson has played in the College World Series eight times in its history.
Last season, Clemson lost in the opening round of the Fayetteville (AR) Regional to Southwest Missouri State by a 23-5 score. But in the next two days, Clemson won four games, including two over Southwest Missouri State to advance to the Super Regional at College Station (TX), hosted by Texas A&M. After getting blitzed in the first game 20-3, Clemson won game two 10-3 and led in game three 4-3 entering the top of the ninth inning, but two solo homers off Tiger star closer Chris Heck ended the Tiger season.
Individual Perfomers in the NCAA Tournament in Their Careers Patrick Boyd leads Clemson in NCAA Tournament play with a .452 batting average and 13 RBIs in 14 games. Khalil Greene is hitting .372 with seven doubles and 12 RBIs in 11 games. Justin Singleton is hitting .333 with five doubles, 14 runs scored, and 15 RBIs in 14 games. Henr’ Stanley is hitting .340 with seven stolen bases and a ..492 on-base percentage as well. In six NCAA Tourney games (five starts), Ryan Mottl is 2-1 with two complete games, a .248 opponent batting average, and a 3.94 ERA in 32.0 innings pitched.
Three ACC Teams Advance to Super Regionals Three ACC teams are in the top six in the country according to the tournament selection committee. Georgia Tech is the #3 national seed, Clemson is the #4 national seed, and Florida State is the #6 national seed., and all have advanced to the Super Regionals. Wake Forest and North Carolina earned #2 seeds in their respective regionals, but fell in each of their championship games.
NCAA Super Regional Tickets Available If Clemson is selected to be a host of a Super Regional, the Clemson ticket office will begin selling Super Regional tickets Tuesday, May 30. Each reserve seat Super Regional pass is $30 and can be purchased through the ticket office between 8:30 AM and 4:30 PM at the Clemson Ticket office at Clemson Memorial Stadium. All regional reserved seat ticket holders have priority in reserving their seats. until 4:30 on Monday, May 29. Orders will be processed and ready to be picked up on May 30. Beginning May 30, remaining ticket passes will be sold over the counter at the Clemson ticket office. For more information, call 1-800 CLEMSON or 864-656-2118.
Doug Kingsmore Stadium’s official capacity is 5,000, but over 6,000 fans packed the stadium for the South Carolina game earlier this season. The Clemson single-game attendance record is 6,223 against North Carolina on April 1, 1995. The record crowd for a regional at Clemson is 5,879 against Auburn on May 28, 1994.
Clemson 39-16 Against SEC Teams Under Leggett In seven seasons under Head Coach Jack Leggett, Clemson has had tremendous success against the Southeastern Conference. Leggett’s record against the SEC as the Tigers’ skipper is 39-16 (.709), including 16 wins against top-25 teams. Leggett has at least a .500 record against all seven SEC schools he has faced while at Clemson. Below is a list of Leggett’s record at Clemson against each of the seven SEC member schools he has faced:
Injury Update * No injuries
Tiger Streaks Rank Third Best in the Country Clemson has won at least 40 games for 15 straight seasons. The Tigers reached that mark against #4 Florida State on May 8, a 7-4 Tiger win. Clemson is also participate in its 14th straight NCAA Tournament. Both marks rank in the top-three in the country currently. Clemson is tied for third in the nation in consecutive tournament appearances, trailing only Miami (FL) (28) and Florida State (23). Wichita State also a 14-year run in the tournament. As far as consecutive 40-win seasons, Clemson is third in the country with its 15-year streak. The Tigers trail only Florida State (23) and Wichita State (23) in that area.
Clemson Set School Record for Home Wins Clemson is 35-5 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium this season. Clemson broke the school record for home wins in a season when it defeated Middle Tennessee in the regional on May 28. The old record was 34 set in 1996. Clemson’s only losses have come to UNLV, #17 East Carolina, N.C. State, #2 South Carolina, and #11 Wake Forest. Clemson has a 716-155 (.822) all-time record in the facility’s 31st year.
Clemson’s longest homestand in years, 23-games long, was completed on Mar. 26 with a 6-3 win over The Citadel. Clemson was 21-2 in the 23 games. The Tigers finished another long homestand, 11-games long, on April 18 with a win over Elon. Clemson was 8-3 on that homestand. Clemson’s regular-season home schedule ended with a three-game sweep over Florida State from May 6-8.
Bats Warming Up With the Weather Clemson’s batting average, which has hovered around the .280 mark around midseason, has climbed over .300 thanks to the team hitting ..308 in April and .330 in May. Khalil Greene and Casey Stone have been especially hot in May. Greene hit .406 with a .486 on-base percentage in 15 May games, while Stone hit .460 in May. Clemson hit .262 to the end of February and .295 in March. Clemson, who set many offensive records a season ago, hit .306 in 1999.
