Clemson Baseball Team to Face South Carolina, Western Carolina This Week

March 7, 2011

Clemson vs. South Carolina & Western Carolina Clemson (7-2), ranked as high as #4 in the nation, will play two midweek games this week. The Tigers will play a makeup game against #4 South Carolina (8-1) at Fluor Field in Greenville, SC on Tuesday at 7:00 PM. The game was scheduled for March 5, but was rained out. The two teams have split the first two games of the 2011 regular-season series. Then on Wednesday, Clemson will travel to Cullowhee, NC to face Western Carolina (7-3) at 4:00 PM.

Tuesday’s game against South Carolina will be televised live and available on WMYA (My40) in the Upstate and WMMP (myTV) in Charleston. The game will also be available live via webcast at ESPN3.com.

Wednesday’s game at Western Carolina will be broadcast live on the radio by WCCP (104.9 FM) out of Clemson and can be heard live on the internet at ClemsonTigers.com for both midweek games as well.

The Series (South Carolina) Clemson and South Carolina have met 294 times on the diamond, with the Tigers holding a 168-124-2 lead in the series dating to the 1899 season. South Carolina is Clemson’s most-played rival in history.

So far in 2011, the two teams have both won on their home field. On Friday, South Carolina won game-one 6-3 at Carolina Stadium behind three two-run homers. Then on Sunday at Doug Kingsmore Stadium, the Tigers rallied for a 10-5 win thanks to six runs in the eighth inning.

In 2010, the Tigers won two of the three games during the regular season, including a 4-3 victory at Clemson on March 5 and a 19-6 win in Columbia on March 7. On March 6 at Fluor Field in Greenville, SC, South Carolina rallied late to defeat the Tigers 7-5. The rivalry moved to the three-game format (with games at each team’s home stadium and a neutral-site game) for the first time in 2010. Then in the 2010 College World Series, the Gamecocks defeated Clemson twice in two games to advance to the Championship Series.

The series is tied 6-6 in neutral-site contests. Jack Leggett is 33-33 against South Carolina as Clemson’s head coach, including 0-5 in neutral-site contests. Leggett was also 3-8 against the Gamecocks as Western Carolina’s head coach, meaning he is 36-41 all-time against South Carolina.

The Series (Western Carolina) Clemson and Western Carolina have met 65 times, with the Tigers leading 52-13 in the series dating back to the 1974 season. The two have played at least one game every year since 1978.

During the 2010 season, the Catamounts downed the Tigers 7-5 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium in the only meeting between the two teams that season. In the 2009 season, Clemson won both games of a home-and-home midweek series by scores of 11-1 (at Western Carolina) and 13-2 (at Clemson).

The Tigers have a 14-9 advantage in games played at Western Carolina. Jack Leggett has a 26-8 mark against Western Carolina as Clemson’s head coach, including a 7-5 record at Hennon Stadium. Leggett served as head coach at Western Carolina from 1983-91 and won 302 games in nine seasons there. He was also 3-15 against the Tigers as the Catamount skipper.

The Starting Pitchers (South Carolina) South Carolina will start sophomore lefthander Adam Westmoreland (0-0, 3.60 ERA) on the mound. The Cayce, SC native has made two starts for a total of 10.0 innings pitched. He has allowed seven hits (.194 opponents’ batting average) and three walks with nine strikeouts.

The Tigers will counter with junior righthander David Haselden (1-0, 1.64 ERA) on Tuesday. The Spartanburg, SC native has made three relief appearances and one start for a total of 11.0 innings pitched. He has yielded eight hits (.216 opponents’ batting average) and two walks with five strikeouts.

The Starting Pitchers (Western Carolina) Both team’s starting pitchers for Wednesday’s game have yet to be announced.

The Gamecocks South Carolina, led by 15th-year Head Coach Ray Tanner and ranked as high as #4 in the nation, enters Tuesday’s game against #4 Clemson with an 8-1 overall record after splitting two games with the Tigers over the weekend. The Gamecocks, who have yet to play a neutral-site contest in 2011, have won 14 of their last 15 games dating back to the 2010 season.

South Carolina is averaging 7.6 runs per game and hitting .308 with a .521 slugging percentage and .400 on-base percentage. The team has totaled 20 doubles, three triples, 12 home runs, and six stolen bases.

