CLEMSON BASEBALL WEEKLY WRAPUP

May 8, 2011

Clemson University Overall Season Record: 32-15 ACC Regular-Season Record: 13-11

Last Week: 3-0 Sat. W, Home vs. Gardner-Webb, 13-1 (Game 1) Sat. W, Home vs. Gardner-Webb, 12-0 (Game 2) Sun. W, Away vs. Gardner-Webb, 5-1

Next Week Tue. Neutral* vs. Furman, 7:00 PM Wed. Home vs. East Tennessee State, 6:30 PM Fri. Away vs. Virginia Tech, 5:30 PM Sat. Away vs. Virginia Tech, 2:00 PM Sun. Away vs. Virginia Tech, 1:00 PM * – Greenville, SC (Fluor Field)

Last Week’s Game Notes

Clemson, ranked as high as #16 in the nation, went 3-0 in three games this past week. The Tigers swept Gardner-Webb in a three-game series on Saturday and Sunday at two different sites.

On the week, the Tigers batted .366 with a .527 slugging percentage and .431 on-base percentage along with seven stolen bases. The Tigers also had a .983 fielding percentage.

Jeff Schaus went 6-for-10 with a double, three RBIs, four runs, and two steals.

The Tiger pitching staff had an 0.33 ERA and .149 opponents’ batting average on the week. The staff also allowed only 14 hits, including just three extra-base hits, and two walks with 25 strikeouts in 27.0 innings pitched.

Clemson swept Gardner-Webb by a combined score of 30-2 on May 7,8. The Tiger pitching staff allowed just 14 hits against a team that entered the week sixth in the nation in batting average (.323).

In game-one on May 7, which was the first game of a doubleheader, Clemson scored five runs in the third inning and seven runs in the seventh inning en route to a 13-1 win over Gardner-Webb at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. The Tigers outhit Gardner-Webb 11-5 and totaled 10 walks. Shaffer went 2-for-4 with a double and three RBIs, while Brad Miller added a double, two runs, three walks, and two steals. Starter Dominic Leone pitched 7.0 strong innings to earn the win. He allowed just two hits, one run, and one walk with eight strikeouts.

In game-two on May 7, which was the second game of a doubleheader, Clemson totaled 20 hits in its 12-0 victory over Gardner-Webb at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. The Tigers scored in seven of the eight innings in which they batted, including five two-out runs in the fourth inning. Schaus went 4-for-4 with a double, while John Hinson, Shaffer, and Will Lamb all added three hits apiece. Starter Jonathan Meyer pitched 6.1 effective innings to earn the win. He yielded just three singles, no runs, and no walks in throwing only 53 pitches, 43 of which were strikes. The four Tiger hurlers combined to face just three batters over the minimum and did not allow a runner past second base. Jack Leggett recorded his 800th victory as Clemson’s head coach as well.

In game-three on May 8, three Tiger pitchers combined for 12 strikeouts and did not allow an earned run in Clemson’s 5-1 win over Gardner-Webb at John Henry Moss Stadium in Boiling Springs, NC. Clemson jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning, then Gardner-Webb scored an unearned run in the second inning. But two Tiger runs in the sixth inning and Shaffer’s solo homer in the eighth inning gave Clemson the four-run victory. Starter Justin Sarratt allowed just four hits, no earned runs, and one walk with six strikeouts to earn the win, Scott Weismann retired all three batters he faced in the ninth inning to close out the game.

2011 Season Notes

Clemson has a 32-15 overall record and 13-11 ACC mark on the season. The Tigers, who have won 18 of their last 21 overall games, are in second place in the ACC Atlantic Division standings behind first-place Florida State, who is 16-8 in the ACC. Clemson has won five weekend series in a row and is in sixth place in the overall ACC standings. Virginia, Georgia Tech, Miami (FL), Florida State, and North Carolina have all clinched spots in the 2011 ACC Tournament.

The Tigers are hitting .312 with a .445 slugging percentage and .402 on-base percentage thanks to 226 walks and 35 hit-by-pitches in 2011. The team has also totaled 99 doubles, 14 triples, 28 homers, and 87 stolen bases along with hitting .335 with runners in scoring position on the season. Clemson is fielding at a .967 clip as well.

Brad Miller leads the ACC in batting average (.422) and on-base percentage (.527) along with totaling 10 doubles, three triples, two homers, 35 RBIs, 41 runs, 32 walks, and a team-tying-high 20 stolen bases in 40 games (38 starts). In the last 22 games, he is 41-for-82 (.500) with 15 steals.

Jeff Schaus, who is hitting .316, surpassed the 200-run and 200-RBI career marks over the weekend as well.

The pitching staff has a 3.18 ERA and .228 opponents’ batting average in 416.2 innings pitched this season. It has allowed 351 hits and 135 walks with 364 strikeouts, good for a 2.70 strikeout-to-walk ratio. The staff has performed well during the last two weekends. In those six combined games (54.0 innings pitched) against #9 Georgia Tech, who entered the series leading the ACC with a .316 batting average, and Gardner-Webb, who entered the week sixth in the nation in batting average at .323, the Tigers allowed just 30 hits (.159 opponents’ batting average), including only five extra-base hits, eight earned runs (1.33 ERA), and 10 walks with 48 strikeouts.

Justin Sarratt leads the team and is fifth in the ACC with a 1.70 ERA along with a team-high six wins. In 58.1 innings pitched over 14 appearances (nine starts), the graduate student has a 6-1 record and has allowed 47 hits (.216 opponents’ batting average), one home run, and seven walks against 47 strikeouts. The Tigers have a 9-0 record in his nine starts in 2011 and he has pitched 26.0 innings in a row without allowing an earned run.

David Haselden is 4-1 with two saves, a 2.35 ERA, and 44 strikeouts against 11 walks in a team-high 61.1 innings pitched over 19 appearances (four starts). Jonathan Meyer is 5-1 with one save, a 2.70 ERA, and .193 opponents’ batting average. Dominic Leone is 4-1 with a 3.06 ERA and .183 opponents’ batting average (second-best in the ACC). In Leone’s last four starts, he is 4-0 with a 1.53 ERA and .122 opponents’ batting average. In 23.1 innings pitched over his last three starts, he is 3-0 and has allowed just seven hits (.092 opponents’ batting average), three runs (1.16 ERA), and six walks with 28 strikeouts.

Clemson will play five games next week, starting with midweek games against Furman at Fluor Field in Greenville, SC on Tuesday and East Tennessee State at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on Wednesday. Then over the weekend, the Tigers will travel to Blacksburg, VA to taken on Virginia Tech in a three-game series.