Clemson to Travel to Greenville to Take on Furman Thursday

May 8, 2003

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Clemson (33-15), ranked as high as #14, will travel to Greenville to play at Furman (24-21) Thursday at Furman Baseball Stadium. The game will start at 7:00 PM, will be broadcast live on the radio by Clemson Tiger Sports Properties, and can be heard live via the internet at www.clemsontigers.com. Live stats will also be available on Clemson’s website. The game was scheduled to be played April 8, but inclement weather forced the rescheduling of the game.

Clemson and Furman have met 187 times on the diamond, with the Tigers holding a 130-53-4 advantage in the series dating back to 1896. Clemson’s first two games in school history were against the Paladins, both losses in 1896, which were the Tigers’ only games that season. Clemson has won 29 games in a row in the series dating back to a 9-7 loss in 1984. Last season, Clemson defeated the Paladins 18-7 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. In 2001, the Tigers won both games, including a 9-6 win at Furman. The two teams have played at least one game every year since 1983. Jack Leggett is 10-0 against Furman as the Tiger skipper and was 29-7 versus Furman as the Western Carolina head coach.

Furman will start junior righthander Calvin Hurst (0-1, 2.16 ERA) on the mound. It will be his first start of the season, as he has made 13 relief appearances. In 16.2 innings pitched, has allowed just nine hits and four runs. Clemson will counter with red-shirt freshman righty Josh Cribb (0-1, 3.55 ERA). It will also be the Marion, SC native’s first start. In 12.2 innings pitched, he has allowed four walks while striking out nine. He has made nine relief appearance in 2003.

Furman is coming off a 5-2 loss to UNC Asheville Wednesday after winning two of three games at Davidson over the weekend. Furman is hitting .275 as a team, led by Dominic Frankey’s .335 average. He also leads the team in homers (4) and RBIs (37). Sam McLain (.319) and Derek Norman (.316) are the other Paladins hitting over .300. The pitching staff sports a 4.10 ERA, including a 1.48 mark by closer David Mitchell. Mitchell has four saves and allowed just 15 hits in 24.1 innings pitched to go along with a 1.48 ERA. As a team, Furman is allowing less than three walks per nine innings pitched. Furman also has a .966 fielding percentage.

Clemson is coming off a home loss to Elon Wednesday. However, David Slevin extended his hitting streak to 10 games and is hitting .418 in his last 17 games. Zane Green leads the squad with a .350 batting average. Clemson is hitting .311 as a team and fielding at a .970 clip, just off the school record of .971 set last year.

Elon Cruises to 11-2 Win Wednesday Clemson gave up a season-high 16 hits in a 11-2 defeat to Elon May 7. Evan Tartaglia led the way with four hits and two runs, while George Brandner had two hits and four RBIs. Former Daniel High standout and Clemson native Brian Hensen did not allow an earned run in 7.0 innings pitched to earn the win. He also did not walk a batter, as he improved to 4-2. David Slevin extended his hitting streak to 10 games as well.

Frank to Graduate Friday Kyle Frank, a fifth-year senior, will receive is undergraduate degree Friday, May 9 at Littlejohn Coliseum. He will receive his degree in computer information systems.