Mottl 22-2 On the Mound at DK There’s no place like home for Ryan Mottl. The Florissant, MO senior righthander has a 22-2 career record at Clemson’s Doug Kingsmore Stadium as opposed to 10-16 away from home. Mottl was drafted in the 27th round by the Texas Rangers but decided to return for his senior season. In 2000, Mottl is 6-0 with a 1.77 ERA and .184 opponent batting average in 10 starts at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Below is a look at Mottl at home vs. away from home in his four-year career
Greene Solid All-Around Sophomore third baseman Khalil Greene has continued right where he left off last season. Overall, the Key West, FL native is hitting a team-best .360 with five homers and 61 RBIs. Thirty-two of his 61 RBIs have come with two outs thanks to his .446 batting average with runners in scoring position and .373 average with two outs. Greene had a team-season high five hits at Duke on April 23 and against Virginia in the ACC Tournament on May 20. He was named to the All-ACC Tournament team after hitting .500 in the five games. He was also named Second-Team All-ACC at third base. The self-proclaimed Ric Flair and avid wresting fan had a 20-game hitting streak that ended on May 27. He is also hitting .439 away from home this season. Greene hit .358 with a Tiger freshman-record 98 hits in ’99. Greene has also made many great plays at third base. He is the only regular in the infield from a season ago. Greene has a .944 fielding percentage (11 errors) this season after having a not-so-great .881 mark in 1999.
Stone Thriving as Tiger Leadoff Hitter Junior outfielder Casey Stone (Abbeville, SC) has cemented his role as the Tiger leadoff hitter thanks to his consistent hitting of late. He has batted in the leadoff spot 39 times this season, including in each of the last 33 games. In those 33 games, he is hitting 59-for-145 (.407). He is also 33-for-his-last-68 (.485) with 19 RBIs since he lined out to right field at #5 Georgia Tech in his first at bat on April 30 16 games ago. Stone has upped his batting average to .359, second-best on the team. He has a .495 on-base percentage when leading off an inning overall and has been an excellent “table-setter” for Jack Leggett. He even hits lefties well with his ..381 batting average against Southpaws. Stone hit his first career homer at #5 Georgia Tech on April 30. It came on his 361st career at bat. He also had the game-winning hit in the ninth inning to beat #2 Florida State on May 7. He was named the Clemson Regional MVP as well, as he hit .357 with six RBIs. Stone, who stands 5-6 and weighs 155 pounds, is a hard-nosed aggressive player in the mold of Jack Leggett himself. Stone has 11 doubles, three triples, and 23 stolen bases as well. He also has 14 sacrifice bunts this season, most in a season by a Tiger in history. He also holds the career record in that category with 25. Stone is engaged to Kimberly Stewart, a Clemson student. The wedding is set to take place in December, 2000.
Singy Hitting .387 After Starting Season 1-for-28 Junior outfielder Justin Singleton began the season 1-for-28. Then, just when he seemingly started to get his bat going, he suffered a broken finger sliding into a base against Maryland and missed nearly a month. But Singleton has still managed to keep his hot bat of late, going 29-for-75 (.387) since the season-beginning slump. Singleton went 3-for-5 with four RBIs against Ohio on March 11 to begin his streaky hitting. He was 3-for-3 against #11 Wake Forest on April 16 in his first start since the Ohio game on March 11. He also had three hits at #1 South Carolina on April 19. He had a clutch hit, a two-run triple, coming off the bench against Illinois on May 27 to salt away the game. He was named to the All-Regional team at Clemson, as he went 4-for-6 with five runs scored and four RBIs. Clemson needs Singleton to continue his torrid hitting as the everyday right fielder. Singleton hit .370 as a freshman, but struggled in 1999 with a .237 average.
Riley Rising to the Occasion Junior second baseman Ryan Riley (Seattle, WA) has raised his batting average to .310 thanks to a barrage the last half of the season. In the last 30 games, Riley has five triples, 28 RBIs, and is hitting .365 (35-for-96). He leads the team overall with seven triples. No Tiger has had seven triples since David Miller had 10 in 1995. Riley has also been a clutch hitter, with a .409 batting average with two outs and .431 average with runners in scoring position. He has committed just four errors and has a remarkable .982 fielding percentage. He had streaks of 17 games and 15 games this season without committing an error. He also had 90 and 70 chance-streaks without booting a ball as well.
Baker Providing Punch as Freshman Freshman shortstop Jeff Baker (Woodbridge, VA), who was rated as the #1 freshman in the nation in the preseason by Baseball America, is hitting .320 with a team-best 11 homers and 61 RBIs. Baker also has 25 multi-hit games. He also has a respectable .925 fielding percentage. Baker was a star on the USA Junior National Team that won it all in Taiwan in the summer of 1999. He teamed with South Carolina shortstop Drew Meyer. Baker actually drove home Meyer for the game-winning run in the championship game. Baker was the starting shortstop for the team as well. Baker was one of first 20 players invited for the USA National Team trials set to start in June.
