Cribb, Harvey Pace #24 Clemson to 9-2 Win Over #4 Hurricanes Friday

May 20, 2005

Clemson, SC –

Josh Cribb pitched 7.0 solid innings and struck out nine batters, and Kris Harvey hit two home runs, as #24 Clemson extended its winning streak to eight games with a 9-2 victory over #4 Miami (FL) in front of 4,834 fans at Doug Kingsmore Stadium Friday. The Tigers downed the Hurricanes 15-5 on Thursday and lead the series 2-0. The Tigers improved to 36-19 (20-9 ACC), while the Hurricanes fell to 38-14-1 (19-9-1 ACC). With the win, Clemson improved to 14-7 against top-25 ranked teams in 2005. The 20 ACC wins also ties the Clemson record for most conference wins in a season. The Tigers also had 20 ACC wins in 1994 and 1995.

Cribb (6-4), the reigning ACC Pitcher-of-the-Week, pitched 7.0 innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and striking out nine against only one walk to earn the win. Dan Touchet (3-4) pitched 6.0 innings, yielding six runs (two earned) on seven hits to suffer the loss.

Kris Harvey was 3-for-4 with two homers and three RBIs to lead the Tigers’ 10-hit attack. Taylor Harbin was 2-for-4 with an RBI and a double as well. Ryan Braun had three hits and an RBI to lead Miami. Paco Figueroa and Roger Tomas also had two hits apiece for the Hurricanes.

The Hurricanes opened the scoring in the first. Paco Figueroa hit a looping single to left with one out and scored on Ryan Braun’s double to right-center.

The Tigers answered in the bottom of the first inning. Herman Demmink reached on an error and stole second. Brad Chalk grounded out to move Demmink to third, and he later scored on a wild pitch.

Travis Storrer extended his hitting streak to 19 games in the second when he doubled on an 0-2 pitch off the fence in left-center. With one out, Stan Widmann laced a double down the left-field line to score Storrer.

Chalk hit an infield single to begin the third, and after an error by Touchet on a failed pickoff attempt, Chalk moved to third. Tyler Colvin singled through the left side to score Chalk and stole second a pitch later. Harvey singled through the left side to put runners on the corners with one out. Storrer followed with a grounder that got past the first-baseman Danny Valencia into right field that allowed Colvin to score and Harvey to move to third. Andy D’Alessio then hit a sacrifice fly to center that scored Harvey.

With two outs in the fifth, Harvey hit an opposite-field solo home run down the line in right.

Paco Figueroa’s single in the sixth ended a string of 13 consecutive batters set down by Cribb. Braun followed with a single up the middle, as the two singles were the first Miami hits since the first inning. Valencia singled to left with two outs to score Figueroa.

Roger Tomas singled to begin the seventh and advanced to second with one out. Cribb struck out Eddy Rodriguez for the second out. Danny Figueroa followed with a single to right, but Storrer threw Tomas out at the plate, his eighth outfield assist of the season.

Demmink singled to shortstop to lead off the seventh and moved to second on Chalk’s sacrifice bunt. After a wild pitch advanced Demmink to third, he scored on Harbin’s single up the middle. With two outs, Harvey hit a two-run home run deep to left field to give the Tigers a 9-2 lead. It was Harvey’s second long ball of the game and 21st of the season.

Clemson and Miami conclude their three-game series Saturday at Doug Kingsmore Stadium in the regular-season finale for both teams. First pitch is scheduled for 1:06 PM.