Thursday 03/21/2002
March 21, 2002
Live Box and Audio for all three games
Tigers 15-1, 0-0 #2 BA, #2 CB, #2 BWJack Leggett (Maine ’76) Career (23rd season) 772-443 .635 at Clemson (9th season) 395-156 .715 vs. Maine (at Clemson) 7-0
Black Bears 9-2, 0-0 Not Ranked Paul Kostacopoulos (Providence ’87) Career (12th season) 366-259 .585 at Maine (5th season) 146-122 .544 vs. Clemson (at Maine) 0-3
Clemson vs. Maine Thursday’s game will be the ninth meeting between Clemson and Maine with the Tigers holding an 8-0 series lead. The two teams last met in 1998 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium, when Clemson swept a three-game series. Clemson’s 19-11 victory was the 600th career victory for Head Coach Jack Leggett.
The two schools first met in 1991 in the championship game of the NCAA Northeast Regional in Orono, ME. The Tigers prevailed 13-5 and advanced to the College World Series.
Leggett to Face Alma Mater Clemson Head Coach Jack Leggett will coach against his alma mater for the 28th time on Thursday. He has had the most success against Maine at Clemson, where he is 7-0. Leggett went 2-13 against the school as the head man at Vermont and 1-4 as the coach at Western Carolina. Leggett graduated from Maine with honors in 1976 and was an all-star performer in both basketball and football. He captained the 1976 Maine team that advanced to the College World Series (a field that also included Clemson) and was a two-time All-Yankee Conference selection in footbal as a defensive back and placekicker. He still holds the Maine record for the longest field goal, a 52-yarder.
Tigers Down UNC Asheville 23-5 Clemson churned out 26 hits and four different Tigers hit home runs in a 23-5 victory over UNC Asheville on Tuesday night. Jack Leggett’s squad improved to 15-1 while dropping UNC Asheville to 4-7. Eleven different Tigers had hits and nine had at least two hits. Jeff Baker broke out of a slump by batting 3-6 with six RBIs. The 26 hits were the most for a Clemson team since a 23-7 win over Coastal Carolina on March 19,1991, exactly 11 years before the UNC Asheville game. Patrick Hogan (1-0) got the win for the Tigers by pitching three innings, allowing two runs. Hogan even prevented a Bulldog hit up the middle by kicking the ball to catcher Collin Mahoney, who threw the runner out at first.
Michael Johnson hit a three-run home run to give Clemson a 4-2 lead and the Tigers would not look back. The runs continued to roll in during the second inning. Frank’s bloop single scored Collin Mahoney and a double by Jeff Baker plated Frank and Greene. The Tigers scored one more run off a Bulldog error to take an 8-2 lead after two innings.
Mahoney provided some fireworks for the Tigers in the bottom of the fifth inning with a towering blast that cleared the 40-foot high batters’ eye behind the 400-foot sign in center field. Frank singled in DeMaino later in the inning to give the Tigers a 10-5 lead. Clemson scored three more runs in the sixth inning off of Baker’s solo home run and a two-run homer by Jeff Hourigan. Baker homered again in the seventh, this time a three-run shot, and Hourigan hit an RBI-double. The Tigers added two more runs off a Bulldog error to make it a six-run inning.
Garrick Evans’ first collegiate hit, a three-run double, highlighted a four-run eighth that provided the final margin for Clemson.
Greene Named National Player of the Week Khalil Greene has been named a Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week by Collegiate Baseball and the ACC Player of the Week after batting 16-22 (.727) with six home runs and 17 RBIs in Clemson’s five games last week. The awards are the first for Greene and he joins Jeff Baker and Michael Johnson as Tigers who have been named ACC Player of the Week in 2002.
The senior has also been named an All-American Athlete for 2002 by the National Strength and Conditioning Association for his athletic, academic and personal achievements as well as his leadership and community involvement. Greene led all fielders in the Omaha Challenge, Clemson’s offseason strength and conditioning competition. When he went deep in his last at-bat on against South Alabama, Greene tied a school record. He has homered in five straight games, a feat accomplished only by Matthew LeCroy (1996) and Michael Johnson (2001). Greene is 22-32 in his last seven games and is currently on a 13-game hitting streak in which he has two hits in 11 of those 13 games and nine in a row. He leads the team in hits (36), doubles (10) and RBIs (29) while leading the team and the ACC in batting average (.559), slugging percentage (1.059) and on base percentage (.608).
