Clemson Baseball Team to Play Host to North Carolina in Three-Game Series This Weekend

April 10, 2008

Clemson vs. North Carolina Clemson (18-14, 6-9 ACC) will play host to #4 North Carolina (26-7, 10-4 ACC) this weekend in a three-game series at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Game times are 7:15 (Friday), 4:00 (Saturday), and 1:00 (Sunday). Saturday’s game will follow Clemson’s Spring Football Game, which is scheduled for 1:00 PM at Memorial Stadium. The baseball game on Saturday is sold out.

The Friday and Saturday games will be shown live via webcast at www.clemsontigers.com for all three games.

Friday: Watch Clemson vs. North Carolina Live on ACC Select!

Saturday: Watch Clemson vs. North Carolina Live on ACC Select!

The Series Clemson and North Carolina have met 165 times on the diamond, with the Tigers holding a 93-71-1 lead in the series dating back to the 1901 season. The two teams last met in the 2006 College World Series, as Tar Heel righthander Robert Woodard pitched a three-hit shutout. Stan Widmann had two of the three Tiger hits in that contest.

The two teams last met in the regular season during the 2005 season. In a three-game series at Doug Kingsmore Stadium, the Tar Heels won game-one 2-1 before the Tigers claimed the final two games by scores of 9-1 and 7-3. The two teams did not play in the 2006 and 2007 regular seasons, but they are scheduled to play during every regular season from 2008 to 2017.

The Tigers hold a 44-23-1 lead over the Tar Heels in games played at Clemson and 36-9 lead at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. The Tigers also hold a 74-52 advantage in ACC regular-season games.

Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Leggett was 0-3 against North Carolina as Western Carolina’s head coach, meaning he has a 28-18 all-time record against the Tar Heels. This year’s matchup will feature the highest-ranked (#4) North Carolina team Leggett has faced as head coach at Clemson.

The Starting Pitchers In game-one, North Carolina will start sophomore righthander Alex White (5-2, 1.93 ERA) on the mound. The Greenville, NC native has made six starts and two relief appearances for a total of 37.1 innings pitched. He has allowed 33 hits (.239 opponents’ batting average) and 12 walks with 43 strikeouts.

The Tigers will counter with junior righthander D.J. Mitchell (3-2, 2.98 ERA) on Friday. The Rural Hall, NC native has made seven starts and three relief appearances for a total of 48.1 innings pitched. He has yielded 45 hits (.245 opponents’ batting average) and 20 walks with 45 strikeouts.

In game-two, the Tar Heels will send out junior righty Adam Warren (5-0, 4.50 ERA) on the mound. The New Bern, NC native has made seven starts for a total of 36.0 innings pitched. He has given up 43 hits (.309 oppponents’ batting average) and 13 walks with 28 strikeouts.

Clemson will counter with freshman righty Graham Stoneburner (4-0, 3.43 ERA) on Saturday. The Richmond, VA native has made seven starts and two relief appearances for a total of 39.1 innings pitched. He has allowed 33 hits (.229 opponents’ batting average) and eight walks with 31 strikeouts.

In game-three, North Carolina will start freshman righthander Matt Harvey (4-2, 1.78 ERA) on the mound. The Mystic, CT native has made seven starts and one relief appearance for a total of 30.1 innings pitched. He has allowed 24 hits (.218 opponents’ batting average) and 17 walks with 35 strikeouts. He has also not allowed a home run.

The Tigers will counter with junior lefthander Ryan Hinson (2-4, 5.01 ERA) on Sunday. The Rock Hill, SC native has made seven starts and two relief appearances for a total of 41.1 innings pitched. He has allowed 47 hits (.285 opponents’ batting average) and 14 walks with 40 strikeouts.

The Tar Heels North Carolina, led by 10th-year Head Coach Mike Fox, enters the series at Clemson with a 26-7 overall record and 10-4 ACC mark after splitting a pair of midweek games. Elon beat the Tar Heels 2-0 on Tuesday before North Carolina defeated North Carolina A&T 5-0 on Wednesday. The Tar Heels also won two of three games against Georgia Tech at home over the weekend. North Carolina sports a #4 national ranking along with an outstanding 8-2 road record as well.

North Carolina is averaging 7.5 runs per game and hitting .318 with a .486 slugging percentage and .401 on-base percentage. The Tar Heels have totaled 90 doubles and 40 stolen bases in 52 attempts, including 13 steals in 15 attempts by Dustin Ackley.

Tim Fedroff is leading the team with a .412 batting average, 10 doubles, two triples, seven homers, and 33 RBIs. Kyle Seager is hitting .383 and leads the ACC in doubles (19) and RBIs (40). Ackley is batting .368 with five homers and 26 RBIs as well.

The pitching staff has a national-best 2.17 ERA and .229 opponents’ batting average along with 354 strikeouts against 118 walks in 298.0 innings pitched. Therefore, the staff has a 3-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio and 10.7 strikeouts-per-nine-innings-pitched mark.

Senior righthander Rob Wooten leads the bullpen with an 0.70 ERA and three saves in 25.2 innings pitched over 18 relief appearances. He has allowed just 16 hits and seven walks with 35 strikeouts.

Along with the nation’s best pitching staff, the Tar Heels sport an outstanding defense. They have a .973 fielding percentage, committing just 34 errors in 33 games. North Carolina has also allowed only 10 stolen bases in 26 attempts, including eight steals in 15 attempts off starting catcher Tim Federowicz.

The Tigers Clemson enters the series against #4 North Carolina with an 18-14 overall record and 6-9 ACC mark after falling at #14 South Carolina by a score of 7-1 on Wednesday. The Tigers also suffered a three-game sweep at #2 Miami (FL) over the weekend. Clemson sports a 14-5 home record as well.

The Tigers are hitting .287 with a .372 on-base percentage and 35 steals in 49 attempts. Ben Paulsen is hitting .354 with 10 doubles, 10 homers, and 28 RBIs along with a .708 slugging percentage and .460 on-base percentage. Doug Hogan has added nine home runs and 34 RBIs as well.

The pitching staff has a 4.67 ERA and .265 opponents’ batting average. Righthander Justin Sarratt has a team-best 2.31 ERA, as he has allowed just 19 hits and two walks with 14 strikeouts in 23.1 innings pitched. The Tigers are fielding at a .963 clip as well.

Eight Tigers hail from the state of North Carolina, including D.J. Mitchell (Rural Hall), Trent Rothlin (Hickory), Josh Thrailkill (Arden).

Gamecocks Tame Tigers 7-1 James Darnell went 4-for-4 with two homers and five RBIs to lead #14 South Carolina to a 7-1 win over Clemson at Sarge Frye Field on April 9. Phil Disher and Justin Smoak added long balls, as all seven of the Gamecocks’ runs came on home runs. Smoak went 3-for-4 with a double, homer, and three runs scored for South Carolina, who left just three runners on base. Meanwhile, starter Nick Godwin limited the Tigers to only four hits, one run, and no walks with eight strikeouts in 8.0 innings pitched to earn the victory. Doug Hogan provided Clemson’s lone run with a solo home run in the first inning.