CLEMSON BASEBALL WEEKLY WRAPUP

May 20, 2012

Clemson University Overall Season Record: 32-24 ACC Regular-Season Record: 16-14

Last Week: 2-4 Mon. W, Home vs. #1 Florida State, 9-7 (Game 1) Mon. L, Home vs. #1 Florida State, 9-5 (Game 2) Tue. W, Home vs. Furman, 9-2 Thu. L, Away vs. Wake Forest, 5-2 Fri. L, Away vs. Wake Forest, 2-1 Sat. L, Away vs. Wake Forest, 7-0

Next Week TBA Neutral* vs. Virginia (RSN) TBA Neutral* vs. Florida State (RSN) TBA Neutral* vs. Georgia Tech (RSN) * – ACC Tournament at Greensboro, NC (NewBridge Bank Park)

Last Week’s Game Notes Clemson went 2-4 in six games this past week. The Tigers finished the series against top-ranked Florida State with a split in a Monday doubleheader, then Clemson defeated Furman 9-2 on Tuesday at home. Over the weekend in Winston-Salem, NC, Wake Forest swept the Tigers for the first time since 1999.

On the week, the Tigers were outscored by their opposition 32-26 and batted .225 with a .340 slugging percentage and .330 on-base percentage. They also totaled 11 doubles, one triple, three homers, 25 walks, and 12 stolen bases in 12 attempts. Clemson fielded at a .981 clip as well.

Brad Felder led the Tigers at the plate by going 6-for-19 (.316) with two doubles, two RBIs, and four runs. Richie Shaffer was 7-for-23 (.304) with three doubles, two RBIs, and four runs. Thomas Brittle added three stolen bases as well.

The Tiger pitching staff had a 4.94 ERA and .289 opponents’ batting average on the week. The staff also allowed 57 hits and 24 walks with 30 strikeouts in 51.0 innings pitched.

In 8.2 innings pitched over two appearances (one start) on the week, David Haselden allowed two runs (2.08 ERA) and eight hits while tallying a win.

Clemson won two of three games over Florida State by a combined score of 21-18 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium from May 12-14. It was the Seminoles’ first weekend series loss of the season. Florida State outhit the Tigers .330 to .270, while Clemson totaled eight doubles, one triple, four homers, and seven stolen bases in the series. Jason Stolz went 4-for-10 to lead the Tigers, while Felder went 4-for-11 (.364) with three RBIs and four runs. The Tiger pitching staff had a 5.33 ERA, did not allow a home run, and held the Seminoles to 3-for-28 (.107) with two outs in the series.

In game-two on May 14, which was the first game of a doubleheader, Clemson scored nine combined runs in the first four innings and held on for a 9-7 win over Florida State. Clemson scored five runs in the second inning to build a 6-0 lead, then the Tigers scored three runs in the fourth inning to take a 9-1 lead. The Seminoles scored two runs in the sixth, seventh, and ninth innings. They also had the tying run at second base with one out in the ninth inning, but Scott Firth worked out of the jam to record the save. Felder went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a walk to lead the Tigers. Kevin Pohle pitched 6.0 solid innings to earn the victory.

In game-three on May 14, which was the second game of a doubleheader, Florida State totaled 16 hits in its 9-5 win over Clemson. Florida State built a 9-2 lead before Stolz blasted a three-run homer in the sixth inning. But Gage Smith and Robert Benincasa closed the door on the Tigers late in the game. Sherman Johnson went 4-for-4 with two walks and three RBIs, while John Nogowski and Seth Miller added three hits apiece. Stolz went 2-for-4 with a homer, double, and four RBIs to lead the Tigers, while Shaffer added two hits.

Pitching in his last regular-season game at Doug Kingsmore Stadium, Haselden pitched 7.2 strong innings to lead Clemson to a 9-2 win over Furman on May 15. The Paladins scored a run in the second inning to take a 2-0 lead, but Clemson scored five runs in the third inning to take the lead for good. Phil Pohl’s two-run homer highlighted the uprising in the third inning. Jon McGibbon added a solo homer in the fourth inning. Haselden allowed eight hits, two runs, and four walks with five strikeouts to earn the victory, while Mike Kent pitched 1.1 scoreless innings to close out the game.

Wake Forest then swept Clemson by a combined score of 14-3 at Wake Forest Baseball Park from May 17-19. The Demon Deacons outhit the Tigers .230 to .176, while Clemson totaled four doubles and four steals. The Demon Deacons had eight steals and did not commit error in the field. Wake Forest was also 8-for-21 (.381) with runners in scoring position while holding Clemson to just 1-for-22 (.045) in that situation. Shaffer led Clemson by going 4-for-11 (.364) with two doubles and two RBIs. The Tiger pitching staff had a 4.50 ERA and 20 strikeouts against 10 walks.