Greene Closing in on RBI Record Khalil Greene assured himself a spot in the Clemson batting record books last season when he set new standards for being hit by a pitch in an inning (2), game (3), season (21) and career (47). But the senior is making a name for himself in many other categories of the Clemson record book.
He doubled three times in an 11-10 victory over South Carolina, tying a Clemson record. It was the third time he accomplished the feat. Greene is near the top of many career categories, and is currently four RBIs short of setting the career record for Clemson. He is nearing the top of many other categories, including third in doubles (72), fourth in hits (308), fifth in at-bats (852), fifth in total bases (490), 10th in home runs (33) and tied for 10th in games played (217). The outstanding defensive player also set a new Clemson mark last season for fielding percentage by a shortstop. His .965 fielding percentage broke Bill Spiers record.
Career Category Leader (Stat) Greene Rank (Stat) RBIs Jim McCollom (218) T-2nd (214) Doubles Kurt Bultmann (82) 3rd (72) Hits Shane Monahan (337) 4th (308) At-Bats Bert Heffernan (993) 5th (852) Total Bases Shane Monahan (535) 5th (490) Home Runs Matthew LeCroy (53) 10th (33) Games Bert Heffernan (259) T-10th (217)
Baker Moves Up Career Home Run List Third baseman Jeff Baker moved into 6th place on Clemson’s all-time career homerun list with two home runs in the season opener against Purdue and is moving up the charts. After his two-homer performance against UNC Asheville, the junior now has 39 career home runs and is within reach of Matthew LeCroy’s school record of 53 home runs.
Clemson Career Home Run ListPlayer Years HRsMatthew LeCroy (1995-96-97) 53Jim McCollom (1982-83-84-85) 52Eric Macrina (1988-89-90-91) 51Jim Crowley (1988-89-90-91) 43Kurt Bultmann (1996-97-98-99) 43Jeff Baker (2000-present) 39
Middle of the Lineup Going Deep Often The 3-4-5 batters of the Clemson lineup have packed a punch so far this season. They have combined for 22 home runs, with many of them coming in the same game. Jeff Baker broke out of a slump to blast two home runs against UNC Asheville. Khalil Greene hit two solo home runs against South Alabama on March 16 as a part of his six-homer week. Michael Johnson homered twice against College of Charleston on March 6, which gave him six home runs in the Tigers’ first six games. When Johnson smashed a three-run homer against UNC Asheville, it was his 30th career home run, joining him with Greene and Baker as the only active Tigers with at least 30 career home runs. The feat of one player homering twice in a game was a somewhat frequent occurrence for the Tigers in 2001, and the trend is continuing in 2002. When Baker went deep twice against UNC Asheville, it was the ninth time in his career that he hit two homers in the same game. He leads Clemson in that category. Clemson had 10 multi-home run games last season, the most in school history.
Multi HR Games in 2002Player Multi HR Games OpponentJeff Baker 2 Auburn, 2/22 UNC Asheville, 3/19Michael Johnson 2 South Carolina, 3/3 Charleston, 3/6Khalil Greene 1 South Alabama, 3/16
Multi HR Games in 2001 Player Multi HR Games Jeff Baker 5 Michael Johnson 3 Jarrod Schmidt 2
Multi HR Games in a Season by Individual Player Multi HR Games Year Jeff Baker 5 2001 Matthew LeCroy 4 1997 Eric Macrina 3 1991 Michael Johnson 3 2001
19 tied at 2 including current Tigers: Jarrod Schmidt 2 2001 Jeff Baker 2 2000
Return of the Long Ball Clemson has continued to launch the long ball in 2002 after a big 2001 season. Entering the Maine series, the Tigers have 32 home runs in 16 games. If the pace contnues, the team will finish with approximately 112 home runs at the end of the 56-game regular season. That would be the best team home run figure in Clemson history The 1991 team set a school record with 111 home runs in 70 games. The 1997 team launched 95 home runs in 64 games. After hitting only 37 long balls in 2000, the proliferation of home runs returned to Clemson in 2001. The Tigers smashed 85 home runs last season in 63 games, more than double the output of 2000. Fifteen of the 37 homers in 2000 came at Doug Kingsmore Stadium, while Clemson has more than tripled the total and hit 54 out of Kingsmore Stadium in 2001. The fences to the stadium were moved in 10 feet prior to the start of 2001.
