Hurricanes Come To Clemson for Three Games Beginning Tonight

May 19, 2005

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Clemson vs. Miami (FL) Clemson (34-19, 18-9 ACC), ranked as high as #24, winners of six games in a row, and tied for third place in the ACC, will wrap up its regular season with a three-game series against #4 Miami (FL) (38-12-1, 19-7-1 ACC) at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Game times are 7:15 PM (Thursday), 7:15 PM (Friday), and 1:00 PM (Saturday). All three games will be broadcast live on the radio by Clemson Tiger Sports Network and can be heard live via the internet at ClemsonTigers.com. Both Thursday and Friday’s games will be televised live by Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast, while Saturday’s game will be televised live by the Regional Sports Network. Live stats will also be available on Clemson’s website for all three games.

Limited Tickets Available for Miami Series A limited number of tickets remain for the Clemson-Miami baseball series beginning Thursday at 7:15 PM at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Tickets for each game are $13 for reserved seating, $8 for adult general admission, and $6 for high-school age and younger general admission. Call 1-800-CLEMSON to order. Items prohibited in Doug Kingsmore Stadium include alcohol, artificial noisemakers, folding chairs, food & drink containers, large bags, pets, and umbrellas.

The Series Clemson and Miami (FL) have met 35 times on the diamond, with the Hurricanes holding a 21-13-1 lead in the series dating back to the 1977 season. The series will be the first ever meetings between the two as ACC members. The two teams last played in the 2001 Coral Gables (FL) Super Regional, where the Hurricanes won both games (10-8, 14-6) to advance to the College World Series. That team went on to win the 2001 national title as well.

Prior to the 2001 meetings, the two played a game on January 29, 2000 at Lake Buena Vista, FL in the ACC Disney Blast, a 4-0 Tiger victory. In 1999, Miami and Clemson played a three-game series at Fort Mill, SC, with the Hurricanes winning two of three games. Miami also beat the Tigers twice in the 1996 College World Series. In 1995, Miami won two of three games at Coral Gables. The last meetings between the two teams at Doug Kingsmore Stadium took place in 1994. Clemson won two of three games, including 9-8 in 12 innings in the series finale.

The series is tied 3-3 all-time in games played at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Only six meetings have taken place at Clemson, while 18 have been played at Miami. Tiger Head Coach Doug Kingsmore Stadium. All 14 meetings between the two under Leggett have been against a top-10 Hurricane club. Clemson is also 3-5 against a top-five Miami team under Leggett. He was 0-1 against Miami as Western Carolina’s head coach, meaning he is 5-10 against the Hurricanes in his career.

The Starting Pitchers Miami (FL) will start junior righthander Cesar Carrillo (12-0, 1.90 ERA) on the mound in game one Thursday. The Chicago, IL native is a leading candidate for national player-of-the-year, as he leads the ACC in almost every pitching category. In 14 starts and one relief appearance, he has allowed only 74 hits and 17 walks with 104 strikeouts. He is also holding opponents to a .203 batting average and has allowed just two stolen bases in 99.1 innings pitched this year. Carrillo has a perfect 24-0 career record in his two active seasons in the Hurricane program, and Miami is 30-0 in games he has started.

Clemson will counter with sophomore righthander Stephen Faris (5-3, 2.69 ERA) on Thursday. The Richmond, VA native has made six starts and 10 relief appearances for a total of 70.1 innings pitched. Faris, who ranks eighth in the ACC in ERA, has allowed 54 hits and 22 walks with 56 strikeouts.

The Hurricanes will send out senior righthander Dan Touchet (3-3, 5.59 ERA) on Friday. The West Palm Beach, FL native has made 10 starts and two relief appearances for a total of 58.0 innings pitched. He has allowed 70 hits and 17 walks with 43 strikeouts.

The Tigers will counter with junior righty Josh Cribb (5-4, 3.91 ERA) on Friday. The Lake View, SC native has made 11 starts and four relief appearances for a total of 78.1 innings pitched. He has yielded 92 hits and 20 walks with 69 strikeouts. Both team’s starters for game three on Saturday have not been determined.

The Hurricanes Miami (FL), led by 12th-year Head Coach Jim Morris and ranked as high as #4, enters the series with 38-12-1 overall record and 19-7-1 ACC mark after winning two of three games at Virginia last weekend. The Hurricanes, who are 11-4-1 on the road, are in second place in the ACC standings, trailing only Georgia Tech (21-6).

