Clemson Baseball Team to Face Maryland in College Park This Weekend

April 19, 2012

Clemson vs. Maryland Clemson (21-17, 9-9 ACC) will travel to College Park, MD to take on Maryland (25-14, 7-11 ACC) in a three-game series at Bob Smith Stadium this weekend. Game times are 6:00 PM (Friday), 3:00 PM (Saturday), and 1:00 PM (Sunday). All three games will be broadcast live on the radio by Clemson Tiger Sports Network. Live stats will also be available at ClemsonTigers.com for all three games.

The Series Clemson and Maryland have met 156 times on the diamond, with the Tigers holding a 116-40 lead in the series dating back to the 1923 season. The two teams have faced each other at least one time every year since the 1954 season.

The two teams last met at Doug Kingsmore Stadium in 2011, when the Tigers won the first two games by scores of 12-3 and 7-0 before Maryland edged Clemson 7-6 in the series-finale. In the three-game series at Bob Smith Stadium in 2010, Clemson swept the Terrapins by a combined score of 37-19.

The Tigers hold a 40-28 lead in games played at Maryland and a 103-36 advantage in ACC regular-season games. Jack Leggett has a 47-9 record against Maryland as Clemson’s head coach, including a 19-7 mark at Bob Smith Stadium.

The Starting Pitchers Game-one will feature a battle of Gaithersburg, MD natives on the mound. Maryland will start junior lefthander Jimmy Reed (1-1, 0.76 ERA). He has made 13 relief appearances and two starts for a total of 35.2 innings pitched. He has allowed 21 hits (.174 opponents’ batting average), no homers, and five walks with 36 strikeouts.

The Tigers will counter with junior righthander Kevin Brady (1-2, 2.98 ERA) on Friday. He has made nine starts for a total of 45.1 innings pitched. He has allowed 38 hits (.233 opponents’ batting average) and 19 walks with 44 strikeouts.

In game-two, the Terrapins will send out senior righty Brett Harman (5-2, 2.64 ERA) on the mound. The Westminster, MD native has made nine starts for a total of 58.0 innings pitched. He has given up 55 hits (.261 opponents’ batting average) and 12 walks with 48 strikeouts.

Clemson will counter with junior righty Dominic Leone (5-3, 4.94 ERA) on Saturday. The Norwich, CT native has made nine starts for a total of 47.1 innings pitched. He has surrendered 46 hits (.267 opponents’ batting average) and 23 walks with 41 strikeouts.

In game-three, Maryland will start senior righthander David Carroll (3-1, 3.24 ERA) on the mound. The Las Vegas, NV native has made nine starts and one relief appearance for a total of 50.0 innings pitched. He has yielded 47 hits (.251 opponents’ batting average), no home runs, and 12 walks with 32 strikeouts.

The Tigers will counter with sophomore righty Kevin Pohle (4-2, 2.74 ERA) on Sunday. The Saint Louis, MO native has made seven starts and two relief appearances for a total of 46.0 innings pitched. He has given up 45 hits (.268 opponents’ batting average) and 18 walks with 27 strikeouts.

The Terrapins Maryland, led by third-year Head Coach Erik Bakich, enters the series against Clemson with a 25-14 overall record and 7-11 ACC mark after defeating James Madison 3-0 at home on Tuesday. Bakich served as Clemson’s volunteer coach in 2002 when the Tigers advanced to the College World Series. The Terrapins, who won two of three games over Duke at home last weekend, are 16-5 at home.

Maryland is averaging 5.2 runs per game and hitting .268 with a .383 slugging percentage and .359 on-base percentage thanks to 140 walks and 52 hit-by-pitches against 258 strikeouts. The team has also totaled 67 doubles, eight triples, 21 home runs, and 52 stolen bases in 68 attempts.

K.J. Hockaday is hitting .319 with six doubles, two triples, two homers, and 18 RBIs, while Jordan Hagel is batting .309 with 11 doubles, two triples, two homers, 16 RBIs, and 10 steals. Tomo Delp is hitting .309 with three home runs and 17 RBIs, while Alfredo Rodriguez has a team-high 32 RBIs and 11 steals. Tim Kiene has a team-high six home runs and Korey Wacker has a team-high 13 stolen bases as well.

The pitching staff has a 2.64 ERA and .234 opponents’ batting average along with 280 strikeouts against 138 walks in 340.1 innings pitched. The staff has also allowed only six home runs and has nine shutouts. Wacker, a senior lefthander, has a 4-0 record, two saves, a 1.69 ERA, and .160 opponents’ batting average in 21.1 innings pitched over 16 relief appearances. Maryland, who has allowed 24 steals in 47 attempts, is fielding at a .973 clip as well.

The Tigers Clemson enters the series at Maryland with a 21-17 overall record and 9-9 ACC mark after edging Charleston Southern 3-2 at home on Tuesday. The Tigers, who are also coming off one win in three games at home against #17 N.C. State last weekend, are 4-5 on opponents’ home fields. Clemson has won its last five games away from home as well.

The Tigers are averaging 5.5 runs per game and hitting .272 with a .379 slugging percentage and .363 on-base percentage thanks to 168 walks and 32 hit-by-pitches against 238 strikeouts. Clemson has also totaled 55 doubles, nine triples, 23 homers, and 39 stolen bases in 51 attempts.

Richie Shaffer leads the team with a .390 batting average along with 14 doubles, one triple, eight homers, 36 RBIs, 39 walks, five steals, and a .520 on-base percentage. He has also totaled multiple hits in 10 of the last 11 games. Thomas Brittle is hitting .339 with four doubles, four triples, one homer, 22 RBIs, and a team-high seven steals. Brittle is riding an 11-game hitting streak as well.

The pitching staff has a 3.54 ERA and .265 opponents’ batting average in 346.0 innings pitched. The staff has allowed 142 walks against 297 strikeouts, good for a 2.09 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Junior righty Scott Firth has an 0.80 ERA and a .190 opponents’ batting average in 33.2 innings pitched over 14 relief appearances. The Tigers are fielding at a .969 clip as well.

Junior righthander Kevin Brady (Gaithersburg), the Tigers’ scheduled starting pitcher for Friday’s contest, is Clemson’s only native from the state of Maryland.

Scoring Streak Clemson has scored at least one run in 81 consecutive games dating to the 2011 season. The school record for consecutive games without being shut out is 232 (set between 1984-86). Clemson needs to score at least one run in the next 19 games for it to become the ninth streak of 100 games or more in school history. Below is chart of Clemson’s longest streaks of scoring at least one run.