Jeff Baker total of 23 led the ACC a season ago. Michael Johnson finished fourth in the league with 17. Jarrod Schmidt also hit 15 home runs to tie for sixth in the ACC.
Khalil Greene came on strong at the end of the season and finished with 12. He joins Baker, Schmidt and Johnson with at least 10 home runs this season. Clemson last had four players with 10 or more home runs in 1997 when five players had double-digit totals. Matthew LeCroy led the Tigers with a school best 24, followed by Kurt Bultmann (16), Gary Burnham (15), Jason Embler (14) and Matt Padgett (13).
Pitchers Showing Control After some hurlers had trouble gaining command of their pitches early in the season, the Clemson pitching staff is beginning to find its control. In the last two games, seven Clemson pitchers have combined for 18 strikeouts while walking none. That includes ace Steve Reba, who leads the ACC in hit batsmen but struck out eight in Sunday’s 13-1 victory over South Alabama.
Tigers Take Two of Three From South Alabama Clemson suffered its first defeat of the season but still won the series last weekend against South Alabama.
Khalil Greene and Jeff Hourigan homered to lead Clemson to a 13-1 victory over South Alabama on Friday night. Henrie (3-0) was dominant through the first seven innings, allowing only two hits. He pitched 7 and 1/3 innings total, allowing five hits and one run while striking out three to earn win for the Tigers. Mel Spivey (0-3) got the loss for South Alabama.
Jeff Hourigan hit his second home run of the year to start a Tiger rally in the fifth inning. Clemson added a pair of runs with two outs in the frame. Steve Pyzik and David Slevin singled up the middle when Frank came to the plate. He ripped a single to left that scored Pyzik and Slevin came around to score when Jaguar left fielder Ryan Mulhern misplayed the ball.
Clemson piled it on in the eighth inning. Jeff Baker scored on a wild pitch, Hourigan hit a two-RBI double and pinch hitter Collin Mahoney singled in a run. Khalil Greene stepped to the plate with two runners on and hit a line-drive home run to right, his fifth of the year, to give his team a 13-1 lead.
On Saturday, South Alabama used strong pitching from Sam Smith and Adam Wood to defeat Clemson 6-4. Smith (3-0) earned the win by pitching 5 and 2/3 innings and allowing just three runs, two of which came on solo homers by Khalil Greene. He struck out five batters and allowed eight hits. Wood pitched 3 and 1/3 solid relief innings to grab the save. Steven Jackson (2-1) got the loss for Clemson. After getting their first three scores off of home runs, South Alabama put up a run in the fourth, fifth and seventh innings off of Clemson miscues. Josh Touchstone scored in the fourth when a throw by catcher Collin Mahoney bounced off Touchstone, who was in a rundown between third base and home plate. T.J. Touchstone scored in the fifth off a wild pitch by Jackson and again in the seventh on substitute catcher Steve Pyzik passed ball.
Pyzik singled in a run in the sixth inning and Clemson threatened in its final at-bat. Russell Triplett led off the inning with a pinch hit single but was followed by fly outs from Greene and Jeff Baker. Michael Johnson hit an RBI-double to right field that brought the tying run to the plate, but South Alabama’s Adam Wood got Jarrod Schmidt to strike out to end the game.
Khalil Greene homered in his last at-bat to tie a school record as Clemson defeated South Alabama 11-3 on Sunday afternoon at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Greene ended a two-out rally for the Tigers in the eighth inning by homering to left field off of Jag reliever Bert Heath. It was the fifth consecutive game Greene hit a home run, tying a school record held by Matthew LeCroy (1996) and Michael Johnson (2001). The senior ended the day 3-4 with three RBIs and is currently on a 12-game hitting streak.
Steve Reba (5-0) had another strong outing for Clemson. The righthander pitched 7 and 1/3 innings, allowing only one earned run while striking out eight. Clark Girardeau (5-2) got the loss for South Alabama.
