Clemson Baseball Team to Play Host to Coastal Carolina Tuesday, Western Carolina Wednesday

April 4, 2011

Clemson vs. Coastal Carolina & Western Carolina Clemson (14-12) will host Coastal Carolina (18-10) on Tuesday and Western Carolina (11-14-1) on Wednesday in midweek games at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. First pitch for both games is scheduled for 6:30 PM. Both games will also be available live via webcast on TigerCast at ClemsonTigers.com.

TigerCast Broadcast Links:Clemon vs. Coastal CarolinaClemon vs. Western Carolina

Tuesday’s game will be broadcast by live on the radio by Clemson Tiger Sports Network, while Wednesday’s game 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 games as well.

The Series (Coastal Carolina) Clemson and Coastal Carolina have met 45 times on the diamond, with the Tigers holding a 38-7 lead in the series that dates back to 1986.

Clemson had won seven games in a row in the series before Coastal Carolina downed the Tigers 4-3 in 11 innings at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on March 31, 2010. In 2009, Doug Kingsmore Stadium. In 2008, the Tigers downed Coastal Carolina 9-6 thanks to Doug Hogan’s two home runs and five RBIs.

The Tigers lead 28-5 over the Chanticleers in games played at Clemson, all of which have been played at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

The Series (Western Carolina) Clemson and Western Carolina have met 65 times on the diamond, 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.

In 2010, 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 lead 37-4 in games at Clemson, all of which have been played at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Doug Kingsmore 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 (Coastal Carolina) Coastal Carolina will start junior lefthander Keith Hessler (1-0, 3.21 ERA) on the mound. The Silver Spring, MD native has made 11 relief appearances for a total of 14.0 innings pitched. He has surrendered 11 hits (.212 opponents’ batting average) and eight walks with 13 strikeouts.

The Tigers will counter with graduate righthander Justin Sarratt (1-1, 2.05 ERA) on Tuesday. The Gaffney, SC has made five relief appearances and three starts for a total of 22.0 innings pitched. He has yielded 20 hits (.238 opponents’ batting average) and three walks with 23 strikeouts.

The Starting Pitchers (Western Carolina) Western Carolina’s starting pitcher and Clemson’s starting pitcher for Wednesday’s game has yet to be announced.

The Chanticleers Coastal Carolina, led by 16th-year Head Coach Gary Gilmore, enters Tuesday’s game at Clemson with an 18-10 overall record and 4-2 Big South Conference mark after sweeping Liberty at home over the weekend. The Chanticleers are 5-5 on opponents’ home fields, while 11 of their 28 games have been decided by one run (5-6 record).

Coastal Carolina is averaging 5.8 runs per game and hitting .252 with a .384 slugging percentage and .358 on-base percentage. The team has totaled 46 doubles, nine triples, 20 home runs, and 44 stolen bases in 51 attempts.

Tommy La Stella is batting .350 with six doubles, three triples, six homers, 30 RBIs, and a .446 on-base percentage. Scott Woodward is hitting .337 with 20 walks, 12 hit-by-pitches, and 19 steals in 20 attempts. Daniel Bowman has added five homers and 21 RBIs.

The pitching staff has a 2.90 ERA and .222 opponents’ batting average along with 232 strikeouts against 90 walks in 260.2 innings pitched. Righthanders Jordan Coons and Ryan Connolly both have two saves apiece, while Coons has a 1.00 ERA and .164 opponents’ batting average in 18.0 innings pitched over 12 relief appearances. Coastal Carolina is fielding at a .968 clip as well.

The Catamounts Western Carolina, led by fourth-year Head Coach Bobby Moranda, enters Wednesday’s game at Clemson with an 11-14-1 overall record and 2-10 SoCon mark after being swept at College of Charleston over the weekend. The Catamounts, who are 4-11-1 in their last 16 games after starting the season 7-3, is 4-9 on opponents’ home fields in 2011.

Western Carolina is averaging 6.1 runs per game and hitting .282 with a .398 slugging percentage and .377 on-base percentage. The team has totaled 60 doubles, four triples, 13 home runs, and 43 stolen bases.

Ross Heffley is hitting a team-high .408 with 12 doubles, two triples, two homers, and 29 RBIs. Stephen Notaro is hitting .338, while Austin Schultz is batting .324. Cameron Dullnig leads the team with 10 stolen bases as well.

The pitching staff has a 5.25 ERA and .279 opponents’ batting average along with 212 strikeouts against 141 walks in 228.0 innings pitched. Senior righty Andrew Chilcoat has the team’s lone save in 17 relief appearances. In 19.0 innings pitched over 11 relief appearances, senior righthander Brandon Johnson has allowed 11 hits (.172 opponents’ batting average) and five earned runs (2.37 ERA) with 18 strikeouts. Western Carolina is fielding at a .970 clip as well.

The Tigers Clemson enters Tuesday’s game against Coastal Carolina with a 14-12 overall record and 4-8 ACC mark after defeating being swept at #6 North Carolina over the weekend. The Tigers sport a 12-4 home record in 2011.

The Tigers are averaging 7.2 runs per game and hitting .314 with a .437 slugging percentage and .415 on-base percentage thanks to 141 walks and 27 hit-by-pitches. Clemson has also totaled 49 doubles, seven triples, 15 homers, and 36 stolen bases.