On the Personal Side… * Khalil Greene is a die-hard professional wrestling fan. His favorite wrestler is Ric Flair. Both he and Flair have blonde hair.
* Clemson has two starting infielders whose hometowns are about as far away from each as possible in the continental United States. Third-baseman Khalil Greene is from Key West, FL and second-baseman Ryan Riley is from Seattle, WA. If you were to drive from the driveways of their respective homes, it would take 67.5 hours to drive the 3,531 miles.
* Freshmen Jarrod Schmidt and Chad Bendinelli, who is not on the postseason roster, were teammates at Lassiter High in Marietta, GA. They also lived next door to each other since the age of one.
* Jeff Baker and Ryan Hub have both lived in numerous countries all over the world. They are both sons of fathers in the military. Baker was born in Germany and also lived in United Arab Emerites. Hub lived in South Korea, Kuwait, and was born in England. Hub has also traveled all over the world in his travels.
* Brian Ellis and Brian Holstad earned their degrees in May. Ellis majored in Agriculture Economics and Holstad majored in mechanical engineering. The two are also the last holdovers from Clemson’s last College World Series appearance in 1996. Both red-shirted that season.
* Justin Singleton is the son of 15-year Major Leaguer Ken Singleton. Ken works with the MSG Network and provides commentary for the Yankees.
* Nick Glaser and Ryan Riley both transfered to Clemson before the season from Edmonds Community College in Washington. Both Glaser and Riley have played prominent roles in the 2000 season. Their head coach at Edmonds was first-year Tiger assistant coach Hank King.
* Bradley LeCroy is no relation to former Tiger star Matthew LeCroy.
* Steve Reba’s father, Michael, has not missed a Clemson baseball game for the past two seasons. He rents an apartment in Clemson and does his work via computer. He is a bond salesman. Michael has not missed one of Steve’s games since his early childhood days as well.
* Ryan Mottl’s father, Steve, is an active participant on Clemson message boards on the internet. “Clemfan” keeps many other Tiger fans up-to-date on news and notes about Clemson baseball with his emails.
* Casey Stone is engaged to marry his fiance’, Kimberly Stewart, in December. Stewart is a senior PRTM major at Clemson.
* Paul Harrelson goes by “Woody” and “Hawk” by teammates and coaches.
* North Carolina assistant football coach and former Clemson quarterback Mike O’Cain is the godfather of Thomas Boozer.
* Pitching Coach Kevin O’Sullivan was an all-conference catcher at Virginia in the early 1990s.
* Head Coach Jack Leggett broke his neck in December in a skiing accident while vacationing in Colorado. He hit a depression in the snow and lost his balance, causing him to land awkardly. He came within inches of being paralyzed. Miraculously, he did not miss any practices or games. He did have to wear a neck brace for the first few weeks of the season.
Tiger Field Renamed Doug Kingsmore Stadium Former Clemson baseball star and current Board of Trustees member Doug Kingsmore gave the Clemson athletic department a $1 million gift towards renovation of Clemson’s baseball stadium, formerly known as Tiger Field. George Bennett, executive director of IPTAY, made the announcement on January 28, 2000 at a dinner at the Madren Center on the Clemson campus. Bennett also announced that the facility would be called Doug Kingsmore Stadium.
In accepting the honor Kingsmore said, “Life has been all I could have asked for and more. I’ve been blessed to have the business and professional opportunities afforded me and doubly blessed with a family that’s truly loving and supportive. With Clemson’s strong legacy and promising future, it’s a pleasure to give something back that will affect the lives of many who participate and become part of the Clemson family in the future.”
Kingsmore played for the Tiger varsity squad from 1952-54. An All-ACC and All-District III outfielder in 1954, Kingsmore became the first Clemson player in history to hit 10 home runs in a season. He did that in 1954 while playing in just 24 games. He led the ACC in home runs and runs scored (25) that year, and led the Tigers in batting average (.371), slugging percentage (.742), and RBIs (27).
Kingsmore played three years of professional baseball in the Baltimore Oriole organization before beginning a successful business career. He is currently president and chief executive of the Graniteville Company in Aiken, SC. He is serving in his third term on the Clemson University Board of Trustees and will become Trustee Emeritus when his current elected term expires in 2002.
“I can’t tell you how excited I am about this announcement,” said Head Coach Jack Leggett. “This will be a great lift to our program. Everyone in our program is appreciative and it means so much to come from a former Clemson baseball player, and a man who has meant so much to Clemson University.”
November 21, 2024
November 20, 2024
November 12, 2024
November 3, 2024