Hourigan Has Breakout Week Freshman Jeff Hourigan hit his first career home run in a 20-8 victory over Georgia Southern on March 12. Hourigan finished 3-4 with two runs scored and an RBI in the game and continued to swing a hot bat in the South Alabama series. In a 13-1 win on March 14, Hourigan went 2-4 with two runs scored while hitting his second home run. After batting 2-3 in game two, Hourigan slammed his third home run of the week while going 1-2 in game three. For the week, the Beacon Falls, CT native went 8-16 with six RBIs and six runs scored. While Hourigan has settled in as the Tigers primary designated hitter, he has also seen time on the mound this season. He has a 1.35 ERA in three appearances. His best outing was a one-hit performance over four innings that earned him a save in Clemson’s 14-6 win at the College of Charleston this year.
Johnson Named ACC Player of the Week Clemson first baseman Michael Johnson was named ACC Player of the Week for March 4. The honor was the first for Johnson, who was named MVP of the Clemson Regional in 2001. The Georgetown, SC native batted 6-11 (.545) with seven RBIs in three Tiger victories over the weekend. Johnson began the weekend by going 2-4 with an RBI against the College of Charleston. He hit the game-winning home run in Clemson’s 9-7 victory over South Carolina on Saturday and then blasted two more home runs and a double on Sunday as the Tigers defeated the Gamecocks 11-10 in 10 innings. He is the second Tiger to be named Player of the Week by the ACC in 2002. Jeff Baker shared the honors Feb. 25.
Tigers Down Georgia Southern Clemson moved to 12-0 with two wins over Georgia Southern. The Tigers defeated the Eagles 9-2 on March 13 behind a grand slam from Khalil Greene and a three-run home run from Jeff Baker. Steve Reba pitched five innings and picked up his fourth win of the year.
Clemson used 23 hits from 12 different batters in a 20-8 victory on March 12. Khalil Greene, Jarrod Schmidt added to their home run totals while Jeff Hourigan hit his first career home run in a game that was delayed 20 minutes by rainy conditions all day in Clemson. The weather did not cool off the Clemson bats as Clemson used a seven-run second inning to take the lead and four-run innings in the fourth and seven innings to broaden its advantage. Ryan Childs got his second wins in as many starts for the Tigers.
Team Breaks Single Game Batting Average Record When Clemson defeated Georgia Southern 20-8 on March 12, the offense pounded out 23 hits in only 44 at-bats for a batting average of .522, a new school record. The previous standard was set 20 years ago when the Tigers won 22-10 at Auburn on May 8, 1982. On that day, Clemson batted 29-56 (.518).
Tigers Sweep Purdue Steven Jackson, Jeff Hahn and Paul Harrelson combined to limit Purdue to just two runs, and a fifth inning Purdue error proved to be costly in Clemson’s 4-2 victory over the Boilermakers on March 10. The victory improved Clemson’s record to 10-0, while Purdue, ranked 27th in the nation in the preseason Collegiate Baseball poll, fell to 2-8. The victory completed a three-game sweep of the series for the Tigers.
Jackson was the starter and winner for Clemson, improving his record to 2-0. He allowed two runs and six hits before leaving in the sixth. Hahn inherited a two-on and no-out situation in the sixth with Clemson leading just 3-2. He struck out pinch hitter Wilson James, then got Brad Kriner to ground into a double play to end the inning. Hahn, who had given up five earned runs in two innings entering the contest, then got the Boilermakers out in order in the eighth. Paul Harrelson pitched the last 1 and 2/3 and picked up his fifth save in five opportunities. He faced five Purdue batters and retired them all, three on strikeouts.
Clemson was led at the plate by Khalil Greene, who had three of Clemson’s six hits. Michael Johnson had a walk and a single to drive in a run. Russell Triplett had the only other RBI for Clemson. Purdue took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third. Kriner led off with a single to center and went to second on a single by shortstop Mitch Koester. Two outs later, Nick McIntrye singled to right to score Kriner with the game’s first run. Purdue, who finished second in the Big Ten last year, made the count 2-0 with a run in the fifth. Koester opened the inning with a walk. He moved to second on a stolen base and scored on a single by left fielder Adam Fazio.
