Clemson Baseball Team to Play Host to Top-Ranked Georgia Wednesday Night

April 1, 2009

Clemson vs. Georgia Clemson (18-8), ranked as high as #17 in the nation, will play host to #1 Georgia (23-3) on Wednesday night at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 7:06 PM. On Tuesday night at Foley Field in Athens, GA, the Bulldogs edged the Tigers 6-5. Wednesday’s game will be televised live by CSS and will be broadcast live on the radio by Clemson Tiger Sports Network. Live stats will also be available at ClemsonTigers.com.

The Series Clemson and Georgia have met 215 times, with the Bulldogs holding a 117-96-2 advantage in the series that dates back to the 1900 season. Georgia is Clemson’s second-most played rival in school history, trailing only South Carolina (284).

On March 31 at Foley Field, the Bulldogs scored four runs on six hits in the third inning and held on for a 6-5 win despite the Tigers outhitting Georgia 11-10. In 2008, the Bulldogs won both games by a combined score of 17-7. Georgia won in Athens by a score of 11-3, then the Bulldogs won the following day at Clemson by a score of 6-4. In 2007, Clemson won both games that were decided by a total of three runs.

The Tigers lead 53-45-2 in games played at Clemson and 33-10 in games played at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Leggett was also 3-12 against the Bulldogs as head coach at Western Carolina, therefore he is 22-27 all-time against the Bulldogs.

The Starting Pitchers Georgia will start freshman lefthander Chase Hawkins (2-1, 3.52 ERA) on the mound. The Snellville, GA native has made three relief appearances and two starts for a total of 15.1 innings pitched. He has allowed 17 hits (.274 opponents’ batting average) and four walks with seven strikeouts. Of the 17 hits he has allowed, only one has gone for extra bases, that being a double.

Clemson will counter with junior righthander Justin Sarratt (3-1, 5.00 ERA) on Wednesday. The Gaffney, SC native has made four relief appearances and three starts for a total of 18.0 innings pitched. He has yielded 16 hits (.232 opponents’ batting average) and three walks with eight strikeouts.

The Bulldogs Georgia, led by eighth-year Head Coach David Perno and ranked as high as #1 in the nation, enters Wednesday’s game at #17 Clemson with a 23-3 overall record and 7-2 SEC mark after downing the Tigers 6-5 at Foley Field on Tuesday night and sweeping Tennessee in a three-game series on the road over the weekend. The Bulldogs, who are 8-2 on the road, started the year 14-0 and have won nine of their last 10 games.

Georgia is averaging 9.7 runs per game and hitting .328 with a .566 slugging percentage and .423 on-base percentage. The team has also totaled 62 doubles, seven triples, 49 homers, and 37 stolen bases in 47 attempts.

Junior first-baseman Rich Poythress, a candidate for national player-of-the-year, is hitting .449 with seven doubles, 13 homers, 48 RBIs, a .918 slugging percentage, 22 walks against only nine strikeouts, a .554 on-base percentage, and three steals. Johnathan Taylor is batting .386 with a team-high 16 stolen bases, while Joey Lewis is hitting .360 with 12 doubles, eight homers, and 27 RBIs.

The pitching staff has a 3.57 ERA and .252 opponents’ batting average along with 245 strikeouts against 87 walks in 232.0 innings pitched. Junior righty Dean Weaver has five of the team’s six saves along with a 1.04 ERA and 17 strikeouts against only three walks in 17.1 innings pitched over 13 relief appearances. The Bulldogs are fielding at a .964 clip as well.

The Tigers Clemson, ranked as high as #17 in the nation, enters Wednesday’s game against #1 Georgia with an 18-8 overall record and 7-5 ACC mark after falling at Georgia 6-5 on Tuesday night and winning two of three games at Boston College over the weekend. Clemson is 13-2 at home this season.

The Tigers are averaging 6.4 runs per game and hitting .283 with a .429 slugging percentage and .377 on-base percentage. Clemson has also totaled 42 doubles, six triples, 25 homers, and 37 stolen bases in 48 attempts.

Ben Paulsen is hitting a team-best .376 with seven doubles, two triples, five homers, and a team-high 25 RBIs. Mike Freeman is batting .340 with a .457 on-base percentage along with seven stolen bases. Freeman is also 31-for-72 (.431) in the last 17 games. Kyle Parker, who missed the entire Boston College series in order to attend spring football practice, has added four homers and 21 RBIs in 23 games.

The pitching staff has a 3.48 ERA and .240 opponents’ batting average. The pitching staff has allowed 71 walks against 226 strikeouts, good for a 3.2-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 .967 clip as well.

Spreading the Wealth Due to a rash of injuries and a wealth of young talent, Clemson has used many players in the field this season. Only five Tigers have enough plate appearances (minimum of 3.0 per game) to qualify for the ACC lead in batting average, but a total of 14 Tigers have totaled at least 25 at-bats. Furthermore, 12 Tigers have started at least 10 games in the field. Infielders Ben Paulsen are the only Tigers to start every game this season.

Georgia Edges Clemson 6-5 Top-ranked Georgia scored four runs in the third inning and held on to defeat #17 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. 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.