Clemson Moves Up In Baseball Polls

March 12, 2001

CLEMSON, S.C. – After going 3-0 last week, the Clemson baseball team climbed back into the top 10 of the Collegiate Baseball poll released Monday. The Tigers are 10-4 and remain 14th in the Baseball America poll and moved up to 14th (from 15th) in the Baseball Weekly/ESPN Coaches poll.

Clemson swept three home games last week, beating the College of Charleston 5-3 on Wednesday and then claiming a two-game weekend series versus Ohio by scores of 5-2 and 17-4.

Third baseman Jeff Baker continues to pave the way for Clemson on offense. He currently leads the ACC with a .474 batting average and in home runs with seven on the year. The sophomore from Woodbridge, VA batted .818 (9-11) in the three games last week with 9 RBIs, two doubles and two home runs. Baker had two doubles against the Bobcats on Saturday and had a three-run home run and his second grand slam of the season Sunday versus Ohio. His slugging percentage was 1.545 in the three games and he had an on-base percentage of .857.

The Tigers will host Georgia Southern Tuesday and Wednesday before taking to the road for an 11-day, eight-game spring break road trip to Maryland, Old Dominion and Wake Forest.

Clemson freshman right-hander Steven Jackson will likely start for the Tigers on Tuesday, while the pitcher for Wednesday will be announced later. Jackson is 2-0 with a 2.35 ERA, the best among Clemson’s starting pitchers. Georgia Southern is 11-6 this season.

Tuesday night’s game against Georgia Southern will begin at 7:00 PM and will be the first night game of the season. The two teams will close the series Wednesday with a 3:00 PM start. Tuesday’s game will be broadcast on WGOG-FM (96.3) in Walhalla, while Wednesday’s game will be broadcast on WCSZ-AM (1070) in Greenville.