Down, 2-0, the second-ranked Tigers took the lead with three runs in the bottom of the fifth. Michael Johnson, who had hit 12 home runs in his last 15 games over two years, started the uprising with a walk. He moved to second on a single to center by right fielder Jarrod Schmidt.
That brought David Slevin, Clemson’s leading hitter entering the game with a .500 average, to the plate. He attempted a sacrifice bunt, but third baseman John Gusich threw wide at first, allowing Johnson and Schmidt to score. Slevin advanced to third on the throw and scored one out later on a single to left by Russell Triplett.
Clemson added an insurance run in the sixth. With two out, Jeff Baker walked and then stole second. Johnson then delivered a bloop single over second base to score Baker, giving Clemson a 4-2 advantage. Purdue had two runners on in the eighth with one out, but Harrelson shut the door with two strikeouts.
Clemson 5-0 vs. Ranked Teams With his team’s sweep of 25th-ranked Auburn and two wins over South Carolina this season, Clemson Head Coach Jack Leggett now has 97 wins over top-25 teams since taking the helm in 1994. Clemson’s wins over South Carolina were Leggett’s 25th and 26th over a team ranked in the top-five in one of the three major polls. His last top-five victory prior to Saturday was a 7-4 win at #4 South Carolina on March 4, 2001. Clemson defeated second-ranked Florida State three straight games from May 6-8, 2000, the last instance of consecutive victories over a top-five team before the South Carolina weekend.
Schmidt Now Fourth in Clemson Career Winning Percentage When junior Jarrod Schmidt picked up his second win of the season against South Carolina, he improved his career record to 18-3 on the mound, good enough for an .857 winning percentage. The mark ties him for fourth with Bill Parmer (1965-67), who also had an 18-3 record.
Tigers Take Two From Gamecocks Clemson outfielder Kyle Frank raced home from first base to give second-ranked Clemson a 11-10 victory in 10 innings over fifth-ranked South Carolina. The Tigers (6-0) claimed both games against the fourth-ranked Gamecocks (9-2) during the two-game weekend set. Clemson posted a 9-7 victory in Columbia on Saturday evening.
Clemson began the 10th inning with a fly out to right field by Steve Pyzik and a ground out to short by Kyle Frank was hit by a Matt Campbell pitch on a 1-1 count. Khalil Greene then wrapped a 1-1 Campbell pitch to center field. South Carolina centerfielder Jon Coutlangus fumbled the sharply hit ball and was charged with an error.
A relay throw by shortstop Drew Meyer beat Frank to the plate, but the junior outfielder avoided the tag by catcher Landon Powell. Jarrod Schmidt, who started the contest in right field, picked up the win in relief for Clemson despite giving up the tying two runs in the ninth inning on a Powell two-run double with two strikes and two out. Schmidt, who hurled 51 pitches in the final two frames, raised his season record to 2-0.
South Carolina freshman Matt Campbell shouldered the loss for South Carolina and is now 0-1 on the season. Campbell, making just his third appearance of his career, struck out the side in the ninth inning with the bases loaded for the Tigers.
Greene, a senior third baseman and junior first baseman Michael Johnson paced the Clemson offensive attack. Greene ended the contest 4-4 with three doubles and one runs batted in. Johnson was 3-5 on the day with two two-run home runs, one double and four runs batted in. On Saturday, Clemson scored five runs in the fourth inning and fended off a Gamecock rally to defeat South Carolina 9-7 in Columbia, SC. The game was scheduled for a 4:00 PM start but did not get underway until 6:00 PM due to a rain delay.
Closer Paul Harrelson entered the game in the bottom of the sixth to halt a big scoring inning for South Carolina and pitched 3.1 innings of relief to earn his third save of the year.
The Tigers took an early lead with a run in the second inning, but did most of the heavy damage in the fourth. After Kyle Frank was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, Khalil Greene followed with a two-run home run to left field. Jeff Baker later in the frame to put the Tigers ahead 4-0. Tony Adler came in to pitch for the Gamecocks with two outs, but the Tigers scored two more runs when pinch hitter L.J. DeMaino singled to right field.
