No. 20 Clemson Hosts Winthrop

Clemson faces former Tiger assistant coach & current Eagle head coach Tom Riginos when it hosts Winthrop on Wednesday.

GAME SETUP• Who – Winthrop (7-5) vs. Clemson (8-2)• Rankings – WIN – NR; CU – No. 20 CB• When – Wednesday (4 p.m.)• Where – Clemson, S.C. (Doug Kingsmore Stadium)• Watch – TigerCast• Listen – TigerCast, WCCP (105.5FM)• Live Stats – ClemsonTigers.com• Social Media – Twitter/Instagram (@ClemsonBaseball)• Tickets – ClemsonTigers.com, 1-800-CLEMSON• Promotion No. 1 – Family Four Pack – Purchase four tickets and a $10 concession voucher for only $30.• Promotion No. 2 – BOGO Wednesday – Purchase one regular-price ticket and get one of equal value for free.• Promotion No. 3 – $1 Hot Dog Night – Buy a hot dog for only $1.

SERIES HISTORY• Overall Record – Clemson leads 19-6 (1981-15)• Record at Clemson – Clemson leads 15-5 (1981-15)

STARTING PITCHERS• LHP Thad Harris (WIN) vs. LHP Jake Higginbotham (CU)

CLEMSON OVERVIEW• Clemson, who has won eight of its last nine games, defeated No. 18 South Carolina twice in three games last weekend.• The Tigers are averaging 7.5 runs per game and hitting .291 with a .401 on-base percentage and 10 stolen bases.• The pitching staff has a 1.92 ERA, .209 opponents’ batting average and 3.06 strikeout-to-walk ratio and Clemson is fielding .973.

WINTHROP OVERVIEW• Winthrop is led by sixth-year head coach Tom Riginos, who was an assistant coach at Clemson (2003-10).• The Eagles won two of three games over Rhode Island last weekend. They are hitting .302 and have a 6.04 ERA and .966 fielding percentage.• Anthony Paulsen is hitting a team-high .423 with two homers, 12 RBIs, 20 runs and two steals in 12 games.

QUICK HITS• Clemson is ranked as high as No. 20 (Collegiate Baseball) in the polls. It is Clemson’s first top-25 ranking since the 2015 preseason poll.• The 8-2 start is Clemson’s best after the first 10 games of a season since 2010 (9-1).• Clemson’s pinch-hitters are 7-for-16 (.438), while its opponent pinch-hitters are 1-for-16 (.063).

PINDER PROVIDING SPARK• Sophomore Chase Pinder sat out the entire fall after suffering an injury late in 2015 that cut his season short.• He has rebounded from that injury in 2015, when he was a second-baseman, to become Clemson’s starter in center and leadoff batter.• He is hitting .371 with four homers, one triple, 12 RBIs, 13 runs, a .488 on-base percentage and two steals in 10 games.• He leads the team in runs, homers, on-base percentage and multiple-hit games (5).• He received the Bob Bradley Award as Clemson’s MVP of the South Carolina series, as he was 4-for-9 with a homer, triple and two RBIs.• In his career, he is hitting .277 with eight doubles, two triples, seven homers, 38 RBIs, 31 runs and four steals in 56 games (56 starts).