Tiger Baseball Team to Face Western Carolina on the Road Tuesday Night

April 14, 2009

Clemson vs. Western Carolina Clemson (23-12), ranked as high as #18 in the country, will travel to Cullowhee, NC to take on Western Carolina (20-12) on Tuesday night at Hennon Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 PM. The game will be broadcast live on the radio by WCCP (104.9 FM) out of Clemson and can be heard live on the internet at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on April 15.

The Series Clemson and Western Carolina have met 62 times on the diamond, with the Tigers holding a 50-12 lead in the series that dates back to 1974. On April 15, 2008, the Catamounts won at Clemson by a score of 6-2 before the Tigers won at Western Carolina by a score of 6-0 seven days later. The two teams have played at least one game every year since 1978.

The Tigers lead 13-9 in games played at Western Carolina. Jack Leggett has a 24-7 mark against Western Carolina as Clemson’s head coach, including a 6-5 record at Hennon Stadium. Leggett served as the head coach at Western Carolina from 1983-91 and won 302 games in nine years there. He was also 3-15 against the Tigers as the Catamount skipper.

The Starting Pitchers Western Carolina will start freshman righthander Kyle Stewart (3-0, 3.51 ERA) on the mound. The Onalaska, WI native has made four starts and three relief appearances for a total of 25.2 innings pitched. He has allowed 18 hits (.189 opponents’ batting average) and 16 walks with 26 strikeouts.

Clemson will counter with sophomore righty Graham Stoneburner (4-3, 4.78 ERA) on Tuesday. The Richmond, VA native has made seven relief appearances and five starts for a total of 37.2 innings pitched. He has yielded 45 hits (.302 opponents’ batting average) and 13 walks with 42 strikeouts.

The Catamounts Western Carolina, led by second-year Head Coach Bobby Moranda, enters Tuesday’s game against #18 Clemson with a 20-12 overall record and 9-5 SoCon mark after falling twice in a three-game series at home against Georgia Southern over the weekend. Earlier this season, the Catamounts won two of three games at Southern California. Western Carolina sports a 14-6 home record as well.

Western Carolina, who is 5-1 in one-run games, is averaging 8.3 runs per game and hitting .330 with a .503 slugging percentage and .410 on-base percentage. It has also totaled 80 doubles, nine triples, 35 homers, and 81 stolen bases in 96 attempts.

Mitchell Hatley is hitting .561 in 41 at-bats, while Ross Heffley is batting .429. Brent Greer is hitting .397 with four homers and 28 RBIs. Nick Liles is batting .362 with 16 steals. Trevor Collias has stolen a team-high 20 bases in 22 attempts and J.C. Lyons has added 15 steals.

The pitching staff has a 5.02 ERA and .271 opponents’ batting average along with 266 strikeouts against 135 walks in 285.0 innings pitched. Junior righthander Daniel Ottone has a team-high five saves and a .222 opponents’ batting average in 13 relief appearances, while senior righty Garrett Ozar has 41 strikeouts in 36.0 innings pitched over a team-high 17 relief appearances. The Catamounts are fielding at a .954 clip as well.

The Tigers Clemson, ranked as high as #18 in the nation, enters Tuesday’s game at Western Carolina with a 23-12 overall record and 11-7 ACC mark after winning two of three games at home against #5 Miami (FL) over the weekend. Clemson has a 4-7 record on opponents’ home fields in 2009.

The Tigers are averaging 6.6 runs per game and hitting .292 with a .442 slugging percentage and .383 on-base percentage. Clemson has also totaled 59 doubles, 10 triples, 34 homers, and 45 stolen bases in 59 attempts.

Ben Paulsen is hitting a team-best .384 with 12 doubles, for triples, seven homers, and 39 RBIs. Jeff Schaus is hitting .302 with a .427 on-base percentage thanks to 26 walks against only 12 strikeouts. Kyle Parker has added seven homers and 33 RBIs in 32 games.

The pitching staff has a 3.76 ERA and .245 opponents’ batting average. The staff has allowed 106 walks against 293 strikeouts, good for a 2.8-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Tomas Cruz has a 2-1 record, three saves, and a 2.20 ERA in 14 relief appearances. The Tigers are fielding at a .967 clip as well.

Worth Noting Clemson’s #9-hole hitters have combined for seven home runs this season, tied for the most among the nine spots in the batting order.

Polls The Tigers moved up two spots to #18 in the Sports Weekly coaches poll this week after going 3-2 in five games last week. Clemson also appeared in the Collegiate Baseball poll at #21 after being unranked a week ago, but the Tigers still remained unranked in the Baseball America poll.

Clemson has had at least one final top-25 ranking in 12 of Head Coach Jack Leggett’s first 15 seasons in Tigertown. The Tigers have also been ranked #1 for 20 weeks by at least one of the three major polls under Leggett.

Dwyer’s Masterful Outing vs. #5 Hurricanes Freshman lefthander Doug Kingsmore Stadium. He pitched a complete game two-hitter to lead Clemson to a 9-1 win. He also earned ACC Pitcher-of-the-Week honors for his outing.

In 9.0 innings pitched, Dwyer allowed just two hits, one run, and four walks with 10 strikeouts. He became the first Tiger to pitch a complete game in 2009. He allowed just two runners past first base, including only one runner past second base, during the entire game.

On the season, Dwyer has a 4-2 record and 4.40 ERA in 47.0 innings pitched over a team-high nine starts. He has allowed only 35 hits (.210 opponents’ batting average) and 18 walks with 46 strikeouts. Dwyer leads the team in innings pitched and strikeouts in 2009. No freshman has led Clemson in either category since 1997, when righthander Ryan Mottl led the Tigers in both as a freshman.

Tigers Outlast #5 Miami (FL) to Win Series Clemson, ranked #20 in the nation, won two of three games against #5 Miami (FL) at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on April 11,12. Clemson outscored the Hurricanes 26-19 and outhit them .352 to .255. The Tigers also hit .405 with runners in scoring position and .452 with two outs. Jeff Schaus went 7-for-14 with four runs, Kyle Parker went 4-for-10 with two homers and seven RBIs in the series.

In game-one on April 11, which was the first game of a doubleheader, Miami hit three home runs in the first three innings and defeated Clemson 12-8. The Tigers outhit Miami 17-13, but Hurricane batters walked seven times while the Tigers did not draw a walk. Thirteen of Clemson’s 17 hits came with two outs, but the Hurricanes put six leadoff batters on base and scored in five of the first six innings. Miami scored two runs in the second inning and never trailed again. Dave DiNatale went 2-for-5 with a homer and four RBIs to pace the Hurricanes. Schaus went 4-for-5 with two runs, while John Nester and Parker hit opposite-field home runs for the Tigers.

In game-two on April 11, which was the second game of a doubleheader, Ben Paulsen two-run triple and Parker’s two-run homer in the first inning gave the Tigers an early lead. Paulsen had a game-high three hits for the Tigers, who totaled 10 hits in the game. Clemson also walked six times and struck out just twice.

In game-three on April 12, Sanders went 3-for-4 with a homer and four RBIs to lead Clemson to a 9-6 win over Miami. Sanders hit a three-run homer in the second inning to give the Tigers the lead for good. The Tigers held a 9-4 lead before the Hurricanes chipped away with two runs in the seventh inning, but Clemson turned a crucial double play later in the frame. The Hurricanes also loaded the bases in the ninth inning before Clemson pulled out the win. Boyd added three hits, Schaus went 2-for-5 with two runs, and Parker had two RBIs. Graham Stoneburner earned the win in relief, while Tomas Cruz pitched 2.0 scoreless innings to record the save.