Clemson extended its lead to 7-0 in the fifth, but South Carolina finally got to Clemson starter Steve Reba in the bottom of the inning. The Gamecocks put runners on the corners with one out when Jon Coutlangus singled to center and drove in their first run. Reba got out of the inning when he induced Drew Meyer into a 4-6-3 double play.
South Carolina chased Reba in the sixth inning after a walk and single to left. Jeff Hahn entered the game in relief but gave up three straight hits and three runs before lefthander Tyler Lumsden came in with runners second and third with none out. Landon Powell hit a sacrifice fly to center to score one run and Steve Thomas scored on a grounder to the left side that cut the Clemson lead to 7-6. The Gamecocks then put runners on second and third with two outs when Harrelson came in the game and got the final out of the inning. Michael Johnson extended the Clemson lead to 9-6 in the top of the seventh with a two-run homer then Yaron Peters led off the bottom of the seventh with a solo shot to make the score 9-7. But Harrelson shut down South Carolina the rest of the way to secure the Tiger victory.
Reba (2-0) earned the win for Clemson. The senior ace hit three batters and walked four in five innings of work but no-hit the Gamecocks through the first four innings. Greene, Johnson, Schmidt and DeMaino each had two RBIs to lead the offense. David Marchbanks (3-1) picked up the loss for South Carolina.
Baker Named ACC Co-Player of the Week Jeff Baker was named ACC Co-Player of the Week for Feb. 25. The junior helped the Tigers to a three-game sweep of Auburn by batting 5-10 with eight RBIs, including a single, two doubles, a triple and a home run.
The Woodbridge, VA, native hit 3-5 with seven RBIs with runners in scoring position, including a three-RBI double in the eighth inning to lead Clemson to a 6-5 comeback victory over Auburn on Sunday. With two home runs on Friday, Baker moved into sixth place on the school’s all-time career list with 36 career homers. Baker shared the honors with N.C. State’s Tim Coffield, who batted 8-13 with three home runs and 17 RBIs in three games against Coppin State.
Tiger Batters Step Up in the Clutch Clemson’s offensive success in its three-game series with Auburn came largely due to its hitting in the clutch. Tiger batters went 10-26 (.385) with 18 RBIs with runners in scoring position and 5-13 (.385) with 8 RBIs with runners in scoring position and two outs. Khalil Greene batted 3-4 with 4 RBIs and Jeff Baker hit 3-5 with 7 RBIs with runners in scoring position to lead Clemson. Baker’s biggest hit of the series, a bases-clearing, three-RBI double in the eighth inning on Sunday, came after he started the count 0-2.
Clemson Opens 2002 Season With Three-Game Sweep of Auburn For the sixth time under Head Coach Jack Leggett, Clemson opened its home schedule with a three-game sweep. The Tigers defeated Auburn 7-4 on Feb. 22, 8-5 on Feb. 23 and 6-5 in the series finale.
Steve Reba earned the win while Paul Harrelson picked up his first career save in Friday’s game. The fireworks began early for Clemson with three first-inning runs. Jeff Baker came to the plate and then crushed the ball to deep center, nearly clearing the 40-foot wall, to give the Tigers an early 3-0 advantage.
Auburn responded with two runs in a two-out, third inning rally, but Baker extended the Clemson lead to 4-2 when his shot to center just cleared the fence and the glove of the leaping centerfielder. On Saturday, Clemson plated four runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to break a 1-1 tie en route to a 8-5 victory. Starting pitcher Matt Henrie (1-0) hurled six innings of one-run, five-hit ball to earn his first victory on the year. Freshman Tyler Lumsden, making his first appearance on the mound for Clemson, pitched a scoreless ninth inning to record his first career save.
Clemson rallied for four runs in the eighth inning and fended off an Auburn comeback in the ninth inning for a 6-5 victory Sunday afternoon at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Jarrod Schmidt picked up the win for third-ranked Clemson (3-0).
Clemson led for most of the game but entered the bottom of the eighth trailing 4-2. Steve Pyzik walked and L.J. DeMaino was hit by a pitch to load the bases with none out. After a Khalil Greene drew a walk to plate one run. All-American Jeff Baker then stepped to the plate and drilled a line drive to right field that cleared the bases and gave Clemson a 6-4 lead heading into the ninth.
