No. 7 Clemson Baseball Hosts N.C. State This Weekend

April 6, 2000

CLEMSON, S.C. – Seventh-ranked Clemson (26-6, 4-2) plays host to N.C. State (19-14, 5-7) this weekend in the Tigers’ third ACC series of the season. Game times are 7:15 PM Friday, 7:00 PM Saturday, and 2:00 PM Sunday. All three games will be broadcast on the Clemson Sports Network.

Friday’s game will be Tiger Head Coach Jack Leggett’s 1,100th as a head coach. He has a 691-408 (.629) career record in his 21st season, including seventh season at Clemson.

Clemson leads the all-time series 80-57-1 dating back to 1921. N.C. State won two of three games in Raleigh last season and Clemson downed the Wolfpack 7-6 in the first round of the ’99 ACC Tournament thanks to a towering home run off the bat of Justin Singleton in the ninth inning. Singleton’s homer tied the score at 6-6 and Clemson went on to score another run in the ninth inning. Clemson won both games in a rain-shortened series at Clemson in 1998.

N.C. State, who is 2-3 on opponents’ home fields, is coming off back-to-back wins against Charleston Southern at home during the week. Last week, the Wolfpack dropped three games to Georgia Tech in Raleigh. N.C. State is under the leadership of Head Coach Elliott Avent, has lost five ACC games in a row after starting out 5-2 in conference play.

The Wolfpack is hitting .288 as a team with 20 homers and 38 stolen bases along with a .965 fielding percentage. They are averaging 5.8 runs per game and averaging nearly 10 hits per contest. Freshman lefthander and outfielder Mike Prochaska leads the team with a .365 batting average. Prochaska, who is scheduled to start game three on the mound, is 2-2 with a 4.45 ERA in 30.1 innings. Sophomore outfielder Brian Wright and senior catcher Dan Mooney have combined to hit 14 of the team’s 20 homers. Wright is hitting .321 with seven long balls and 29 RBIs. Mooney is hitting .300 with seven homers and 25 RBIs. Mooney is also outstanding defensively, allowing just two passed balls and 16 steals in 30 attempts.

Pitching-wise, N.C. State sports a 4.22 ERA and .285 opponent batting average. Friday’s starter, sophomore righthander Ryan Combs, has a 1-3 record with a 4.02 ERA in 47.0 innings. Sophomore lefthander Dan D’Amato (5-3, 3.39 ERA) is scheduled to start Saturday’s game. Senior righthander Josh Schmitt has a team-best three saves. Schmitt has allowed three hits, no runs, and no walks while striking out 10 in 7.0 innings pitched this year. The Wolfpack staff as a whole has an excellent control with its team walks per nine innings pitched mark of 2.69.

Clemson is scheduled to start its usual rotation of Scott Berney (7-1, 1.05 ERA) on Friday, Ryan Mottl (5-2, 2.62 ERA) on Saturday, and Jarrod Schmidt (4-0, 1.79 ERA) on Sunday. Mottl has not fared well against the Wolfpack. In three career starts, Mottl has a 0-1 record and 12.33 ERA. Clemson has a 2.72 team ERA and .229 opponent batting average. Senior righthander Matt Additon (3-1, 1.76 ERA) will tie the Clemson career record for appearances (held by Scott Winchester (1993-95)) when he takes the mound again. The Turner, ME native has made 86 career appearances, 81 of which have been in a relief role. Additon is 3-1 with a 1.76 ERA and .115 opponent batting average in 2000.

Among some of the Tiger hitting leaders of late include sophomore third baseman Khalil Greene and freshman shortstop Jeff Baker. Greene is hitting a team-best .429 in ACC games and is 12-for-23 (.522) in his last six games, including two three-hit games, and a four-hit game. Baker leads the team with a .359 batting average and has a team-best 16 multi-hit games in the Tigers’ 32 games this year.

Clemson, who is fourth in the ACC with a 4-2 record, enters the series two games behind ACC frontrunner Florida State in the standings, while N.C. State (5-7) is four games back. The Tigers are in fourth place behind the Seminoles (9-3), Georgia Tech (7-2), and Wake Forest (8-4). This weekend, Miami (FL) plays at Florida State, Georgia Tech is at Maryland, Virginia is at Duke, and North Carolina plays at Wake Forest.

Advance Tickets to Go on Sale This Weekend for Wednesday’s South Carolina Game Advance tickets for the South Carolina at Clemson baseball game on April 12, 2000 at 7:15 PM will go on sale this weekend when the Tigers play host to N.C. State at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. The general admission tickets will be available during the first three innings of each game against the Wolfpack. Ticket prices are $5 for adults and $2 for students high school age or under. Remaining tickets will be sold over the counter on Monday, April 10 at the Athletic Ticket Office. The Ticket Office is open weekdays from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM and is located at Gate 9 of Memorial Stadium.

Clemson Squeaks by Furman 3-2 Wednesday Michael Johnson’s two-run bloop double in the third inning turned out to be the key play in Clemson’s 3-2 win over Furman on Apr. 5 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Johnson, who extended his hitting streak to 11 games, hit a high pop up that went unseen by Paladin defenders thanks to a tough early evening sky. Khalil Greene had three hits and an RBI as well. Freshman Paul Harrelson picked up his third win, as he went 5.2 innings in a starting role. He allowed five hits and no earned runs. Matt Additon pitched a scoreless ninth to earn his first save of 2000.

Tigers Outlast Catamounts 11-7 Tuesday Night Thanks to a team effort at the plate, Clemson downed Western Carolina 11-7 on Apr. 4 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Jeff Baker was one of nine Tigers, including eight of nine starters, to tally at least one hit. Baker went 4-for-5 with two doubles and two RBIs. Kevin Lynn pitched 3.1 innings in relief to pick up the win. Nick Glaser got the last three outs to close out the game. Every Catamount starter had at least one hit. Western Carolina left 11 runners on base, including the bases loaded in the ninth inning.

Injury Update Sophomore righthander Steve Reba has the team’s best ERA at 0.55, but has seen action in only one game since March 8 due to soreness in his upper-right forearm. Reba’s status is day-to-day.

Junior outfielder Justin Singleton has not seen action since March 18 due to a broken right “pinky” finger. Singleton, who is hitting .167 in 36 at bats this season, had started to get back on track hitting-wise until his injury, which occurred while sliding into second base. Singleton was five for his last eight at the plate before the injury.

Leggett Approaching 700 Career Wins Jack Leggett started the season with the most career wins by any collegiate head coach age 45 or younger. He turned 46 in March and can no longer make that claim. But he is on his way to 700 career wins, as he has 691 in his 21st season as a head coach, including his seventh at Clemson. His 691-408 record (.629) is quite a record for a coach his age. Leggett has a 314-121 (.722) record at Clemson. Leggett will be coaching in his 1,100th game as a collegiate head coach against N.C. State on April 7.

Freshmen Making Presence Felt in Starting Rotation Of the five starting pitchers taking the mound this week, three are freshmen, which are Jarrod Schmidt, all righthanders. Childs started Tuesday’s game against Western Carolina and Harrelson started the Furman game Wednesday night, while Schmidt will pitch Sunday against N.C. State. The three have a combined record of 8-1 with a 2.69 ERA in 87.0 innings pitched. Seniors Scott Berney (7-1, 1.05 ERA) and Ryan Mottl (5-2, 2.62 ERA) round out the rotation.