Clemson Baseball Team to Play Host to Duke This Weekend

April 2, 2009

Clemson vs. Duke Clemson (18-9, 7-5 ACC), ranked as high as #17, will play host to Duke (19-9, 6-6 ACC) in a three-game series at Doug Kingsmore Stadium this weekend. Game times are 6:30 PM (Friday), 6:30 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 Duke have met 178 times on the diamond, with the Tigers holding a 115-61-2 lead in the series dating back to the 1904 season.

In 2008 at Jack Coombs Field in Durham, NC, the two teams split the three-game series 1-1-1. The Tigers won the series-opener 7-4 before Duke won game-two 10-1. In the series-finale, the two teams played to a 6-6 tie in 10 innings. In 2007 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium, the Tigers won all three games by a combined score of 22-12. The Tigers have won seven games in a row in the series at home and 12 of the last 13 games in Tigertown.

The Tigers hold a 59-23-1 lead in games played at Clemson and 40-5 advantage in games played at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. The Tigers hold a 91-31-2 lead in ACC regular-season games. Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

The Starting Pitchers In game-one, Duke will start junior lefthander Christopher Manno (2-3, 6.16 ERA) on the mound. The Brooklyn, NY native has made six starts for a total of 30.2 innings pitched. He has allowed 27 hits (.239 opponents’ batting average) and 15 walks with 26 strikeouts.

The Tigers will counter with sophomore lefthander Casey Harman (3-1, 3.26 ERA) on Friday. The South Burlington, VT native has made seven relief appearances and three starts for a total of 30.1 innings pitched. He has given up 30 hits (.254 opponents’ batting average) and five walks with 32 strikeouts.

In game-two, the Blue Devils will send out senior righty Andrew Wolcott (4-1, 1.79 ERA) on the mound. The Grayslake, IL native had made six starts for a total of 40.1 innings pitched. He has yielded 32 hits (.215 opponents’ batting average) and seven walks with 35 strikeouts.

Clemson will counter with sophomore righthander Graham Stoneburner (3-2, 3.48 ERA) on Saturday. The Richmond, VA native has made five relief appearances and four starts for a total of 31.0 innings pitched. He has yielded 31 hits (.263 opponents’ batting average) and 10 walks with 35 strikeouts.

In game-three, Duke will start sophomore righthander Ryan Knott (2-0, 5.64 ERA) on the mound. The Huntley, IL native has made four starts and two relief appearances for a total of 22.1 innings pitched. He has given up 23 hits (.267 opponents’ batting average) and nine walks with 16 strikeouts.

Clemson will counter with freshman lefty Chris Dwyer (2-0, 2.63 ERA) on Sunday. The Swampscott, MA native has made seven starts for a total of 32.0 innings pitched. He has given up 29 hits (.244 opponents’ batting average) and 14 walks with 31 strikeouts.

The Blue Devils Duke, led by fourth-year Head Coach Sean McNally, enters the series at #17 Clemson with a 19-9 overall record and 6-6 ACC mark after beating North Carolina-Central (16-3) and Elon (3-2) at home in midweek games. The Blue Devils also won one of three games against Wake Forest at home last weekend. Duke, who is 4-5 on the road, is 9-3 in games decided by two runs or less as well.

Duke is averaging 6.6 runs per game and hitting .310 with a .462 slugging percentage and .391 on-base percentage. The team has also totaled 67 doubles, seven triples, 21 homers, and 28 stolen bases in 38 attempts.

Alex Hassan is hitting a team-best .398 with 11 doubles and a .473 on-base percentage. Matt Williams is batting .392, while Jeremy Gould has a .375 batting average with an ACC-best 15 doubles. Nate Freiman is also hitting .354 with 10 doubles, nine homers, and 32 RBIs.

The pitching staff has a 4.25 ERA and .251 opponents’ batting average along with 211 strikeouts against 108 walks in 243.2 innings pitched. Junior righthander Michael Ness has a 1.73 ERA and two saves in 26.0 innings pitched over 12 relief appearances. He also has a .191 opponents’ batting average and 25 strikeouts against only six walks. Hassan, a junior righty, is tied for the ACC lead with seven saves and has a 2.31 ERA and 16 strikeouts in 11.2 innings pitched over 11 relief appearances.

The Blue Devils also sport one of the nation’s best defenses. The team has a .981 fielding percentage, as it has committed just 20 errors in 28 games. In fact, the Blue Devils entered the week second in the nation in fielding percentage.

