Clemson Baseball Weekly Wrapup

April 10, 2006

Clemson University Overall Season Record: 24-8 ACC Regular-Season Record: 9-3

Last Week: 4-1 Tue. L home vs. Western Carolina, 8-6 Wed. W away vs. #1 South Carolina, 3-2 Fri. W home vs. Maryland, 3-1 | Photo Gallery Sat. W home vs. Maryland, 3-2 (11 innings) | Photo Gallery Sun. W home vs. Maryland, 15-7 | Photo Gallery

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

Notes For the second-straight week, Clemson lost its Tuesday game then ran off four wins during the rest of the week. The Tigers, who have won 13 of their last 15 games, lost to Western Carolina 8-6 on Tuesday before defeating top-ranked South Carolina 3-2 in Columbia on Wednesday. The Tigers then swept Maryland at home by scores of 3-1, 3-2 (11 innings), and 15-7 to run its season record to 24-8. The Tigers have also won nine ACC games in a row to improve to 9-3 in conference play.

With the win over the Gamecocks, the Tigers improved to 2-1 in the season series with the instate rivals, as the two teams will play for the fourth and final time on Wednesday at Clemson. The Tigers’ sweep over the Terrapins gave them a 51-1 all-time record at Doug Kingsmore Stadium against Maryland, while Head Coach Jack Leggett improved to 21-0 against the Terrapins in the friendly confines. Clemson out-hit Maryland .327 to .243 and had a 1.55 ERA. The three Tiger starting pitchers combined to allow just two earned runs in 21.2 innings pitched.

In the five games last week, Clemson hit .308 with 11 doubles, a triple, and three home runs. Brad Chalk hit a team-best .421 (8-for-19) with six runs scored, while Andy D’Alessio hit a grand slam and had nine RBIs. The pitching staff had a 2.49 ERA and 47 strikeouts in 47.0 innings pitched. In two relief appearances, Daniel Moskos earned two wins by pitching 3.2 scoreless and hitless innings.

Clemson’s 9-3 ACC record is second-best in the league behind only Florida State’s 12-3 conference record. The Tigers are also 19-3 at home and 11-3 against top-25 ranked teams. Other miscellaneous records include being 11-0 when not committing an error and 23-1 when totaling at least as many hits as the opponent.

Overall in 2006, the team is hitting .294 with a .369 on-base percentage in 32 games. The team also had 67 doubles, 29 home runs, 28 sacrifice bunts, and 48 stolen bases in 59 attempts. Clemson is fielding at a .967 clip as well.

D’Alessio, who is riding a 10-game hitting streak, continues to drive in runs, as he has 46 in 32 games. He also is hitting .341 with 10 doubles and 10 home runs while not allowing an error all season at first base. In the last 15 games, D’Alessio has eight homers and 35 RBIs. Tyler Colvin leads the club with a .356 batting average, 12 doubles, six homers, and 26 RBIs along with a team-high 12 stolen bases. Chalk, a sophomore, broke the Clemson record with his 26th career sacrifice bunt against Maryland on Friday as well.

The pitching staff has a 2.82 ERA and .240 opponents’ batting average. The staff also has nine saves and has allowed just 12 home runs along with just 49 extra-base hits this season. Moskos has a 1.33 ERA and four saves in 15 relief appearances.

The weekend rotation of Josh Cribb (1.98), Jason Berken (1.69), and Stephen Faris (1.75) all have ERAs under 2.00. The three have combined for a 14-2 record, 1.80 ERA, .213 opponents’ batting average, two homers allowed, 39 walks, and 124 strikeouts in 135.0 innings pitched this season.

Clemson will play its fourth of five-straight five-game weeks this upcoming week, beginning at Western Carolina on Tuesday at 7:00 PM. The Tigers will return home to play host to South Carolina on Wednesday before traveling to Atlanta to play at Georgia Tech this weekend in a three-game series.