Christian Walker is hitting a team-high .545 with four doubles, four homers, and 15 RBIs. He is the only Gamecock to hit safely in all nine games and has eight multi-hit games. He is also riding a 14-game hitting streak. Jackie Bradley, Jr. is hitting .343 with four doubles, one triple, three homers, and nine RBIs. Senior Scott Wingo, son of former Tiger baseball and football player Billy Wingo, has a .276 batting average along with two homers and four RBIs.

The pitching staff has a 2.59 ERA and .228 opponents’ batting average along with 84 strikeouts against 28 walks in 80.0 innings pitched. Sophomore righthander Matt Price has all three of the team’s saves. The Gamecocks are fielding at a .970 clip and have allowed just one stolen base as well.

The Catamounts Western Carolina, led by fourth-year Head Coach Bobby Moranda, enters Wednesday’s game against #4 Clemson with a 7-3 overall record after defeating Akron 9-8 on Friday. The Catamounts own a 5-1 home record in 2011.

Western Carolina is averaging 8.1 runs per game and hitting .303 with a .425 slugging percentage and .404 on-base percentage. The team has totaled 27 doubles, one triple, five home runs, and 18 stolen bases in 22 attempts.

Ross Heffley is hitting a team-high .571 with seven doubles, one triple, one homer, and 16 RBIs. Aaron Attaway is batting .375 with a homer and nine RBIs, while Cameron Dullnig is hitting .333 with a team-high five stolen bases.

The pitching staff has a 4.12 ERA and .249 opponents’ batting average along with 90 strikeouts against 56 walks in 89.2 innings pitched. In 7.2 innings pitched over five relief appearances, senior righthander Brandon Johnson has allowed no hits and no earned runs with eight strikeouts. Western Carolina is fielding at a .954 clip as well.

The Tigers Clemson, ranked as high as #4 in the nation, enters Tuesday’s game against #4 South Carolina with a 7-2 overall record after splitting the first two games of the three-game series against #4 South Carolina over the weekend. The Tigers are 1-0 in neutral-site contests this season.

The Tigers are averaging 9.4 runs per game and hitting .350 with a .472 slugging percentage and .471 on-base percentage thanks to 66 walks against only 41 strikeouts and 12 hit-by-pitches. Clemson has also totaled 16 doubles, three triples, five homers, and 20 stolen bases.

Chris Epps has a team-high five steals.

The pitching staff has a 2.92 ERA and .205 opponents’ batting average. The staff has allowed 19 walks against 66 strikeouts. David Haselden has the team’s lone save, while Joseph Moorefield has pitched 6.0 innings over five relief appearances without allowing an earned run this season. The Tigers are fielding at a .972 clip as well.

Kevin Brady has a 2-0 record, 1.10 ERA, and .155 opponents’ batting average in 16.1 innings pitched over three starts. He also has 23 strikeouts against only one walk, but he left Sunday’s game against South Carolina prior to the fifth inning with a forearm muscle strain. He will be out of action for at least two weeks and will be re-evaluated at that time.

Bradley & Price Awards to Be Presented Tuesday After Tuesday’s game at Fluor Field, Clemson’s MVP of the three-game series will be given the Bob Bradley Award in a ceremony at home plate. Also, South Carolina’s MVP will be given the Tom Price Award. Both Bradley and Price served as Baseball SIDs at their respective schools for decades. Bradley passed away in 2000, while Price passed away in 2008. The awards have been presented every year since 2001. An outfielder has won the Bob Bradley Award every year since 2007. Chris Epps won the Bob Bradley Award in 2010.

Tigers 8-1 All-Time at Fluor Field Fluor Field, the home of the Boston Red Sox A affiliate Greenville Drive since 2006, is modeled after Fenway Park, with identical field dimensions and a “Green Monster.” The Tigers have played nine games at the ballpark since 2007 and are 8-1.

In 2007, Clemson downed Wofford 6-3 in its first-ever game at Fluor Field. In 2008, the Tigers defeated Presbyterian College 12-7 and Furman 11-5. In 2009, Clemson topped Michigan State 15-2 and Furman 8-5. In 2010, Clemson beat the Spartans 10-2, fell to #15 South Carolina 7-5, and defeated Furman 12-1 at Fluor Field.

