Clemson Baseball Weekly Wrapup

May 18, 2008

CLEMSON BASEBALL WEEKLY WRAPUP (Week of May 12 – May 18, 2008)

Clemson University Overall Season Record: 30-25-1 ACC Regular-Season Record: 11-18-1

Last Week: 4-0 Tue. W home vs. College of Charleston, 12-6 Thu. W away vs. Central Florida, 9-1 Fri. W away vs. Central Florida, 7-3 Sat. W away vs. Central Florida, 8-5

Next Week Wed. Neutral vs. Miami (FL), 1:00 PM Thu. Neutral vs. N.C. State, 8:00 PM Sat. Neutral vs. Georgia Tech, 10:00 AM Note: All games in the ACC Tournament at The Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville (FL)

Notes Clemson went a perfect 4-0 in four games this past week, which included wins over two solid teams in College of Charleston (34-17) and Central Florida (31-22).

Clemson scored seven runs in the second inning on its way to a 12-6 win over College of Charleston at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on May 13. Jeff Schaus hit his first career homer, a two-run shot, in the first inning, then Stan Widmann hightlighted Clemson’s second inning with a three-run homer. Widmann added his second homer, a two-run long ball, of the game and season in the seventh inning, as he totaled five RBIs in the contest. Casey Harman pitched 2.0 scoreless innings in relief with three strikeouts to earn his first career win. Both teams used seven pitchers apiece, while the teams combined to play 43 players in the game.

Clemson swept Central Florida by a combined score of 24-9 in a three-game series at Orlando, FL from May 15-17. Clemson outhit the Knights .325 to .257 and totaled 17 extra-base hits, including nine doubles, two triples, and six home runs. Ben Paulsen went 6-for-13 (.462). Kyle Parker also hit a home run in each game and totaled six RBIs in the series. The Tiger pitching staff had a 2.33 ERA and struck out 24 against only six walks as well.

In game-one on May 15, D.J. Mitchell struck out nine in 7.0 innings pitched to lead Clemson to a 9-1 win over Central Florida at Jay Bergman Field. Mitchell earned the win by allowing just five hits, one run, and two walks with nine strikeouts. Justin Sarratt pitched 2.0 scoreless innings of one-hit ball to close out the victory. Paulsen hit a two-run triple in the first inning, then Clemson added four runs in the sixth inning, highlighted by Widmann’s two-run triple. Parker also hit a solo homer in the fifth inning. Paulsen and Widmann both totaled three RBIs, as Widmann had a game-high three hits. Parker was 2-for-3 with two runs scored, a walk, and hit-by-pitch.

In game-two on May 16, Parker and Schaus both hit home runs to lead Clemson to a 7-3 win over Central Florida. Parker’s two-run homer in the fifth inning gave Clemson the lead for good, then Schaus hit a two-out, three-run home run in the eighth inning to give the Tigers a four-run lead. Sanders went 4-for-5 with a double and two RBIs for the Tigers, who outhit Central Florida 12-8 and had seven extra-base hits. Doug Hogan added three hits, including two doubles. Starter Graham Stoneburner allowed two runs on four hits in 5.2 innings pitched to earn the win, while Matt Vaughn pitched 1.1 scoreless innings to pick up the save.

In game-three on May 17, Clemson scored three runs in the eighth inning to rally for an 8-5 win over Central Florida. Sanders’ solo homer in the eighth tied the score, then Mike Freeman’s run-scoring single gave Clemson the lead for good. Parker and Wilson Boyd added long balls for the Tigers, who totaled 12 hits in the game. Freeman and Paulsen had a team-tying-high three hits apiece, while Parker tallied three RBIs. Shane Brown hit two home runs for Central Florida, who had 14 hits. Sarratt pitched 1.1 scoreless innings in relief to earn the win, while Vaughn pitched a perfect ninth inning with two strikeouts to record the save.

During the week, the Tigers hit .315 with a .398 on-base percentage and .584 slugging percentage thanks to hitting nine doubles, two triples, and nine home runs in four games. The pitching staff had a 3.00 ERA and .253 opponents’ batting average along with 33 strikeouts in 36.0 innings pitched.

Sanders led the Tigers by going 7-for-13 (.538) with four runs scored, a double, homer, and five RBIs during the week. Freeman went 7-for-17 (.412) with six runs scored, while Parker went 6-for-17 (.353) with five runs scored, a double, three homers, and eight RBIs. Widmann added six hits, a triple, two homers, nine RBIs, and two steals, while Schaus had two homers and seven RBIs as well.

In three appearances, Vaughn picked up two saves and five strikeouts in 4.1 innings pitched. Mitchell struck out 10 in 8.0 innings pitched over two appearances as well.

The Tigers, who have won five games in a row, have a 30-25-1 overall record and 11-18-1 ACC mark. The team is hitting .288 with a .372 on-base percentage and 55 stolen bases in 79 attempts. The pitching staff has a 4.64 ERA and .286 opponents’ batting average along with 420 strikeouts against 171 walks in 494.1 innings pitched. The Tigers are fielding at a .965 clip as well.

Freeman leads the team with a .330 batting average. Schaus is hitting .323 with a .425 on-base percentage, while Paulsen is hitting .322 with 18 doubles, one triple, 12 homers, and 45 RBIs. Parker is batting .310 with 12 doubles, 14 homers, and 49 RBIs. Two other Tigers have double-digit homer totals, including Boyd (10) and Hogan (11), while Hogan leads the team with 51 RBIs.

Mitchell is Clemson’s top pitcher with a 6-4 record and 3.11 ERA. He leads the ACC in innings pitched (92.2) and strikeouts (95). Vaughn has a 3.23 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 39.0 innings pitched. He also has 11 saves, second-most in the ACC.

Clemson will travel directly to Jacksonville, FL for the ACC Tournament as the #8 seed. The Tigers will face top-seed Miami (FL) on Wednesday at 1:00 PM, N.C. State on Thursday at 8:00 PM, and Georgia Tech on Saturday at 10:00 AM. Those three opponents along with the Tigers comprise one bracket. The team with the best record in the bracket will play the winner of the other bracket on Sunday at 1:00 PM for the ACC Championship.