The Tigers Clemson, ranked as high as #17 in the nation, enters the series against Duke with a 18-9 overall record and 7-5 ACC mark after falling twice in a home-and-home midweek series against #1 Georgia. The Tigers also defeated Boston College twice in three games on the road last weekend. Clemson sports a 13-3 home record as well.

The Tigers are averaging 6.2 runs per game and hitting .282 with a .421 slugging percentage and .374 on-base percentage. Clemson has also totaled 42 doubles, six triples, 25 homers, and 37 stolen bases in 49 attempts.

Ben Paulsen is hitting a team-best .371 with seven doubles, two triples, five homers, and a team-high 25 RBIs. Mike Freeman is batting .346 with a .458 on-base percentage along with seven steals. Freeman is also 33-for-76 (.434) in the last 18 games. Kyle Parker, who missed the entire Boston College series in order to attend spring football practice, has four homers and 21 RBIs in 24 games.

The pitching staff has a 3.46 ERA and .237 opponents’ batting average. The staff has allowed 73 walks against 238 strikeouts, good for a 3.3-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Tomas Cruz has a 2-1 record, two saves, and a 2.49 ERA in 11 relief appearances. The Tigers are fielding at a .968 clip as well.

Sarratt Pitches Gem vs. Top-Ranked Georgia Junior righthander Doug Kingsmore Stadium and did what few teams have done this year…shut down the Bulldog bats. Despite the Tigers losing a ninth-inning lead and eventually falling by a score of 4-2, Sarratt pitched a gem against the top-ranked Bulldogs.

In a career-long 8.0 innings pitched, he allowed just three hits, one run, and one walk with 12 strikeouts. The 12 strikeouts were the most by a Tiger since April 14, 2001 when Steve Reba struck out 12 against Duke in Clemson’s 10-1 win. In fact, in Sarratt’s previous 47 career appearances, he had never struck out more than four batters in a game. He pitched admirably against a team that entered the week 10th in the nation in scoring and was averaging nearly 10 runs per game. After yielding a double to lead off the game, he retired 17 batters in a row as well.

It was not the first time in the 2009 season that he put on a dominating performance at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. As a starter against South Carolina-Upstate on March 18, he pitched 5.0 innings and earned the win in Clemson’s 14-0 no-hit victory. He was a part of the Tigers’ first no-hitter since 1984.

On the season, Sarratt is 3-1 with a 3.81 ERA and .200 opponents’ batting average in 26.0 innings pitched over eight appearances (four starts). He has also allowed just four walks with 20 strikeouts, an outstanding 5.0-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. That number has been consistent with his career strikeout-to-walk ratio.

In 84.2 innings pitched over 48 career appearances (six starts), he has allowed just 15 walks with 59 strikeouts. That equates to a 3.9-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio and 1.59 walks per nine innings pitched mark. If he had enough innings to qualify (100.0 is the minimum), his strikeout-to-walk ratio would be third-best in Clemson history, while his walks per nine innings pitched mark would be the best mark in Tiger history.

Top-Ranked Georgia Nips Tigers Twice Top-ranked Georgia edged #17 Clemson twice in a home-and-home, midweek series by a combined score of 10-7 on March 31 and April 1. The Tigers outhit Georgia .260 to .238, but they left 17 runners on base to the Bulldogs’ eight. Mike Freeman went had four hits, while Jeff Schaus added three hits and three runs. The Tiger pitching staff had a 4.76 ERA and 24 strikeouts against only four walks as well.

Georgia scored four runs in the third inning and held on to defeat Clemson 6-5 at Foley Field on March 31. The Bulldogs scored four runs on six hits, four of which were infield singles, in the fourth inning and held on for the win. Schaus gave Clemson the lead in the first inning on his solo homer. The Tigers narrowed the margin to one run in the fifth inning on Kyle Parker two-run homer and pinch-hitter Chris Epps’ run-scoring double. Parker, who had three RBIs, hit a two-out, run-scoring single in the ninth inning, but it was not enough. Three Tiger relievers combined to allow just two hits, one run, and one walk with eight strikeouts in 5.0 innings pitched.

Georgia scored three runs in the ninth inning to rally for a 4-2 win over #17 Clemson at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on April 1. Justin Sarratt limited the Bulldogs to just one run on three hits in the first eight innings, but Georgia used two hits and an error to score three runs in the ninth inning. Sarratt pitched 8.0 masterful innings, allowing just three hits, one run, and one walk with 12 strikeouts, the most by a Tiger since 2001, but he did not factor in the decision. He also retired 17 batters in a row after giving up a double to start the game. Freeman and Brad Miller had two hits apiece for the Tigers, who outhit Georgia 8-5. But Clemson left seven runners on base to the Bulldogs’ two.