Clemson Baseball Team to Play Host to Maine Friday-Sunday

Feb. 23, 2012

Clemson vs. Maine Clemson (2-1), ranked as high as #16 in the nation, will host Maine (0-0) in a three-game series at Doug Kingsmore Stadium this weekend. Game times are 4:00 PM (Friday), 4:30 PM (Saturday), and 2:00 PM (Sunday).

The Friday and Sunday games will be available live via webcast on TigerCast at ClemsonTigers.com. All three games 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 for all three games as well.

Watch Live on TigerCast: Friday | Sunday

The Series Clemson and Maine have met 14 times on the diamond, with the Tigers holding a 14-0 lead in the series dating back to the 1991 season. The last 13 contests have been played at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

The two teams last met in 2003 in a three-game series at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. The Tigers won all three games by a combined score of 26-19. Clemson also swept the Black Bears in three-game series in 1998 and 2002, while Clemson beat Maine four times in 1996.

The first meeting between the two squads took place at Orono, ME on May 26, 1991 in the NCAA Northeast Regional. Clemson won that game 13-5, clinching the Tigers’ trip to the College World Series.

Doug Kingsmore Stadium. He was 1-4 against the Black Bears as Western Carolina’s head coach and 2-13 as Vermont’s head coach, meaning he is 16-17 all-time against Maine.

Leggett to Face Alma Mater Head Coach Jack Leggett graduated with honors from Maine in 1976, where he was an all-star performer in both football and baseball. He captained the 1976 Maine baseball team that advanced to the College World Series, and he was a two-time All-Yankee Conference honoree in football as a defensive back and placekicker. He still holds the Maine record for the longest field goal, a 52-yarder.

The Tigers haven’t faced the Black Bears on the diamond since 2003. Clemson is 14-0 all-time against Maine, and 13 of those contests have come with Leggett at the helm of the Tiger program. Ironically, Maine is the only school Leggett has faced as head coach of three different schools. He was 1-4 against the Black Bears as head coach at Western Carolina (1983-91) and 2-13 at Vermont (1978-82).

The Starting Pitchers In game-one, Maine will start junior righty Stephen Perakslis on the mound. The Abington, MA native had a 6-4 record and 3.52 ERA in 18 appearances (10 starts) for a total of 69.0 innings pitched in 2011. He gave up 58 hits (.227 opponents’ batting average) and 36 walks with 55 strikeouts.

The Tigers will counter with junior righthander Kevin Brady (0-0, 1.80 ERA) on Friday. The Gaithersburg, MD native has made one start for a total of 5.0 innings pitched. He has allowed four hits (.235 opponents’ batting average) and two walks with four strikeouts.

In game-two, the Black Bears will send out junior righthander Jeffrey Gibbs on the mound. The Toronto, Ontario native had an 8-5 record and 3.42 ERA in 14 starts for a total of 76.1 innings pitched in 2011. He yielded 55 hits (.204 opponents’ batting average) and 46 walks with 69 strikeouts.

Clemson will counter with junior righty Dominic Leone (1-0, 0.00 ERA) on Saturday. The Norwich, CT native has made one start for a total of 6.0 innings pitched. He has allowed two hits (.111 opponents’ batting average) and one walk with four strikeouts.

In game-three, Maine will start sophomore righty Shaun Coughlin on the mound. The Northford, CT native had a 3-1 record and 2.37 ERA in 20 appearances (two starts) for a total of 57.0 innings pitched in 2011. He allowed 45 hits (.224 opponents’ batting average) and 12 walks with 34 strikeouts.

The Tigers will counter with senior righthander David Haselden (0-0, 4.50 ERA) on Sunday. The Spartanburg, SC native has made one start for a total of 4.0 innings pitched. He has allowed seven hits (.412 opponents’ batting average) and no walks with three strikeouts.

The Black Bears Maine, led by seventh-year Head Coach Steve Trimper, is a member of the America East Conference and will play its first game of the season on Friday. The Black Bears are coming off a 33-24 season, which included an 18-6 record in the AEC. The America East Conference champions also went 1-2 in the Chapel Hill (NC) Regional in 2011.

The Black Bears return 18 lettermen and seven position starters along with six of their nine pitchers from a season ago. Junior infielder Michael Fransoso is among the returning leaders. He hit .318 with 16 doubles, three triples, five homers, 33 RBIs, and 19 steals in 2011. Senior utility player Justin Leisenheimer batted .309 with eight homers as well.

Sophomore righty Shaun Coughlin had a team-best 2.37 ERA, two saves, and 34 strikeouts against only 12 walks in 57.0 innings pitched over 20 appearances (two starts) in 2011.

The Tigers Clemson, ranked as high as #16 in the nation, enters the series against Maine with a 2-1 record after winning two of three games against UAB at home last weekend. The Tigers sports a 2-1 record at home in 2012.

The Tigers are averaging 4.7 runs per game and hitting .247 with a .404 slugging percentage and .352 on-base percentage thanks to nine walks and six hit-by-pitches against 12 strikeouts. Clemson has also totaled five doubles, three homers, and one stolen base.

Phil Pohl is hitting a team-best .400 with a homer, double, and four RBIs. Jason Stolz is 4-for-12 (.333), while Thomas Brittle is 3-for-9 (.333) with a double, three walks, and a .538 on-base percentage. Brad Felder and Richie Shaffer have added one home run apiece as well.

The pitching staff has a 2.33 ERA and .283 opponents’ batting average in 27.0 innings pitched. The staff has allowed seven walks against 19 strikeouts, good for a 2.71 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Sophomore righthander Kevin Pohle did not allow a run in 4.0 innings pitched in his only appearance last weekend. The Tigers are fielding at a .983 clip as well.

Worth Noting Clemson held UAB to 4-for-32 (.125) with runners in scoring position.

Polls The Tigers remained at #16 in this week’s Baseball America rankings after going 2-1 in three games last week. Clemson also stayed at #25 in the Collegiate Baseball poll. The Sports Weekly coaches poll did not release a new poll this week. The Tigers were ranked #23 in the coaches poll in the preseason.

Clemson has had at least one final top-25 ranking in 15 of Head Coach Jack Leggett’s first 18 seasons in Tigertown. The Tigers have also been ranked #1 for 20 weeks by at least one of the three major polls under Leggett. Their last #1 ranking came on February 12, 2007 by both Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball.

Series Streaking Clemson has won eight weekend series in a row during the regular season dating back to April, 2011. The Tigers were swept at North Carolina from April 1-3, 2011, but after that, Clemson won weekend series against Maryland, Boston College, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, Gardner-Webb, Virginia Tech, and Florida State to close the 2011 regular season. The Tigers continued that streak in 2012 when they won two of three games against UAB to start the season.

The series streak of eight in a row is Clemson’s longest since it won eight weekend series in a row from 2009 to 2010. The last time Clemson won more than eight weekend series in a row was from 2006 to 2007, when the Tigers won 10 weekend series in a row.

Clemson #6 in the Nation in Average Home Attendance A total of 11,552 fans have been attendance for Clemson’s two home dates in 2012, an average of 5,776 per date. That figure is #6 in the nation and best in the ACC in 2012. It is also on pace to be the best figure in Tiger history for a season. Through the 2011 season, Clemson had a top-20 national figure in attendance for 18 straight seasons and a top-10 national figure in attendance for 10 years in a row.