Clemson Baseball Team to Play Host to Wofford Wednesday

March 1, 2011

Clemson vs. Wofford Clemson (5-1), ranked as high as #4 in the nation, will host Wofford (5-2 entering Tuesday’s game against USC Upstate) on Wednesday at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 4:00 PM. The game will be available live via webcast on TigerCast at ClemsonTigers.com. The game 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 as well.

Watch Clemson vs. Wofford Live on TigerCast

The Series Clemson and Wofford have met 99 times on the diamond, with the Tigers holding a 75-23-1 lead in the series dating to 1898. Clemson has won 12 games in a row in the series, as the last Terrier victory came in 1949 in Spartanburg.

The two teams last met on February 25, 2009 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. The Tigers were victorious 8-2, as Clemson broke a 1-1 tie with two runs in the sixth inning.

The Tigers lead 38-8 in games played at Clemson and 8-0 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Leggett was 7-2 against Wofford as head coach at Western Carolina, meaning he is 17-2 all-time against the Terriers.

The Starting Pitchers The Terriers have yet to name a starting pitcher for Wednesday’s game.

The Tigers will start graduate righthander Justin Sarratt (0-0, 0.00 ERA) on Wednesday. The Gaffney, SC native has made one relief appearance for a total of 2.0 innings pitched. He has allowed one hit (.125 opponents’ batting average) and no walks with no strikeouts.

The Terriers Wofford, led by fourth-year Head Coach Todd Interdonato, enters Tuesday’s game against USC Upstate with a 5-2 overall record after winning two of three games at home over the weekend. The Terriers downed Butler (10-2) on Friday and Presbyterian College (5-1) on Saturday before falling to Dayton (6-5) on Sunday. The first seven Wofford games of the season were played at home.

Wofford is averaging 8.0 runs per game and hitting .349 with a .493 slugging percentage and .457 on-base percentage. The team has totaled 16 doubles, four triples, three home runs, and 15 stolen bases in 17 attempts.

Konstantine Diamaduros leads the team with a .444 batting average, seven RBIs, and four steals. Mac Doyle is hitting .423 with two doubles, two triples, a homer, six RBIs, and three steals, while Clark Wise is batting .421.

The pitching staff has a 4.13 ERA and .305 opponents’ batting average along with 47 strikeouts against 22 walks in 61.0 innings pitched. Senior righthander John Cornely has a 2.08 ERA and the team’s only save in 4.1 innings pitched over two relief appearances. Wofford is fielding at a .953 clip as well.

The Tigers Clemson, ranked as high as #4 in the nation, enters Wednesday’s game against Wofford with a 5-1 overall record and a four-game winning streak. The Tigers were 3-0 in the First Pitch Invitational over the weekend, including an 8-0 win over an undefeated Michigan State team at Greenville, SC on Sunday. The Tigers are 4-1 at home this season.

The Tigers are averaging 11.2 runs per game and hitting .373 with a .522 slugging percentage and .489 on-base percentage thanks to 48 walks against only 25 strikeouts and eight hit-by-pitches. Clemson has also totaled 10 doubles, three triples, five homers, and 18 stolen bases.

Chris Epps and Brad Miller have four steals apiece, while Epps has a team-high two home runs.

The pitching staff has a 2.50 ERA and .195 opponents’ batting average. The staff has allowed 11 walks against 49 strikeouts. In the last 15.0 innings pitched, the staff has allowed just four hits and no runs. Righthander Alex Frederick has yet to allow a hit or run in 1.2 innings pitched this season. The Tigers are fielding at a .972 clip as well.

Worth Noting Clemson has a 999-242 all-time record at Doug Kingsmore Stadium in the 32nd season of the facility. Freshman Jon McGibbon is 3-for-3 and has reached base safely in each of his six plate appearances this season.

Polls The Tigers moved up two spots to #4 in the Collegiate Baseball poll this week after going 3-0 in three games last week. Clemson also dropped one spot to #12 in the Baseball America poll and fell two spots to #7 in the Sports Weekly poll. With Clemson’s top-25 ranking this week, it marks the 40th week in a row the Tigers have been ranked in the top 25 of at least one of the three major polls dating to the start of the 2009 season.

Clemson has had at least one final top-25 ranking in 14 of Head Coach Jack Leggett’s first 17 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.

Patience at the Plate Clemson finished the 2010 season third in the nation in walks (375), and the team has picked right up where it left off. Clemson has totaled 48 walks in six games this season, good for 8.0 walks per game. Moreover, the Tigers have struck out just 25 times, meaning they have a remarkable 0.52 strikeout-to-walk ratio at the plate. The 48 walks along with eight hit-by-pitches are a big reason Clemson has a .489 on-base percentage in 2011. Chris Epps (7), and Jeff Schaus (6) are all averaging at least one walk per game.

Weismann Putting Up Ws Junior righthander Scott Weismann (Boxborough, MA) has been a weekend starter since the beginning of the 2010 season. All he has done the past two years is amass an 11-2 record, while Clemson has a 17-3 record in his 20 starts during that time. Weismann has a 14-3 career record, and his 82.4 winning percentage is ninth-best in Clemson history.

From May of 2010 to the present, Weismann has not suffered a loss. In his last 10 starts, he has an 8-0 record, which included several starts during Clemson’s 2010 postseason run. He also has a streak of 11 straight starts without a loss.

In 2011, Weismann has a 2-0 record and 4.50 ERA in 10.0 innings pitched over two starts. He has allowed eight hits (.216 opponents’ batting average) and two walks with eight strikeouts as Clemson’s Friday starter.

Clemson Cruises to 3-0 Record in First Pitch Invitational Clemson, ranked as high as #5 in the nation, went 3-0 against three different opponents in the First Pitch Invitational from February 25-27. The Tigers outscored Cincinnati, Charleston Southern, and Michigan State by a combined score of 42-5 and hit .405 while holding their opponents to a .160 batting average. Clemson also had a .507 on-base percentage and 10 steals. Chris Epps went 6-for-10 with six runs and four steals, while Spencer Kieboom also went 6-for-10 with three runs. Richie Shaffer went 3-for-6 with a homer, four RBIs, eight runs, and six walks. The Tiger pitching staff had a 1.33 ERA and 23 strikeouts against five walks.

In the first game against Cincinnati at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on February 25, Clemson totaled 15 hits and 12 walks in its 15-4 victory. The Tigers scored in each of the first seven innings, including five runs in the second inning and four runs in the seventh inning. Kieboom went 3-for-4 to lead Clemson’s 15-hit attack. Brad Miller, Scott Weismann retired the first 10 Bearcats in the game and earned the win. He allowed three hits and two runs with four strikeouts in 5.0 innings pitched.

In the second game against Charleston Southern at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on February 26, Clemson totaled 18 hits in its 19-1 victory. The Tigers scored at least two runs in each of the first five innings. A total of 12 Tigers had at least one hit, 11 scored at least one run, and 10 had at least one RBI. Epps went 3-for-3 with a triple, three runs, and two RBIs, while Justin Sarratt combined to limit the Buccaneers to just four hits, including none after the third inning.

In the third game against Michigan State at Greenville, SC on February 27, three Tiger pitchers combined for 14 strikeouts in Clemson’s 8-0 win. In 7.0 innings pitched, Alex Frederick combined to allow four hits and no walks while facing just two batters over the minimum. Only two batters reached second base, both on doubles, and none advanced past second base as well. Jason Stolz led Clemson’s 12-hit attack by going 3-for-4 with a double, two runs, two RBIs, and one of the Tigers’ four steals in the game.