Earlier this season at Fluor Field, Clemson blanked Michigan State 8-0. Therefore, the Tigers have outscored the opposition 87-32 in their nine games at Fluor Field.

Polls The Tigers stayed at #4 in the Collegiate Baseball poll this week after going 2-1 in three games last week. Clemson moved up two spots to #10 in the Baseball America poll and stayed at #7 in the Sports Weekly poll. With Clemson’s top-25 ranking this week, it marks the 41st week in a row the Tigers have been ranked in the top 25 of at least one of the three major polls dating back to the start of the 2009 season.

Clemson has had at least one final top-25 ranking in 14 of Head Coach Jack Leggett’s first 17 seasons in Tigertown. The Tigers have also been ranked #1 for 20 weeks by at least one of the three major polls under Leggett. Their last #1 ranking came on February 12, 2007 by both Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball.

Clemson #7 in the Nation in Average Home Attendance Entering this week’s action, a total of 35,576 fans have been in attendance for Clemson’s seven home dates in 2011, an average of 5,082 per date. That figure is #7 in the nation and best in the ACC in 2011. It is also on pace to be the best figure in Tiger history for a season. Through the 2010 season, Clemson had a top-20 national figure in attendance for 17 straight seasons and a top-10 national figure in attendance for nine years in a row.

Getting Leadoff Batter on Base a Key to Tigers’ Success Numbers support the notion that getting a leadoff batter on base increases the likelihood of scoring runs in an inning. That has certainly been the case for the Tigers in 2011. Clemson has put its leadoff batter on base in 41 of the 75 innings (55 percent) in which it has batted. Richie Shaffer has reached base in 10 of his 12 plate appearances when leading off an inning, while Phil Pohl has reached in four of his five plate appearances.

Miller Walking This Way To say junior infielder Brad Miller (Windermere, FL) is patient at the plate would be an understatement. In nine games this season, he has 14 walks. Miller has used his good eye at the plate to walk at least 50 times in each of his first two seasons at Clemson (53 in 2009, 50 in 2010). This season, he is on pace to set a career high in that category. He is a big reason the Tigers have 66 walks (7.3 per game) in 2011.

Miller, who was a two-time member of the USA National Team, is hitting .370 with a .571 on-base percentage along with one double, one triple, eight RBIs, and four steals in 2011. He has also struck out just four times.

In 144 games and starts as a Tiger, Miller is a career .319 hitter with 11 homers, 93 RBIs, 117 walks against only 82 strikeouts, a .441 on-base percentage, and 29 stolen bases.

Tigers & Gamecocks Split First Two Games of Series Clemson and South Carolina, both ranked as high as #4 in the nation, split the first two games of the three-games series. Both teams won on their home field. Clemson has outhit the Gamecocks .328 to .215.

In game-one at Carolina Stadium in Columbia on March 4, Brady Thomas, Christian Walker, and Scott Wingo all hit two-run homers to lift South Carolina to a 6-3 win over Clemson. The Tigers scored three runs in the second inning on Phil Pohl’s two-run double and Jason Stolz’s run-scoring single. But that was the only one of five innings in which Clemson scored after putting its leadoff batter on base. Michael Roth pitched 7.0 strong innings to earn the win, while Matt Price pitched 1.2 perfect innings to record the save.

In game-two at Doug Kingsmore Stadium in Clemson on March 6, Clemson scored six runs in the eighth inning for a come-from-behind 10-5 win over South Carolina. The Gamecocks scored four runs in the seventh inning to take a 5-3 lead. Trailing 5-4, the Tigers scored six runs on six hits in the eighth inning to pull out the win. Every Tiger starter scored at least one run and nine of the 10 Tigers in the lineup had at least one hit. Clemson outhit South Carolina 15-5, as Stolz had a game-high three hits. Jeff Schaus added two doubles and three RBIs. Joseph Moorefield pitched 2.0 hitless and scoreless innings with two strikeouts to close out the game and earn his first career win. Six Gamecock pitchers combined to issue eight walks and South Carolina committed four errors, as its 14-game winning streak came to an end.