Clemson Baseball Team to Play Host to Georgia Tuesday Night

March 28, 2011

Clemson vs. Georgia Clemson (13-9), ranked as high as #16 in the nation, will host Georgia (11-13) on Tuesday at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 7:00 PM. The game will be televised live by CSS. The game will also be broadcast live on the radio by Clemson Tiger Sports Network. Live stats will be available at ClemsonTigers.com as well.

The Series Clemson and Georgia have met 218 times, with Georgia holding a 117-99-2 lead in the series dating back to 1900. The two teams have played at least one game every year since 1959. Georgia is Clemson’s second-most-played rival in history, trailing only South Carolina (295).

Last season, Clemson won both games of a home-and-home, midweek series by scores of 15-5 (in Athens) and 14-6 (in Clemson). In 2009, Georgia won both games (6-5 in Athens, 4-2 in Clemson).

The Tigers lead 54-46-2 at Clemson and 34-11 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Leggett was also 3-12 against the Bulldogs as Western Carolina’s head coach, meaning he is 24-28 all-time against Georgia.

The Starting Pitchers Georgia will start junior lefthander Chase Hawkins (0-1, 6.10 ERA) on the mound. The Snellville, GA native has made five starts and two relief appearances for a total of 20.2 innings pitched. He has allowed 28 hits (.311 opponents’ batting average) and three walks with nine strikeouts.

The Tigers will counter with graduate righthander Justin Sarratt (1-1, 1.35 ERA) on Tuesday. The Gaffney, SC has made five relief appearances and two starts for a total of 20.0 innings pitched. He has yielded 15 hits (.203 opponents’ batting average) and two walks with 21 strikeouts.

The Bulldogs Georgia, led by 10th-year Head Coach David Perno, enters Tuesday’s game at #16 Clemson with an 11-13 overall record and 3-3 SEC mark after winning two of three games over Louisiana State at home over the weekend. The Bulldogs, who are 4-6 on opponents’ home fields, have the nation’s #1 strength of schedule according to WarrenNolan.com. Clemson has the #2 strength of the schedule, therefore the game will feature two teams who have played the nation’s toughest schedules.

Georgia is averaging 4.6 runs per game and hitting .260 with a .348 slugging percentage and .321 on-base percentage. The team has totaled 39 doubles, two triples, nine home runs, and 21 stolen bases.

Levi Hyams is leading the team with a .344 batting average along with seven doubles, one homer, and 13 RBIs. Curt Powell is batting .303, while Kyle Farmer has a team-high 20 RBIs. Peter Verdin is a perfect 7-7 on stolen bases as well.

The pitching staff has a 4.55 ERA and .280 opponents’ batting average along with 167 strikeouts against 91 walks in 205.2 innings pitched. Junior righty Tyler Maloof has eight saves and 14 strikeouts in 9.2 innings pitched over 10 relief appearances. Junior lefty Craig Gullickson, who played for Clemson in 2008,09, is 2-1 with a 5.21 ERA in six appearances (five starts). Georgia is fielding at a .966 clip as well.

The Tigers Clemson, ranked as high as #16 in the nation, enters Tuesday’s game against Georgia with a 13-9 overall record and 4-5 ACC mark after falling twice in three games at N.C. State over the weekend. Despite the series loss, Clemson has won six of its last eight games and is 11-4 at home in 2011.

The Tigers are averaging 7.5 runs per game and hitting .316 with a .445 slugging percentage and .416 on-base percentage. Clemson has also totaled 45 doubles, six triples, 13 homers, and 31 stolen bases. The Tigers are among the national leaders in sacrifice flies (20) as well.

Jeff Schaus had a team-high nine doubles and Richie Shaffer is batting .301 with a .454 on-base percentage.

The pitching staff has a 3.57 ERA and .240 opponents’ batting average in 194.0 innings pitched. The staff has allowed 57 walks against 167 strikeouts, good for a 2.93 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Senior righty Alex Frederick has two saves and a .147 opponents’ batting average in 10 relief appearances. The Tigers are fielding at a .960 clip as well.

Polls The Tigers dropped one spot to #16 in the Collegiate Baseball poll this week after going 3-2 in five games last week. Clemson also fell out of the Baseball America rankings and dropped four spots to #23 in the Sports Weekly poll. With Clemson’s top-25 ranking this week, it marks the 44th 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.

Pohl Bursting Out as a Junior Junior catcher Phil Pohl (Cooperstown, NY) has emerged as an offensive threat for the Tigers in 2011. He entered the season as a career .203 hitter in 133 at-bats, but his hard work and adjustments made during the offseason have paid big dividends in 2011.

The co-captain is hitting .439, second-best in the ACC behind teammate and fellow catcher Spencer Kieboom (.455), with eight doubles, two homers, and 15 RBIs. He is tied for the team lead in extra-base hits (10) despite tallying only 57 at-bats. He also has 14 runs, a .684 slugging percentage, .514 on-base percentage thanks to seven walks and four hit-by-pitches against only five strikeouts, and one steal. He is leading the team with a .423 batting average in ACC regular-season games as well.

Pohl has served as Clemson’s primary designated hitter and the second-string catcher behind Kieboom during most of the 2011 season. The consummate team player was also honored during opening ceremonies at the 2010 College World Series for having the team’s highest GPA.

Wolfpack Pitchers Tame Tigers to Win Two Games N.C. State won two of three games over #15 Clemson by a combined score of 14-10 at Doak Field from March 25-27. The Wolfpack outhit the Tigers .261 to .188, while Clemson totaled seven doubles and two home runs. Phil Pohl was 5-for-10 with two doubles to lead Clemson. The Tiger pitching staff had a 5.04 ERA, while Clemson had a .980 fielding percentage, committing just two errors.

In game-one on March 25, Cory Mazzoni tossed a four-hit shutout to lead N.C. State to a 6-0 win over Clemson. Mazzoni struck out 10 batters and pitched the first individual shutout by a Tiger opponent since 2008. At one point, the righthander retired 16 batters in a row. N.C. State, who outhit the Tigers 12-4, broke a scoreless tie with five runs on five hits in the fifth inning, capped by Harold Riggins’ three-run homer. Clemson stranded eight runners on base, including six in scoring position.

In game-two on March 26, relievers Rob Chamra and Chris Overman combined to toss 6.2 scoreless innings of one-hit ball to lead N.C. State to a 5-3 win over Clemson. The Tigers scored two runs in the top of the third inning to take a 3-2 lead. But the Wolfpack scored a run in the bottom of the third inning and another run in the fourth to take the lead for good. Then Chamra stymied the Tiger offense in 5.0 innings pitched to earn the win, while Overman recorded the save by retiring all five batters he faced. Pohl had a team-high two hits to lead Clemson.

In game-three on March 27, Pohl went 2-for-3 with a double and two runs to lead Clemson to a 7-3 win over N.C. State. The Tigers jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second inning, keyed by Alex Frederick retired both batters he faced to record the save. The three hurlers limited N.C. State to only five hits in the contest.