Clemson Baseball Team to Play Host to Davidson Tuesday in Final Regular Season Home Game

May 16, 2011

Clemson vs. Davidson Clemson (36-16), ranked as high as #15 in the nation, will host Davidson (18-28 entering Monday’s game at Georgia Southern) at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on Tuesday in the Tigers’ last regular-season home game. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 PM. The game will be available live via webcast on TigerCast at ClemsonTigers.com. The game will also 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 as well.

Watch Clemson vs. Davidson Live on TigerCast!

The Series Clemson and Davidson have met 36 times on the diamond, with the Tigers holding a 27-9 lead in the series dating back to 1903. The two teams last met on May 2, 1997 at Davidson, NC. Clemson was victorious that day 11-4.

The last meeting between the two teams at Doug Kingsmore Stadium took place on April 3, 1989, as Clemson won 15-4. The two also played at Clemson in 1986 (14-7 Tiger win) and at Davidson in 1985 (17-0 Clemson win). Those are the only four meetings since the two teams played in 1969.

The Tigers own a 19-3 advantage over the Wildcats in games played at Clemson and lead 2-0 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Jack Leggett has a 1-0 record against Davidson as Clemson’s head coach. Leggett was also 21-11 against Davidson as Western Carolina’s head coach, meaning he is 22-11 all-time against the Wildcats.

The Starting Pitchers Davidson’s starting pitcher for Tuesday’s game has yet to be determined.

The Tigers will start freshman righthander Kevin Pohle (4-1, 1.42 ERA) on Tuesday. The Saint Louis, MO native has made 13 relief appearances and one start for a total of 25.1 innings pitched. He has allowed 25 hits (.253 opponents’ batting average) and eight walks with 12 strikeouts.

The Wildcats Davidson, led by 21st-year Head Coach Dick Cooke, enters Monday’s game at Georgia Southern with an 18-28 overall record and 8-20 SoCon mark after losing both games of a doubleheader at Georgia Southern on Friday. The Wildcats, who have lost six games in a row and 13 of their last 15 games entering Monday’s game, are 4-15 on opponents’ home fields in 2011.

Davidson is averaging 4.5 runs per game and hitting .245 with a .352 slugging percentage and .345 on-base percentage thanks to 206 walks and 35 hit-by-pitches against 456 strikeouts. The team has also totaled 91 doubles, five triples, 20 home runs, and 52 stolen bases in 68 attempts.

Drew Gadaire is hitting a team-best .355 with 15 doubles, three triples, five homers, and 36 RBIs. Forrest Brandt is batting .308 with 15 doubles, while Danny Weiss is hitting .301.

The pitching staff has a 4.40 ERA and .274 opponents’ batting average along with 323 strikeouts against 147 walks in 405.0 innings pitched. Senior righthander Mike Frongello leads the nation with 37 appearances, all in relief. In 66.0 innings pitched, he is 4-3 with five saves, a 2.59 ERA, and 26 strikeouts against 20 walks and no homers allowed. Davidson, who has allowed 84 steals in 108 attempts, is fielding at a .955 clip as well.

The Tigers Clemson, ranked as high as #15 in the nation, enters Tuesday’s game against Davidson with a 36-16 overall record and 15-12 ACC mark after winning two of three games at Virginia Tech over the weekend. The Tigers, who have won 20 of their last 24 games, sport a 25-7 home record in 2011.

The Tigers are averaging 6.9 runs per game and hitting .316 with a .444 slugging percentage and .403 on-base percentage thanks to 244 walks and 38 hit-by-pitches against 320 strikeouts. Clemson has also totaled 106 doubles, 14 triples, 31 homers, and 92 stolen bases in 120 attempts.

Brad Miller is hitting an ACC-best .435 with a .534 on-base percentage and 20 steals. Will Lamb has hit safely in 37 of his last 40 games, while John Hinson has added a .320 batting average, six homers, 31 RBIs, and 20 stolen bases. Richie Shaffer leads the team in homers (7) and runs (52) as well.

The pitching staff has a 3.07 ERA and .228 opponents’ batting average in 460.2 innings pitched. The staff has allowed 150 walks against 405 strikeouts, good for a 2.70 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Junior righthander Scott Weismann has a team-high four saves and 45 strikeouts against 14 walks in 18 appearances (eight starts). The Tigers are fielding at a .968 clip as well.

Worth Noting Clemson has played 20 games against top-50 RPI teams (according to WarrenNolan.com), 12 of which have been against teams in the top eight of the RPI. Clemson has an RPI of #9 according to WarrenNolan.com. Clemson has allowed three runs or less in nine straight games.

Polls The Tigers moved up one spot to #15 in this week’s Sports Weekly coaches poll after going 4-1 in five games last week. Clemson also moved up two spots to #18 in the Collegiate Baseball poll and two spots to #18 in the Baseball America rankings.

ACC Standings The Tigers are in second place in the ACC Atlantic Division standings with a 15-12 league record. In the division, Florida State is in first place with an 18-9 record, while N.C. State and Wake Forest are tied for third at 12-15. Virginia holds the overall ACC lead at 22-5. In the overall ACC standings, Clemson is in sixth place.

