CLEMSON BASEBALL WEEKLY WRAPUP

April 29, 2012

Clemson University Overall Season Record: 26-19 ACC Regular-Season Record: 14-10

Last Week: 2-2 Tue. L, Home vs. Coastal Carolina, 10-7 Fri. L, Away vs. Georgia Tech, 6-5 (13 Innings) Sat. W, Away vs. Georgia Tech, 13-7 Sun. W, Away vs. Georgia Tech, 11-8

Next Week Sat. Home vs. College of Charleston, 6:30 PM Sun. Home vs. College of Charleston, 6:30 PM

Last Week’s Game Notes Clemson went 2-2 in four games this past week. The Tigers fell at home to Coastal Carolina by three runs before topping Georgia Tech twice in three games on the road over the weekend.

On the week, the Tigers outscored their opposition 36-31 and batted .317 with a .449 slugging percentage and .385 on-base percentage. They also totaled five doubles, one triple, five homers, 18 walks, and one stolen base. Clemson fielded at a .982 clip as well.

Spencer Kieboom led the Tigers at the plate by going 11-for-20 (.550) with a homer, double, eight RBIs, and five runs in four games last week. Brad Felder was 6-for-11 (.545) with a homer, double, five RBIs, six runs, and two walks, while Steve Wilkerson and Phil Pohl both added seven hits apiece.

The Tiger pitching staff had a 6.92 ERA and .294 opponents’ batting average on the week. The staff also allowed 45 hits and 20 walks with 29 strikeouts in 39.0 innings pitched. Daniel Gossett had 10 strikeouts in 9.1 innings pitched over two appearances (one start).

Coastal Carolina scored four runs in the eighth inning to rally for a 10-7 victory over Clemson at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on April 24. The Tigers took advantage of four errors to score five runs in the sixth inning and take a 7-5 lead. However, Rich Witten’s two-run double in the eighth inning broke a 7-7 tie and gave Coastal Carolina the lead for good. Daniel Bowman went 3-for-4 with a double, four runs, a walk, hit-by-pitch, and two steals to lead the Chanticleers, who outhit Clemson 15-9. Pohl went 3-for-5 with a double and RBI to lead the Tigers.

Clemson then won two of three games over Georgia Tech by a combined score of 29-21 at Russ Chandler Stadium from April 27-29. It was the Tigers’ first series win at Georgia Tech since 1996, snapping their seven-series losing streak in Atlanta. Clemson outhit the Yellow Jackets .336 to .263 and totaled 44 hits, including four doubles, one triple, and five homers, in the series. Kieboom, a native of nearby Marietta, GA, went 10-for-15 (.667) with a homer, double, seven RBIs, and four runs, while Felder went 6-for-11 (.545) with a homer, double, five RBIs, six runs, and two walks. The Tiger pitching staff had a 6.00 ERA, while Clemson committed just two errors in the series.

In game-one on April 27, Daniel Palka led off the 13th inning with a walkoff home run to give Georgia Tech a 6-5 win over Clemson. Felder broke a 2-2 tie with a three-run homer in the top of the ninth inning. But Georgia Tech used two leadoff walks, Palka’s two-run double, and Mott Hyde’s sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth inning to tie the score. Hyde added two solo home runs for Georgia Tech, who totaled nine hits. Clemson also amassed nine hits, including Thomas Brittle’s solo homer in the first inning. Felder added a game-high four RBIs as well.

In game-two on April 28, Clemson totaled 17 hits in its 13-7 win over Georgia Tech. Kieboom went 3-for-5 with a double, five RBIs, and two runs. His grand slam in the fourth inning gave Clemson the lead for good, then the Tigers took a 10-2 lead with four runs in the top of the fifth inning. Georgia Tech rallied with four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning, but Mike Kent entered the game in relief and pitched 5.0 strong innings to earn the win. Pohl went 3-for-5 with a homer, three RBIs, and three runs, while Brittle and Jason Stolz added two hits and two RBIs apiece.

In game-three on April 19, Kieboom went 5-for-5 with two RBIs to lead Clemson to an 11-8 victory over Georgia Tech. Kieboom had five of the Tigers’ 18 hits, while Steve Wilkerson went 3-for-6 with two RBIs. Jay Baum and Jon McGibbon added two hits and two RBIs apiece, while Felder tallied two hits and two runs. Every Tiger starter had at least one hit and scored at least one run. Clemson scored a run in the first inning and never gave up the lead. The Tigers took a 7-0 lead with five runs in the fourth inning, only to have Georgia Tech pull within a run with two runs in the sixth inning. However, Clemson added two runs in both the seventh and eighth innings to pull away.

2012 Season Notes Clemson has a 26-19 overall record and 14-10 ACC mark on the season. The Tigers are still in third place in the ACC Atlantic Division standings behind Florida State (19-2) and N.C. State (16-8). Clemson is in fourth place in the overall ACC standings, while Virginia (13-10), Miami (FL) (12-11), Georgia Tech (10-14), and Virginia Tech (10-14) round out the top eight in the overall ACC standings. North Carolina leads the ACC Coastal Division with a 13-8 league mark.

The Tigers, who are averaging 5.8 runs per game, are hitting .280 with a .396 slugging percentage and .365 on-base percentage thanks to 192 walks and 34 hit-by-pitches in 2012. The team has also totaled 71 doubles, 12 triples, 30 homers, and 41 stolen bases. Clemson is fielding at a .972 clip thanks in large part to committing only four errors in the last eight games.

Richie Shaffer leads the team with a .347 batting average, 14 doubles, two triples, eight homers, 38 RBIs, 35 runs, 45 walks, a .481 on-base percentage, and five steals. Shaffer has reached base via a hit or walk in 23 consecutive games.

Thomas Brittle is hitting .327 with six doubles, six triples, two homers, 29 RBIs, eight steals, and is riding an 18-game hitting streak. Steve Wilkerson is batting .323 with 25 RBIs, while Phil Pohl is hitting .306 with seven homers, nine doubles, and a team-high 44 RBIs. Spencer Kieboom raised his average 47 points (from .230 to .277) thanks to his 10 hits in the Georgia Tech series as well.

The pitching staff has a 3.82 ERA and .268 opponents’ batting average in 412.0 innings pitched this season. It has allowed 420 hits and 170 walks with 344 strikeouts, good for a 2.02 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Kevin Brady leads the rotation with a 2.64 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 58.0 innings pitched over 11 starts. Kevin Pohle is 4-2 with a 3.31 ERA, while Dominic Leone leads the team with six victories.

Mike Kent has a team-best 2.20 ERA and 19 strikeouts against only seven walks in 32.2 innings pitched over 15 relief appearances, while Scott Firth has a 2.23 ERA in 36.1 innings pitched over 17 relief outings.

Clemson will take five days off for final exams before returning to action in a three-game series against College of Charleston at home starting Saturday night. The series will mark the beginning of Clemson’s eight-game homestand to close its home schedule during the regular season.