After loading the bases with no outs in the top of the ninth, Auburn scored a run when Bobby Huddleston hit an infield single. John Tyler grounded back to Clemson closer Paul Harrelson, who threw to home plate for a force out. Harrelson then induced a 4-6-3 double play to end the game and earn his second save of the year.
Clemson Ranked Second in Preseason Expectations are always high for the baseball players and coaches at Clemson, but never have the expectations from the media been as high. Clemson was tabbed as the second best team in the preseason by Baseball America, the highest preseason prediction ever for the Clemson baseball program. Other preseason polls picked the Tigers among the nation’s elite. Baseball Weekly ranked Clemson fifth while Collegiate Baseball placed the Tigers sixth.
Clemson Picked to Win ACC The Atlantic Coast Conference’s nine head coaches selected Clemson as the top pick to win the conference championship in 2002 with five first place votes and 77 points.
The Tigers return seven position players and three starting pitchers from their 2001 squad which finished second in the ACC regular season standings and compiled an overall record of 41-22.
In the voting, Florida State finished a close second with 74 points and four first place votes after finishing the 2001 season as the regular season champion. ACC Tournament Champion Wake Forest finished in third place tallying 57 points. The Demon Deacons finished last season with a 44-18 overall record.
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets fill the fourth place slot with 56 points, while North Carolina placed fifth in the balloting with 45 points. The Tar Heels were followed by N.C. State who finished with 33 points and then Duke with 29 points. Virginia was selected to finish eighth with 24 points and Maryland ninth with nine points.
2002 ACC Coaches Preseason Predicted Order of Finish School Points 2001 Record/Finish 1. CLEMSON (5) 77 41-22, 17-7 ACC 2. Florida State (4) 74 47-19, 20-4 ACC 3. Wake Forest 57 44-18, 16-8 ACC 4. Georgia Tech 56 41-20, 13-11 ACC 5. North Carolina 45 31-26, 9-15 ACC 6. N.C. State 33 32-29, 9-15 ACC 7. Duke 29 23-33, 10-13 ACC 8. Virginia 24 25-31, 9-15 ACC 9. Maryland 9 17-37, 4-19 ACC
Four Tigers Named Preseason All-Americans Jeff Baker, Jarrod Schmidt have been named to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association 2002 preseason All-America teams.
Johnson and Baker were selected to the first team, Reba was a second-team selection while Schmidt garnered third-team honors. Baker and Schmidt were also named to Baseball America’s 2002 Preseason All-America teams. Baker was a first-team selection, while Schmidt garnered second-team honors.
Scouting directors of Scouting directors of major league clubs voted on the Baseball America preseason teams and made their selections based on performance, talent and major league potential.
Tigers Eyeing Return to OmahaJack Leggett’s program will be looking to repeat some of its own recent history in 2002 with a return to the College World Series. After losing in the Super Regional to Texas A&M in 1999, the 2000 team came back strong and advanced to Omaha. Now, the 2002 Tigers hope to advance past last year’s Super Regional loss to eventual national champion Miami and make Clemson’s 10th appearance in the College World Series.
Omaha is literally on the minds of the players everyday. All of their hats have the word “Omaha” stitched inside the paw on the back of their caps. As a part of their warmups for practice, the players jog to the outfield and touch the banner signifying Clemson’s last CWS appearance in 2000. On their way in and out of the clubhouse from the dugout, players touch a home plate that hangs on the wall. The plate is a memento from one of the Tigers’ CWS appearances in the 1990s that Head Coach Jack Leggett had dug up from Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha. The 2002 team is hoping to add its own memorabilia to the Clemson baseball tradition.
Captains Named for 2002 Season Outfielder Khalil Greene, first baseman Steve Reba have been named team captains for the 2002 season head baseball coach Jack Leggett announced. “After looking at the voting, the team decided we have a lot of capable leaders, but this group stands out,” Leggett said. “I think they will be outstanding leaders that will help guide this team to where it plans to be at the end of the year. All four are good examples of what this program is about in all different ways.”
Head Coach Jack LeggettJack Leggett enters his ninth season at Clemson with a record of 380-155 (.710). Clemson has made the NCAA Tournament and won at least 40 games in all of his season at the helm. Since his arrival at Tiger Town in 1994, Clemson has been the fifth winningest program in the country.
