Clemson Baseball Weekly Wrap-Up

April 3, 2006

Clemson University Overall Season Record: 20-7 ACC Regular-Season Record: 6-3

Last Week: 4-1 Tue. L away vs. #19 Georgia, 12-11 (10 innings) Wed. W home vs. #19 Georgia, 10-7 Fri. W away vs. #11 Miami (FL), 8-6 Sat. W away vs. #11 Miami (FL), 6-2 Sun. W away vs. #11 Miami (FL), 14-1

Next Week Tue. Home vs. Western Carolina, 7:15 PM Wed. Away vs. South Carolina, 7:00 PM Fri. Home vs. Maryland, 7:15 PM Sat. Home vs. Maryland, 4:00 PM Sun. Home vs. Maryland, 1:00 PM

Notes Clemson went 4-1 last week in five games against teams that were ranked in the top 20. Four of the five games were on the road as well. The Tigers split a midweek, home-and-home series with #19 Georgia, then swept #11 Miami in Coral Gables by a combined score of 28-9 in three games.

On Tuesday, #19 Georgia rallied for a 12-11 win in 10 innings after the Tigers committed four costly errors that led to four unearned runs. Clemson hit four homers, including two by Andy D’Alessio, but fell short when Josh Morris lined a walkoff single in the 10th inning. The following night, Clemson outlasted the Bulldogs 10-7 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. D’Alessio went 2-for-4 with three RBIs to lead Clemson’s 13-hit attack.

At Miami on Friday, the Tiger bullpen came through with a stellar performance in Clemson’s 8-6 win over the #11 Hurricanes. Three relievers combined to allow just two runs in 6.2 innings pitched. D’Alessio hit two doubles with three RBIs. In game two on Saturday, D’Alessio hit two homers with three RBIs in Clemson’s 6-2 victory. Jason Berken pitched 6.2 innings and did not allow an earned run to record the victory. In game three on Sunday, Clemson exploded for eight runs in the first inning on its way to a 14-1 win. The Tigers had 15 hits and put the game away early thanks in part to Adrian Casanova’s three-run homer in the first inning. Stephen Faris pitched 6.0 innings of three-hit ball to earn the win.

Casanova, a native of Miami, FL, hit two homers with six RBIs in the Miami series after entering the series with just one long ball, while D’Alessio added three doubles, two home runs, and nine RBIs. The Tigers scored 10 combined runs in the first innings of the series, one more run than Miami scored in the entire series in 27 innings. Also, Tiger pitchers allowed just two total runs after the third inning all series. Clemson out-hit Miami .304 to .211 and had 14 extra-base hits to the Hurricanes’ four. The Tiger pitching staff allowed just 20 hits and four earned runs in 27.0 innings pitched (1.33 ERA).

Miami’s starting weekend rotation entered the series with a combined record of 17-2, but all three suffered losses. Clemson upped its winning streak to seven games over the Hurricanes, including four wins in four games last year and three wins this season. The Tigers have outscored Miami 67-19 in those seven games since it joined the ACC in 2005. Also since joining the ACC, Miami has been swept just twice in 14 ACC series. Both of those sweeps have come at the hands of the Tigers.

In five games during the week, D’Alessio was 11-for-21 (.524) with four doubles, four homers, and 16 RBIs against two nationally-ranked teams. The team hit .332, while the pitchers had a 3.74 ERA.

Clemson ran its ACC winning streak to six games after sweeping Miami. The Tigers are 20-7 overall and 6-3 in conference play, and improved to 10-3 against top-25 ranked teams. In the last two weeks, Clemson was 9-1, including each of the last eight games coming against teams ranked in the top 25, while the other two wins came again a quality opponent in Elon.

Overall in 2006, Clemson is hitting .291 with a .372 on-base percentage. Tyler Colvin leads the club with a .357 batting average, six homers, and 24 RBIs. D’Alessio has increased his average to .343 with 10 doubles, nine homers, and 37 RBIs thanks to totaling four doubles, seven homers, and 26 RBIs in the last 10 games.

The pitching staff’s season ERA stands at 2.89 with a .236 opponents’ batting average. Both lefty Jason Berken (2.00) and Josh Cribb (2.25) also sport solid ERAs. That weekend rotation has combined for a 12-2 record, 1.99 ERA, and 104 strikeouts against just 33 walks and two homers allowed in 113.3 innings pitched this season.

Clemson will play host to Western Carolina on Tuesday night before traveling to Columbia, SC to play at red-hot South Carolina on Wednesday night. The Tigers will then welcome Maryland to Doug Kingsmore Stadium for a three-game series starting Friday.