The top-eight teams in the overall ACC standings will make the ACC Tournament at Durham, NC. Virginia, Georgia Tech, Florida State, Miami (FL), North Carolina, and Clemson have all clinched spots in the ACC Tourney. N.C. State, Wake Forest, and Virginia Tech (10-17) are vying for the final two spots. Boston College, Duke, and Maryland have all been mathematically eliminated from making the ACC Tourney.

Clemson and Florida State will meet this weekend to close the regular season. The two teams had the same league records in 2010 when they met at Doug Kingsmore Stadium in the same situation. The Tigers swept the series to win the division crown. The Seminoles need just one victory in the series this weekend to win the division outright. Depending on this weekend’s ACC results and assuming all three games are played in each of the conferences series, the Tigers’ possible ACC Tournament seeds are #2, #6, or #7.

Tigers Tough With Two Outs Clemson has held its opponents to a .228 batting average on the season. But with two outs, Tiger pitchers have been even better, as they have held the opposition to a .193 batting average with two outs. Among the best pitchers on the team in that category are Alex Frederick (.103), Justin Sarratt (.171), and Dominic Leone (.180).

Miller Named ACC Player-of-the-Week Three Times Brad Miller joined some elite company on May 16 when he received ACC Player-of-the-Week honors for the third time in 2011. He became just the third Tiger in history to be named ACC Player/Pitcher-of-the-Week three times in one year. The other two Tigers who did it were both named national player-of-the-year, righthander Kris Benson and shortstop Khalil Greene. Benson was named ACC Pitcher-of-the-Week six times in 1996 and Greene earned ACC Player-of-the-Week honors three times in 2002. Miller’s three ACC Player-of-the-Week selections are more than any other position player in 2011 as well.

Miller was one of four Division I players named national player-of-the-week by Collegiate Baseball and was named national co-hitter-of-the-week by NCBWA on April 11 for his performances in five games from April 5-10. He also received ACC Player-of-the-Week honors, his first as a Tiger.

In the five games during the week, he went 14-for-21 (.667) with two doubles, two triples, seven RBIs, eight runs, and a .952 slugging percentage. He had at least two hits in each of the five games and totaled at least three hits and two RBIs in each game against Maryland. Against the Terrapins, he was 10-for-13 (.769). He added two walks and four steals to lead Clemson to four wins in five games. In the field, he did not commit an error in 28 chances at shortstop, which included several highlight-reel plays.

In five games from April 26 to May 1, he was 10-for-17 (.588) to earn his second ACC Player-of-the-Week honor. He totaled two doubles, one homer, seven RBIs, six runs, three walks, and two steals. During the second and third games of the week, he combined to go 7-for-7 with two walks, meaning he reached base in nine straight plate appearances. Miller led the Tigers two four wins in five games, including two wins over #9 Georgia Tech, during the week.

In five games from May 10-15, he was 10-for-19 (.526) to earn his third ACC Player-of-the-Week honor. He added one homer, seven RBIs, four runs, two walks, and one hit-by-pitch to lead Clemson to four wins. He went 4-for-4 against East Tennessee State on May 11. Then in the second game of a doubleheader at Virginia Tech on May 14, he broke a 3-3 tie with a three-run homer to propel the Tigers to an 8-3 win.

Tigers Outhit Hokies to Win Two Games in Blacksburg Clemson, ranked as high as #16 in the nation, won two of three games over Virginia Tech by a combined score of 17-8 at English Field on May 14,15. Clemson outhit the Hokies .333 to .237 and totaled 14 walks. Brad Miller was 5-for-12 with a homer and four RBIs. The Tiger pitching staff had a 2.77 ERA and 28 strikeouts against only six walks in 26.0 innings pitched. Clemson relievers combined to pitch 5.2 scoreless innings of two-hit ball with seven strikeouts. The Tigers did not commit an error in the series as well.

In game-one on May 14, which was the first game of a doubleheader, Will Lamb. Dominic Leone allowed two runs on six hits with seven strikeouts in 6.0 innings pitched to earn the win.

In game-two on May 14, which was the second game of a doubleheader, Miller broke a 3-3 tie with a three-run homer in the eighth inning to lift Clemson to an 8-3 victory over Virginia Tech. The Hokies tied the score with a run in the seventh inning, but Clemson worked out of a jam in the frame to keep the score tied. Clemson added two runs in the ninth inning. Hinson went 4-for-5 with a homer, two RBIs, and two runs for the Tigers, who outhit the Hokies 13-6. Joseph Moorefield earned the win in relief, while Matt Campbell recorded the save.

In game-three on May 15, Joe Parsons and Manny Martir combined to allow just two of 14 baserunners to score in Virginia Tech’s 3-2 victory over Clemson. Down 3-1 in the ninth inning, Chris Epps scored and Jon McGibbon advanced to third base on a wild pitch with one out. But Martir retired the next two Tigers without allowing another run. The Tigers totaled seven hits and seven walks, but they were 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left nine runners on base. Jonathan Meyer pitched his first career complete game and allowed just nine batters to reach base in 8.0 innings pitched.