Leggett came to Clemson from Western Carolina and was honored by his former school in October. He was inducted into the Western Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame for his outstanding leadership and his many accomplishments. He finished his nine-year Catamount career with a 302-226 (.572) record. Leggett led Western to an unprecedented five consecutive Southern Conference Championships and five straight NCAA tournament bids from 1985-89. Perhaps his most impressive statistic is the 100 percent graduation rate for all who played for him four seasons.
Radio and Televison Schedule Announced Fifty of Clemson’s 56 regular season baseball games and all postseason games will be broadcast live on the radio in joint partnership between Clemson Tiger Sports Properties and WCCP-FM (104.9) in Clemson. In addition, the Tigers will have six games televised by either Fox Sports Net South or Comcast/Charter Cable. Clemson Tiger Sport Properties will broadcast 36 regular-season Clemson baseball games this season, including all 24 conference games. The broadcast schedule also features 12 non-conference games, including all four games with South Carolina, two games with Georgia, one game each with Coastal Carolina, Winthrop, Wofford and a three-game series with Maine, the alma mater of Clemson head coach Jack Leggett.
The network will also broadcast all postseason contests, including all games the Tigers play at the ACC Tournament and in the NCAA Tournament. Additionally, WCCP in Clemson will broadcast another 14 games giving the Tigers a radio presence in 50 of its 56 regular season games. Ed Jensen will handle the play-by-play duties for games on WCCP.
The Tigers will play three games on Fox Sports Net South, two as part of the ACC baseball package – vs. Wake Forest and at Virginia – and another vs. Georgia Tech. Clemson will also play three games – two vs. South Carolina and another vs. Wofford – on Comcast/Charter Cable.
Recruiting Class Ranked Seventh by Collegiate Baseball The Clemson baseball recruiting class that enrolled in school in August was ranked seventh in the nation by Collegiate Baseball, the magazine announced last fall. Clemson had the highest-ranked class in the ACC. Only two other schools were ranked in the top 30. Florida State was ranked ninth and Georgia Tech was ranked 14th.
“I’m extremely excited about the potential of this class,” said ninth-year head coach Jack Leggett. “Our staff has done a good job at getting these guys to come to Clemson, now it is up to them to go out there and perform. So far, I’m encouraged by what I see from this group.”
The class consists of 11 newcomers, nine freshmen and two junior college transfers, and features five players who were drafted in June’s MLB amateur draft. Tyler Lumsden was a fifth-round draft pick by the Florida Marlins. He is joined by other draftees David Slevin (11th, Rockies), Garrick Evans (23rd, Blue Jays), Bart Hunton (46th, Reds) and Collin Mahoney (48th, Angels).
“Every year that (associate head coach) Tim Corbin has been at Clemson, his hard work has paid off,” Leggett said. “Together with (assistant head coach) Kevin O’Sullivan, they have been able to identify talent that has found success here. The three of us work well together in the recruiting process.”
Clemson One of Six Teams Never to Miss Super Regional Round Clemson’s 8-2 victory over Seton Hall last June marked the third consecutive year that Clemson has advanced to at least the Super Regional of the NCAA Tournament, which expanded from a 48- to 64-team field prior to the 1999 season. The expansion created the Super Regional Round, which pits the winners of 16 sub-regionals with the victors there advancing to the College World Series.
The Tigers won the Fayetteville, AR Regional in 1999 to advance to the Super Regional at Texas A&M, while last year the Tigers won the Clemson Regional and advanced to host Mississippi State in the Super Regional.
Clemson is one of just six schools to appear in all three Super Regional rounds. The Tigers are joined by Florida State, LSU, Miami, Southern California and Stanford to make a Super Regional every year.
Clemson in the NCAA Tournament Clemson made its 27th appearance in the NCAA Baseball Tournament in 2001, the seventh-best total in the nation. It marks the 15th consecutive selection for the tournament, which is the third longest active streak. The Tigers are 73-57 all-time in the NCAA tournament with nine appearances in the College World Series. Clemson finished as the regular season runner-up in the Atlantic Coast Conference last season behind Florida State. Clemson was 17-7 in ACC action and 41-22 overall, including a 27-8 mark at home.
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