Clemson Baseball Weekly Wrap-Up

May 15, 2006

Overall Season Record: 39-13 ACC Regular-Season Record: 21-6

Last Week: 6-0 Mon. W away vs. Duke, 7-4 (Game 1) Mon. W away vs. Duke, 14-0 (Game 2) Tue. W away vs. Duke, 8-2 Fri. W home vs. #13 Florida State, 9-1 Sat. W home vs. #13 Florida State, 4-3 (10 innings) Sun. W home vs. #13 Florida State, 11-2

Next Week Tue. Home vs. College of Charleston, 7:15 PM Thu. Home vs. Wake Forest, 7:15 PM Fri. Home vs. Wake Forest, 7:15 PM Sat. Home vs. Wake Forest, 1:00 PM

Notes Clemson went 6-0 in a seven-day stretch last week, including a three-game sweep at Duke and a three-game sweep of #13 Florida State at home. The Tigers upped their winning streak to 11 games and have also won 10 straight ACC games. It is their second 10-game league win streak of the season, as Clemson reeled off 10 in a row after starting with an 0-3 conference mark.

Clemson (21-6) clinched the ACC Atlantic Division title over the weekend and is two games up on North Carolina (19-8), the Coastal Division leader, with one week to play. The Tigers, who have now won 39 games or more for 21 consecutive seasons, are guaranteed the #1 or #2 seed in the ACC Tournament and need to win two games against Wake Forest to be assured of the #1 seed.

Clemson swept Duke in three games by a combined score of 29-6 in Durham on May 8,9. The Tigers out-hit the Blue Devils .371 to .157 and totaled 20 extra-base hits, including 10 doubles, three triples, and seven home runs along with a .690 slugging percentage. Adrian Casanova was 6-for-9, while Andy D’Alessio was 5-for-10 with four home runs and six RBIs. Clemson’s pitching staff had a 1.33 ERA, as it allowed just 14 hits, four earned runs, and eight walks with 29 strikeouts.

In game one, Clemson hit nine extra-base hits and rallied for a 7-4 win over Duke in the first game of a doubleheader on May 8. Marquez Smith belted the go-ahead homer to break a 4-4 tie in the eighth, then D’Alessio followed with his second homer of the game. Smith was 3-for-4 with two doubles and a homer.

In game two, 12 different Tigers contributed to Clemson’s 21-hit attack in a 14-0 win over Duke in the second game of a doubleheader on May 8. Clemson scored six runs in the first inning, as it had at least one hit in every inning. Casanova, Tyler Colvin, and Taylor Harbin all had three hits. Brad Chalk set the Tiger single-season record with his 16th sacrifice bunt. The Blue Devils did not advance a baserunner past first base.

In game three, D’Alessio hit two homers to lead Clemson to an 8-2 win over Duke on May 9. Colvin added a homer, while Harbin had two hits, including a two-run single in the seventh inning.

Clemson then swept #13 Florida State by a combined score of 24-6 in three games at Doug Kingsmore Stadium from May 12-14. The Tigers out-hit the Seminoles .354 to .194 and totaled 12 extra-base hits to Florida State’s two, including no homers. Harbin was 7-for-12 (.583) with a homer and four RBIs, Travis Storrer was 6-for-11 (.545) with three RBIs, Herman Demmink was 6-for-13 (.462), Smith was 5-for-11 (.455) with six runs scored, three doubles, a homer, and seven RBIs, and D’Alessio was 4-for-10 with a homer and three RBIs. Clemson’s pitching staff had a 1.93 ERA, including just three hits and no runs allowed in 9.2 innings pitched by Tiger relievers.

In game one, Clemson pounded 18 hits in a 9-1 win over the Seminoles on May 12. The Tigers scored nine runs on 15 hits in 4.0 innings pitched by ace Tyler Chambliss, while Stephen Faris allowed just one run on three hits in 7.2 innings pitched to pick up the win. Storrer had a game-high four hits, while Smith tied a school record held by many with three doubles.

In game two, Adrian Casanova single up the middle. Relievers David Kopp and Ryan Hinson combined for 6.0 innings pitched, allowing three hits and no runs.

In game three, Smith, Harbin, and D’Alessio all hit homers in Clemson’s 11-2 win over Florida State on May 14. Smith’s two-out, three-run homer in the fourth put the Tigers ahead 7-2, then Harbin and D’Alessio hit solo homers in the fifth on reliever Travis Burge’s first two pitches of the game.

During the week (six games), Clemson hit .362 with 53 runs, 83 hits, 17 doubles, five triples, and 10 homers, while its opponents hit just .176 with 12 runs, 32 hits, seven doubles, a triple, and no homers. Harbin was 12-for-23 (.522) with two doubles, a homer, and seven RBIs. D’Alessio was 9-for-20 (.450) with five homers and nine RBIs, including two two-homer games. It was his third and fourth multi-homer games of the season, and fifth and sixth of his career. Smith was 11-for-25 (.440) with 11 runs scored, six doubles, two homers, and 10 RBIs. Demmink (.407), Chalk (.389), Storrer (.368), and Casanova (.368) had solid weeks as well.

The pitching staff had a 1.64 ERA and did not allow a homer. It also did not allow a single run after the fourth inning in any of the six games. Faris earned two wins in two starts, as he allowed just three hits and one run in 10.2 innings pitched. Jason Berken picked up two wins in as many starts as well, while the Tiger bullpen pitched a combined 23.0 innings, allowing just nine hits, no runs, and eight walks with 21 strikeouts. The Tigers fielded at a .971 clip as well.

Clemson has a 39-13 overall record and 21-6 ACC mark. The 21 conference wins ties for the most in a season in school history, as Clemson was 21-9 in the ACC in 2005. The Tigers improved to 16-6 against top-25 ranked teams with the sweep of the Seminoles, and are hitting .300 with a .371 on-base percentage.

Three Tigers have double-digit hitting streaks, including Demmink (13), Colvin (11), and Chalk (10). All nine Tiger regulars in the field are hitting between .282 and .335, including seven with a .306 batting average or better. Chalk is hitting a team-best .335 with a school-record 18 sacrifice bunts. D’Alessio is batting .330 with 18 homers and 67 RBIs.

Colvin has 19 doubles, five triples, and nine homers along with a team-best 15 stolen bases. Storrer is up to .325 with nine homers and 41 RBIs along with a .422 on-base percentage. Harbin is hitting .320 thanks to five-straight multi-hit games.

Perhaps the hottest Tiger is Smith, who is hitting .306 with 15 doubles, 10 homers, and 39 RBIs along with an outstanding .983 fielding percentage (just one error in 59 chances).

The pitching staff has a 3.23 ERA and .244 opponents’ batting average. The team has not allowed more than four runs in any of the last 13 games. Faris is 7-2 with a 2.52 ERA and .213 opponents’ batting average. Berken is 8-3 with a 2.77 ERA, while Josh Cribb is 8-0 with a 2.89 ERA. Closer Daniel Moskos has a 1.79 ERA and eight saves as well.

Clemson, who is 27-5 at home overall and 12-0 in ACC play, will play its remaining four regular-season games at home beginning with College of Charleston on Tuesday night. Then Wake Forest will come to town for a three-game series starting Thursday night and ending Saturday afternoon.