Clemson vs. Georgia Preview

April 4, 2007

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Clemson vs. Georgia Clemson (19-9), ranked as high as #16 in the country, will play host to Georgia (10-18) on Wednesday night at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 7:15 PM. The two teams played last night in Athens, as Clemson was victorious by a score of 4-2. The game will be broadcast live on the radio by Clemson Tiger Sports Network. Live stats will be available at ClemsonTigers.com as well.

The Series Clemson and Georgia have met 211 times on the diamond, with the Bulldogs holding a 114-95-2 lead in the series that dates back to 1900. Georgia is Clemson’s second-most played rival in school history, trailing only South Carolina (277).

Last night, Clemson upended the Bulldogs 4-2 behind outstanding relief pitching from Alan Farina and Stephen Clyne. Last year, the two teams split the two games, as each team won on its home field.

The Tigers lead 52-44-2 in games played at Clemson and 32-9 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Clemson has also won 11 of the last 12 meetings with the Bulldogs at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

The Starting Pitchers Georgia will start sophomore lefthander Jason Leaver (0-1, 3.66 ERA) on the mound Wednesday. The Springfield, OH native has made five starts and two relief appearances for a total of 19.2 innings pitched. He has yielded 17 hits (.236 opponents’ batting average) and nine walks with six strikeouts.

The Tigers will counter with freshman lefty Matt Zoltak (1-2, 3.60 ERA) on Wednesday. The Philadelphia, PA native will be making his first career start, as he has previously made eight relief appearances for a total of 10.0 innings pitched. He has allowed 10 hits (.244 opponents’ batting average) and three walks with nine strikeouts.

The Bulldogs Georgia, led by sixth-year Head Coach David Perno, enters Wednesday’s game against Clemson with a 10-18 overall record and 3-6 SEC mark after losing all three games to Florida at Foley Field this past weekend and falling to Clemson 4-2 on Tuesday, also at Foley Field. The Bulldogs, who are 1-3 on the road, have lost seven of their last eight games despite totaling double-digit hits in five of those eight contests. Georgia was the SEC’s lone representative in the 2006 College World Series.

The team is hitting .268 with a .341 on-base percentage. Georgia has also totaled 17 homers and 37 stolen bases in 44 attempts. Rich Poythress leads the team with a .381 batting average in 42 at-bats, while Gordon Beckham, son of a former South Carolina quarterback (also named Gordon) from 1979-82, is hitting .306 with seven homers and 29 RBIs, both team-highs.

The pitching staff has a solid 3.53 ERA and .245 opponents’ batting average. The Bulldog pitchers have combined to strike out 196 against 111 walks. Junior righthander Joshua Fields has both of Georgia’s saves along with a 5.23 ERA and 28 strikeouts in 20.2 innings pitched. The team sports a .962 fielding percentage as well.

The Tigers Clemson enters Wednesday’s game against Georgia with a 19-9 overall record and 5-4 mark in the ACC after falling twice in three games against Miami (FL) at Doug Kingsmore Stadium over the weekend and defeating Georgia 4-2 in Athens on Tuesday. The Tigers, who are 17-5 at home this season, also bring a #16 national ranking into the game.

The team is hitting .288 with a .367 on-base percentage. Brad Chalk is hitting a team-best .417 with a .525 on-base percentage. Doug Hogan is hitting .370 with four homers and 14 RBIs. Taylor Harbin leads the squad with 25 RBIs and 11 doubles. First-baseman Andy D’Alessio, who suffered a pulled groin in the second inning on Sunday, is listed as day-to-day for Wednesday’s game. He did not play at Georgia on Tuesday.

The pitching staff has a 3.15 ERA and .237 opponents’ batting average. It has combined to strike out 239 against 81 walks. Stephen Clyne has an 0.39 ERA and .160 opponents’ batting average in 13 relief appearances. The team is fielding at a .968 clip as well.

Clemson has two players from the state of Georgia on its 2007 roster. Sophomore lefthander William Bond (Lawrenceville) and freshman infielder Ben Paulsen (Acworth) both hail from the state of Georgia.

Tigers Upend Georgia 4-2 Alan Farina pitched 3.1 scoreless innings in relief to lead #16 Clemson to a 4-2 win at Georgia on April 3. With Clemson up a run in the fifth inning, Farina shut down Georgia, as he allowed just one hit and no walks with three strikeouts to pick up his first win as a Tiger. Stephen Clyne pitched a scoreless ninth inning to record his first save since 2005. Brad Chalk and Addison Johnson also had two hits apiece. The Tigers did not commit an error, and Clemson only allowed six Bulldog hits and no walks in the contest.