Clemson Baseball Team to Play Host to Coastal Carolina Wednesday Afternoon

March 6, 2007

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Clemson vs. Coastal Carolina Clemson (7-3), ranked as high as #6 in the nation, will play host to #17 Coastal Carolina (12-2) on Wednesday afternoon at Doug Kingsmore Stadium in the only meeting of the season between the in-state foes. First pitch is scheduled for 4:00 PM. The 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 the game.

The Series Clemson and Coastal Carolina have met 39 times on the diamond, with the Tigers holding a 33-6 lead in the series dating back to 1986. The two teams had played every year since 1988 until 2006, when they did not play.

In 2005, the Tigers won both games of a two-game, midweek series at Clemson by scores of 14-5 and 8-1. Earlier that season in a tournament in Myrtle Beach, SC, the Chanticleers won 3-2. Prior to that game, the previous 19 games in the series were played at Clemson. Clemson is 25-4 against the Chanticleers in games played at Clemson and 20-4 against Coastal Carolina under Head Coach Jack Leggett.

The Starting Pitchers Coastal Carolina will start sophomore righty David Anderson (2-0, 2.31 ERA) on the mound Wednesday. The Lexington, SC native has made one start and four relief appearances for a total of 11.2 innings pitched. He has allowed eight hits (.195 opponents’ batting average) and four walks with seven strikeouts.

The Tigers will counter with junior righty P.J. Zocchi (1-0, 3.68 ERA) on Wednesday. The Bronx, NY native has made three starts for a total of 14.2 innings pitched. He has allowed 14 hits (.250 opponents’ batting average) and four walks with 13 strikeouts. He has never faced Coastal Carolina.

The Chanticleers Coastal Carolina, led by 12th-year Head Coach Gary Gilmore, enters Wednesday’s game with a 12-2 record after winning all three games of a tourney over the weekend by a combined score of 38-13. The Chanticleers, who are ranked as high as #17, have wins over #7 Virginia (3-2), #12 Texas Christian (11-6), and Notre Dame (4-0), while their only losses have been to N.C. State (4-0) and at #1 North Carolina (4-3). That game is their lone game away from home in 2007.

Coastal Carolina has outscored its opponents by a combined score of 113-46 and outhit them .348 to .238 this season. The Chanticleers have a .454 on-base percentage thanks to 75 walks in 14 games, and also have 24 sacrifice bunts and 19 steals.

David Sappelt leads the way with a .470 batting average, while Dom Duggan is hitting .438. Chris Raber is the team’s leading run producer with five homers and 15 RBIs.

The pitching staff has a 2.53 ERA and has allowed just four home runs. It has also struck out 84 against 36 walks. Senior righthander Travis Risser has both of the Chanticleers’ saves. The team is fielding at a .976 clip as well.

The Tigers Clemson enters Wednesday’s game against #17 Coastal Carolina with a 7-3 overall record after falling twice in a home-and-home series against #4 South Carolina over the weekend. The game Wednesday will be the first of an eight-game homestand over the next two weeks. The Tigers, who are ranked as high as #6 in the nation, are 7-2 at home this season.

The team is hitting .278 with a .362 on-base percentage. Doug Hogan is hitting a team-best .412 with four homers and seven RBIs. Brad Chalk is second with a .395 batting average and has reached base via a hit or walk in 37 straight games dating back to last season.

The pitching staff has a 3.46 ERA and .253 opponents’ batting average. It has combined to strike out 84 against 29 walks. Daniel Moskos and Matt Vaughn each have a save. The team is fielding at a .964 clip as well.

Worth Noting * Clemson is hitting .203 in the first four innings and .339 from the fifth inning on. * Clemson is 5-0 when it gets at least four leadoff batters on base and 2-3 when it gets three or less. One of the two wins when it had three or less came in a six-inning game against High Point when the Tigers still had three leadoff batters reach. * Three different Tigers (Stan Widmann, Taylor Harbin, J.D. Burgess) have combined to not allow an error in 42 chances as Clemson’s shortstop.

Polls Clemson fell to the the #6 spot in both the Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball poll on Monday after going 1-2 in three games last week. Clemson also fell to #7 in the Sports Weekly poll.

The Tigers’ #1 ranking by Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball on February 12 was their first since February 27, 2006, when Clemson was ranked #1 by those same two polls. The Tigers have been ranked #1 for 20 weeks by at least one of the major polls in Jack Leggett’s 14th year at Clemson.

Harbin Hackin’ Junior middle infielder Taylor Harbin (Travelers Rest, SC) is among Clemson’s all-time best hitters in terms of putting the ball in play and not striking out. This season, he has struck out just three times in 38 at-bats. In his career, he has fanned only 49 times in 566 at-bats, which equates to one strikeout every 11.55 at-bats. That figure is ninth-best in school history, best since Casey Stone from 1998-01, and the second-best figure under Head Coach Jack Leggett. The number is even more impressive considering he is a gap-to-gap and home-run hitter, as evidenced by his 51 doubles and 20 home runs in three seasons as a Tiger.

Gamecocks Take Two From Tigers South Carolina, ranked #4 in the nation, won both games of a home-and-home series against #2 Clemson on March 3,4. The Gamecocks outscored the Tigers 15-2 and outhit Clemson .167 to .284.

South Carolina hit three home runs on its way to a 12-0 victory over Clemson at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on March 3. The shutout broke Clemson’s streak of 165 consecutive home games of scoring at least one run dating back to 2002. Justin Smoak had a game-high three hits and three RBIs, including a two-run homer. Phil Disher and James Darnell each hit three-run homers and totaled four RBIs, while the Tigers had just two hits the entire game. South Carolina also left just three runners on base and had 12 hits in the game. Harris Honeycutt pitched 7.0 innings, allowing two hits, no runs, and four walks with seven strikeouts to record the win.

Trent Kline’s run-scoring single in the ninth inning lifted South Carolina to a 3-2 victory over Clemson at Sarge Frye Field on March 4. Clemson tied the score 1-1 on Marquez Smith’s run-scoring single in the seventh inning, then took a 2-1 lead on Addison Johnson’s RBI single in the eighth inning. With two outs and no one on base, South Carolina rallied for a run in the bottom of the eighth inning on Disher’s RBI double. Andy D’Alessio and Smith each had two hits for the Tigers, who outhit South Carolina 8-7. Ryan Hinson pitched 6.0 strong innings in a starting role. He allowed only four hits, one run, and one walk with five strikeouts in a no-decision.