Brad Miller is hitting .333 with five steals. Pohl, Kieboom, and Miller are all tied for the ACC lead with a .500 on-base percentage. Richie Shaffer is batting .330 with four homers and 19 RBIs as well.

The pitching staff has a 3.87 ERA and .244 opponents’ batting average in 227.2 innings pitched. The staff has allowed 82 walks against 198 strikeouts. Senior righty Alex Frederick has a team-high two saves and a .190 opponents’ batting average in 13 relief appearances. The Tigers are fielding at a .959 clip as well.

Worth Noting Thirteen Tigers have combined for a .339 batting average off the bench this season. Meanwhile, Clemson opponents have a .109 batting average off the bench.

Polls The Tigers dropped out of the Collegiate Baseball and Sports Weekly polls this week after going 1-3 in four games last week. Clemson was not ranked in the previous Baseball America rankings. The Tigers’ 44-week streak, which dated back to the start of the 2009 season, of being ranked in the top 25 of at least one of the three major polls came to an end on April 4.

ACC Standings The Tigers are tied for fourth place (with Wake Forest) in the ACC Atlantic Division standings with a 4-8 league record. In the division, Florida State is in first place with an 8-4 record, while N.C. State is second at 5-7 and Boston College is third at 4-7. Maryland is sixth in the division with a 2-10 record. Virginia and Georgia Tech are tied for the overall ACC lead at 11-1, while Georgia Tech is third at 10-2. In the overall ACC standings, Clemson is tied for eighth place.

On Base Hits…walks…hit-by-pitches. When it comes to those three cumulative categories, Clemson is having one of its best seasons in recent history. In 26 games, the Tigers have totaled 274 hits, 141 walks, and 27 hit-by-pitches. That adds to 442 times on base, an average of 17.0 per game. It is the same average as the 2002 team’s mark of 17.0. That squad featured the likes of Khalil Greene, Jeff Baker, and Michael Johnson.

Shaffer Earns ACC Co-Player-of-the-Week Honor Sophomore corner infielder Richie Shaffer (Charlotte, NC) was named ACC Co-Player-of-the-Week on April 4 for his performance in four games from March 29 to April 3. He was 7-for-15 (.467) with seven runs, a double, triple, grand slam, five RBIs, three walks, and a steal while not committing an error in 12 combined chances at third base and first base. His sixth-inning grand slam against Georgia on March 29 broke open a close game in Clemson’s 11-5 victory. Then in the final two games at #6 North Carolina, he went 5-for-7 with two walks.

On the season, Shaffer is hitting .330 with a team-high 31 runs, three doubles, one triple, four homers, 19 RBIs, a .470 on-base percentage, and three steals. He is batting .386 with a .491 on-base percentage in ACC regular-season games. In the last 11 games, he is 18-for-38 (.474) with a homer, 12 RBIs, and a .563 on-base percentage. He is not a prototypical leadoff batter, however, he has reached base in 20 of the 30 times he has led off an inning in 2011.

Shaffer began the season as the starting first-baseman, but he has also made six starts at third base. He has not committed an error in 164 chances, including 19 at third base, this season. Shaffer was also perfect in the field as a freshman in 2010, when he was errorless in 327 chances. Therefore, he has not committed an error in 491 career chances.

Tar Heels Sweep Tigers Despite Being Outhit The #6 North Carolina Tar Heels swept #16 Clemson by a combined score of 27-12 at Boshamer Stadium from April 1-3. Clemson outhit the Tar Heels .279 to .250, but North Carolina totaled 20 walks and nine stolen bases while committing just one error in the series. Jeff Schaus went 7-for-12 (.583) with two RBIs, three runs, two walks, and one steal, while Richie Shaffer was 5-for-11 (.455) with a double, triple, and two walks. Kevin Pohle allowed just one hit and no earned runs in 3.2 innings pitched over two relief appearances as well.

In game-one on April 1, North Carolina scored the game’s final 13 runs to down Clemson 13-3. The Tigers took a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning, but Tommy Coyle hit a two-run homer in bottom of the first. After North Carolina took the lead with two two-out runs in the third inning, Clemson committed two costly errors that led to six Tar Heel runs in the fifth inning. Seth Baldwin went 2-for-3 with a homer and three RBIs, while North Carolina outhit the Tigers 10-5. Clemson managed just two hits after the first inning. Phil Pohl went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Starter Patrick Johnson struck out 11 in 7.0 innings pitched to earn the win.

In game-two on April 2, North Carolina broke a 5-5 tie with four runs in the eighth inning to defeat Clemson 9-5. The Tar Heels scored three runs in the fifth inning, then Clemson scored three two-out runs in the seventh inning to tie the score. But Levi Michael’s run-scoring double in the eighth gave the Tar Heels the lead for good. Clemson scored just five of its 22 baserunners in the game and left 13 runners on base. Schaus went 4-for-5 with two RBIs to lead Clemson, who outhit the Tar Heels 12-9. Pohl added two hits and two runs as well.

In game-three on April 3, Colin Moran hit a walkoff single with two outs in the ninth inning to score Michael in North Carolina’s 5-4 win over Clemson. The Tigers tied the score in the eighth on Brad Miller lined into a double play, quelling a potential big inning for Clemson. The Tigers outhit North Carolina 12-6 and had four infield lineouts, while Tar Heel infielders made several diving stops on hard-hit ground balls to rob Tiger hitters of more hits. Shaffer and Miller both went 3-for-4, while Shaffer scored three runs.