Tiger Baseball Team to Face South Carolina Wednesday Night in Columbia

April 9, 2008

Clemson vs. South Carolina Clemson (18-13) will travel to Columbia to play at #14 South Carolina (21-10) on Wednesday at Sarge Frye Field. First pitch is scheduled for 7:00 PM. The game, which is the third of four regular-season matchups between the two rivals and Clemson’s eighth road contest in its last nine games, will be broadcast live on the radio by Clemson Tiger Sports Network. Live stats will also be available at www.clemsontigers.com.

The Series Clemson and South Carolina have met 281 times on the diamond, with Clemson holding a 163-116-2 lead in the series dating back to 1899. South Carolina is Clemson’s most-played rival in history.

Earlier this season on March 1,2, the Gamecocks won both games of a home-and-home, weekend series by a combined score of 15-2. South Carolina won 10-1 at Columbia behind a grand slam and five RBIs by shortstop Reese Havens. The Gamecocks then defeated the Tigers 5-1 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium the following day behind a 14-hit attack.

During the 2007 season, South Carolina won the first three meetings before Clemson won the final matchup by a score of 14-5 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. In the 2006 season, the Tigers won three of four meetings, while the two teams split the four-game season series in both the 2004 and 2005 seasons.

The Gamecocks hold a 73-65-2 lead over the Tigers in games played at Columbia. Jack Leggett is 28-25 against South Carolina as Clemson’s head coach, including a 14-12 mark in games played at South Carolina. Leggett was also 3-8 against the Gamecocks as Western Carolina’s head coach, meaning he is 31-33 all-time against South Carolina.

The Starting Pitchers South Carolina will start senior righthander Nick Godwin (2-2, 2.88 ERA) on the mound. The North Augusta, SC native has made six starts for a total of 34.1 innings pitched. He has allowed 24 hits (.197 opponents’ batting average) and nine walks with 34 strikeouts. Opponents have also not stolen a base off Godwin in only one attempt, and he has allowed just one home run.

Clemson will counter with freshman lefthander Craig Gullickson (3-1, 2.08 ERA) on Wednesday. The Palm Beach Gardens, FL native has made five starts and four relief appearances for a total of 26.0 innings pitched. He has allowed 23 hits (.242 opponents’ batting average) and eight walks with 26 strikeouts.

The Gamecocks South Carolina, led by 12th-year Head Coach Ray Tanner, enters Wednesday’s game against Clemson with a 21-10 overall record and 6-6 SEC mark after defeating Western Carolina 9-6 at home on Tuesday. The Gamecocks suffered a three-game sweep at Georgia over the weekend. South Carolina sports a 17-5 home record as well.

The Gamecocks, who are ranked #14 in the nation, are averaging 7.5 runs per game and hitting .306 with a .502 slugging percentage and .405 on-base percentage. The team is 19-0 when it scores five or more runs, while it is 2-10 when it scores less than five runs. The Gamecocks, who have stolen 17 bases in 29 attempts, are also 19-0 when they outhit the opponents, while they are 0-9 when the opponent totals more hits than them.

Reese Havens is hitting .376 with 10 homers, 38 RBIs, and a .497 on-base percentage, while Justin Smoak is hitting .345 with eight homers, 26 RBIs, and a .493 on-base percentage. James Darnell has added 10 home runs and 41 RBIs for the Gamecocks, who have hit 52 home runs in 31 games. Freshman Scott Wingo, son of former Tiger Billy Wingo (1974-77), is hitting just .237, but he has an outstanding .545 on-base percentage thanks to 16 walks and 11 hit-by-pitches in 38 at-bats.

The pitching staff has a 3.83 ERA and .249 opponents’ batting average along with 261 strikeouts against 115 walks in 282.0 innings pitched. Senior righthander Brandon Todd has three saves and 18 strikeouts in 11.2 innings pitched over nine relief appearances. South Carolina is fielding at a .978 clip as well.

The Tigers Clemson enters Wednesday’s game at South Carolina with an 18-13 overall record and 6-9 ACC mark after being swept at #2 Miami (FL) over the weekend. Clemson, who has lost five games in a row and has a 4-8 road record, has had 20 of its 31 games decided by two runs or less.

The Tigers are hitting .291 with a .376 on-base percentage on the season. The team has totaled 35 stolen bases, including a team-high 10 by Stan Widmann.

Ben Paulsen is hitting .364 with 10 doubles, 10 homers, 28 RBIs, and a .466 on-base percentage in 30 games. Doug Hogan has totaled 10 doubles, one triple, eight home runs, and 33 RBIs as well.

The pitching staff has a 4.58 ERA and .263 opponents’ batting average. Righthander Justin Sarratt has allowed just 19 hits and two walks in 23.1 innings pitched over 13 relief appearances, while Matt Vaughn has eight saves. Clemson is fielding at a .961 clip as well.

Worth Noting Tiger opponents have not allowed an unearned in each of the last seven games.

Hurricanes Sweep Tigers in Coral Gables Miami (FL), ranked #2 in the nation, extended its winning streak to 13 games by sweeping Clemson in three games at Coral Gables, FL from April 4-6. Miami outscored the Tigers 28-15 and outhit them .306 to .229. Hurricane pitchers combined for 41 strikeouts as well. Ben Paulsen led Clemson by going 6-for-12 (.500) with a double, two homers, and seven RBIs in the series, while Wilson Boyd went 5-for-10 (.500) with three walks.

In game-one on April 4, Yonder Alonso hit a walkoff two-run homer to give Miami a 6-4 win over Clemson at Mark Light Field. The Tigers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning, highlighted by Paulsen’s run-scoring double. The Hurricanes then scored four runs in the second inning, capped by Blake Tekotte’s three-run homer. The Tigers scored single runs in the fifth and sixth innings to tie the score, highlighted by Paulsen’s home run in the sixth. But Alonso propelled the Hurricanes to the win with a towering home run with one out in the ninth inning. Paulsen and Boyd had two hits apiece for the Tigers. Chris Hernandez and Kyle Bellamy combined for 16 strikeouts for Miami.

In game-two on April 5, Miami turned a 5-2 deficit into a 15-5 win over Clemson by scoring the game’s final 13 runs at Mark Light Field. The Tigers built the lead thanks in part to Doug Hogan two-run homer in the third inning. But Clemson left 11 runners on base in the first six innings, as the score was tied 5-5 in the middle of the sixth. Then, the Hurricanes scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning and eight runs in the eighth inning to break the game open. Yasmani Grandal went 4-for-5 with a home run, double, and four RBIs to lead the Hurricanes’ 13-hit attack. Boyd went 3-for-4, while Hogan totaled three RBIs for the Tigers, who left 13 runners on base, including eight in scoring position.

In game-three on April 6, Miami held on for a 7-6 victory over Clemson at Mark Light Field to hand the Tigers their first ACC sweep since 2006. Clemson took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on Paulsen’s two-run single. But a Tiger error helped the Hurricanes score two runs in the fourth inning and take the lead for good. Dave DiNatale’s wind-aided, three-run homer in the fifth inning gave Miami a 7-3 lead. Clemson cut the Hurricanes’ lead to one run in the seventh inning on Paulsen’s two-run homer, but Carlos Gutierrez pitched 2.0 perfect innings to record the save. Paulsen went 2-for-4 with a homer and four RBIs, as each team had seven hits in the game.