The team is second in the ACC with a .331 batting average and .415 on-base percentage. Miami has drawn 234 walks and stolen 89 bases, including 21 by Ryan Braun, 20 by Paco Figueroa, and 18 by Danny Figueroa. Jon Jay leads the team with a .448 batting average, while Braun is hitting .422 with 16 homers and 69 RBIs.

The pitching staff has a 4.11 ERA and .247 opponents’ batting average. Miami has struck out 418 against 171 walks in 464.2 innings pitched. In 13 relief appearances and four starts, Chris Perez has a team-high six saves and a 2.39 ERA along with a .190 opponents’ batting average. Perez has also allowed just one extra-base hit in 37.2 innings pitched.

The Hurricanes sport a .962 fielding percentage and have been especially good shutting down other teams’ running games. They have allowed just 23 stolen bases in 40 attempts. Both Braun and Cesar Carrillo were teammates of Tiger righthander Josh Cribb last summer in the Cape Cod League. The three played together for the Brewster Whitecaps.

The Tigers Clemson, ranked as high as #24, enters the series against #4 Miami (FL) with a 34-19 overall record and 18-9 mark in the ACC. Clemson is tied with Florida State for third place in the standings, however the Seminoles own the tiebreaker due to winning the series 2-1 over the Tigers in Tallahasee. Clemson brings in a six-game winning streak, including an 8-5 win over #20 College of Charleston on Tuesday night at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

The Tigers, who are 12-7 against top-25 ranked teams, are hitting .309 as a team. Freshmen Taylor Harbin (.356) and Brad Chalk (.355) lead the team in hitting, while Travis Storrer is riding a 17-game hitting streak and is batting .347 overall. Kris Harvey leads the ACC in home runs (18), while Andy D’Alessio has added 14 long balls and 53 RBIs.

Adrian Casanova, who grew up 10 minutes from the Hurricanes’ Mark Light Field, is 10-for-17 (.588) in his last six ACC games. Along with Casanova (Miami), Stephen Clyne (Parkland), D’Alessio (Naples), Ben Hall (Ormond Beach), and David Kopp (Margate) are all natives of the Sunshine state.

The pitching staff has a 4.15 ERA and .273 opponents’ batting average. Josh Cribb earned ACC Pitcher-of-the-Week honors thanks to two victories and only one run allowed in 12.0 innings pitched last week. The team is fielding at a .970 clip as well.

Tigers 19-6 in Second Half of the Season Clemson is 19-6 in the second half of the season after going 15-13 in its first 28 games of 2005. The reason for the second-half surge has been the hot Tiger bats. In the first 28 games, Clemson hit .290 with 23 home runs along with 6.0 runs per game. But in the last 25 games, Clemson is hitting .330 with 41 homers along with averaging 8.5 runs per game. The Tigers also have the best winning percentage in the ACC during the second half of the season (games 29 to present).

Harbin Approaching Freshman Doubles Mark Taylor Harbin has a team-best 24 doubles in his freshman season. That mark is tied for fifth-best in a season in Clemson history. He is also only two shy of the Tiger freshman record held by Billy McMillon, who hit 26 in 1991. Khalil Greene, the current starting shortstop for the San Diego Padres, holds the single-season record with 33 doubles in his national-player-of-the-year season of 2002.

Tigers Set School Record in the Classroom The Clemson baseball program set a team record for highest GPA in a single semester during this past spring. The team combined for a 3.00 GPA in the spring and a 2.97 GPA for the 2004-05 school year. A total of 20 players made the honor roll (3.0 GPA or higher) in the spring, including seven of eight freshmen. The freshmen combined for a 3.39 GPA in the spring and a 3.22 GPA for the school year. In the fall, a record 21 players made the honor roll as well, when the team had a then-record 2.94 semester GPA.

Gene Pierce, who graduated on May 13, 2005 with a degree in civil engineering, had a perfect 4.0 GPA for the spring semester and finished with a 3.30 GPA for his career. Jeff Hahn and Daniel Pritchard also received their marketing degrees on May 13. A total of 22 of the 34 team members have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better and have combined for a school-record 2.99 GPA.

Tigers Down #20 College of Charleston 8-5 Clemson scored in six of eight innings and got the most out of its nine hits to down #20 College of Charleston 8-5 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on May 17. The #24 Tigers took with three runs in the fifth inning and never looked back. Taylor Harbin, Andy D’Alessio all had two RBIs a piece, while David Kopp earned the win in 6.0 innings of work, while Jeff Hahn pitched 2.2 scoreless innings with three strikeouts to pick up the save. Clemson improved to 14-0 all-time against the Cougars.