In game-one on May 17, Wake Forest totaled all five of its runs and all six of its hits in the third and fourth innings and held on for a 5-2 win over Clemson. The Demon Deacons hit five singles in the third inning to score three runs, then Pat Blair’s two-out double in the fourth inning drove home a run, while Blair also scored on the play thanks to a Tiger error. Shaffer belted a two-out, two-run double in the eighth inning, but it was not enough. Shaffer went 4-for-4 to lead Clemson, who outhit the Demon Deacons 7-6. Tim Cooney pitched 7.2 strong innings to earn the win, while Michael Dimock retired all four batters he faced to record the save.

In game-two on May 18, Brett Armour’s two-run homer in the eighth inning broke a scoreless tie and Wake Forest held on for a 2-1 win over Clemson. The Tigers were unable to score after loading the bases with one out in the eighth inning, then Clemson loaded the bases with no outs in the ninth inning. But a flyout and game-ending double play on McGibbon’s sacrifice fly meant the Tigers fell one run short. Daniel Gossett suffered the loss despite pitching 7.1 effective innings, allowing six hits, two runs, and two walks with seven strikeouts.

In game-three on May 19, Wake Forest scored six two-out runs in the fifth inning and blanked Clemson 7-0. Conor Keniry’s bloop single started the six-run uprising, then Carlos Lopez and Charlie Morgan added two-run hits. Clemson put its leadoff batter on base in four of the first six innings, but failed to score against the Demon Deacons for the first time in a game since 1969. Brian Holmes pitched 6.0 scoreless innings of two-hit ball, then six Wake Forest relievers combined to blank Clemson over the final three innings. The Tigers totaled just four hits in the game.

2012 Season Notes Clemson has a 32-24 overall record and finished with a 16-14 ACC regular-season mark in 2012. Clemson, who is 21-14 in home games, 9-9 in away games, and 2-1 in neutral-site contests, is #22 in the unofficial RPI by WarrenNolan.com.

The Tigers have 16 wins over teams in the top 51 of the RPI. Only seven teams in the nation have more wins over top-51 RPI teams. Clemson’s 35 games against top-51 RPI teams are also most in the nation. That means that 63 percent of Clemson’s games this season have been against teams in the top 51 of the RPI.

The Tigers finished third in the ACC Atlantic Division standings behind first-place Florida State (24-6) and second-place N.C. State (19-11). Clemson, who won six of its 10 ACC series, finished in a tie for fifth place with Miami (FL) in the overall ACC standings.

The Tigers, who are averaging 5.8 runs per game, are hitting .273 with a .389 slugging percentage and .362 on-base percentage thanks to 240 walks and 47 hit-by-pitches in 2012. The team has also totaled 88 doubles, 15 triples, 37 homers, and 58 stolen bases. The Tigers have cumulatively outscored their opposition in all nine innings and in extra innings in 2012. Clemson is fielding at a .973 clip as well. That mark is second-best in the ACC, while the Tigers have turned an ACC-high 59 double plays.

Richie Shaffer leads the team with a .344 batting average, 18 doubles, two triples, 10 homers, 45 RBIs, 44 runs, 51 walks, a .470 on-base percentage, and seven steals. Steve Wilkerson is batting .316 with 29 RBIs and a team-high 46 runs, while Thomas Brittle is hitting .313 with seven doubles, eight triples, two homers, and 33 RBIs.

The pitching staff has a 3.89 ERA and .270 opponents’ batting average in 511.0 innings pitched this season. It has allowed 526 hits and 210 walks with 413 strikeouts, good for a 1.97 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Kevin Brady leads the rotation with a 2.59 ERA and 57 strikeouts in 59.0 innings pitched over 11 starts and one relief appearance. Brady, who had missed the previous 21 days due to injury, made that one relief outing late in the series-finale at Wake Forest on Saturday and pitched a scoreless seventh inning with two strikeouts.

Kevin Pohle is 6-3 with a 3.25 ERA, while Dominic Leone and Daniel Gossett join Pohle for the team lead with six wins apiece. Scott Firth has a 4-0 record, 2.30 ERA, and two saves in 43.0 innings pitched over 20 relief outings.

Clemson will travel to Greensboro, NC to play in the ACC Tournament at NewBridge Bank Park. The Tigers will be the #5 seed and face #4-seeded Virginia, #1-seeded Florida State, and #8-seeded Georgia Tech in its bracket. The dates and times of those games will be announced by the ACC Office on Sunday.