Friday 05/11/2001
May 11, 2001
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Tigers Close Regular Season vs. Virginia This Weekend Clemson closes its regular season this weekend with a three-game ACC series this weekend vs. Virginia at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. The two teams will play a back-to-back doubleheader at 1:00 PM on Saturday and will conclude the series at 2:00 PM on Sunday.
Clemson needs to win all three games of the Virginia series to finish second in the ACC, behind Florida State, and grab the second seed for next week’s ACC Tournament at Charlotte Knight’s Stadium in Fort Mill, SC. The Tigers can still earn the second seed in the tournament by winning two games against the Cavaliers since Clemson took 2-1 series wins against both Wake Forest and Georgia Tech to give Clemson the tie-breaker.
Clemson vs. Virginia The Tigers lead the all-time series with Virginia 90-25 and have won 19 of 26 games against the Cavaliers under head coach Jack Leggett. Clemson won four of five games last year, winning the season series 2-1 and then beating the Cavaliers twice in the ACC Tournament, including a first round game and a semifinal game last year in Fort Mill.
The last time Virginia played at Clemson was in 1999. The series started with a 9-3 Cavalier victory, their first win in Clemson since the 1974 season. The Tigers rebounded to take the series with 5-4 and 12-5 wins. Virginia has only won in Tigertown a total of five times and have never won a three-game series in Clemson.
Clemson Will Recognize Seniors on Sunday Clemson will honor four seniors on Sunday prior to the first pitch of the regular season finale at Doug Kingsmore Stadium: Nick Glaser, Kevin Lynn, Ryan Riley and Casey Stone.
Nick Glaser, a junior college transfer from Edmonds CC, set the Clemson single season saves record last year with 15 saves and his 16 career saves ranks third in school history. The third-team All-American last year is 4-2 this season with one save and a 3.06 ERA.
Kevin Lynn is 2-2 this season after going 5-2 last year with one save. The transfer from Spartanburg Methodist was 3-1 in the postseason a year ago with wins over Virginia in the ACC Tournament, Illinois in the NCAA Regional and Mississippi State in the Super Regional. He also started against Stanford in the Tigers’ second College World Series game in 2000.
Ryan Riley, also a junior college transfer from Edmonds CC, had seven triples a year ago, the most by a Tiger since 1995 and the eighth best season total in school history. This season, the second baseman is batting .280 with nine doubles, two triples and five home runs.
Casey Stone is the only senior who has played all four years at Clemson. He is second on the team with a .377 batting average and is fifth in the ACC in stolen bases (21-25). His 70 singles this season are tied for the seventh best total in Clemson history. He was the MVP of the 2000 Clemson Regional and member of the All-Regional team after going 5 for 14 with six RBIs and two stolen bases in three games.
Regional Tickets Applications Available This Weekend Regional ticket applications will be available at all three games this weekend at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Applications can be picked up at all three and should be mailed to the Clemson Athletic Ticket Office if Clemson is awarded a regional. An all-session pass will cost $50 and would be good for all six or seven games that Clemson would host. Clemson will find out Monday at 3:00 PM whether or not it will receive a bid to serve as one of 16 hosts for the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Clemson Jumps One Spot in Collegiate Baseball Poll The Clemson baseball team jumped one spot in this week’s Collegiate Baseball poll but remained the same in both the Baseball America poll and the Baseball Weekly/ESPN coaches poll. All three polls were released Monday.
Clemson is ranked 13th by Collegiate Baseball after being ranked 14th last week. The Tigers remained 17th in the Baseball America poll and 16th in the Baseball Weekly/ESPN poll.
The Tigers took two of three games last weekend at N.C. State after five days off for final exams. Clemson won 7-6 in the first game of a Saturday doubleheader, dropped the second game 4-3, and then won 10-2 in Sunday’s series finale.
Clemson Beats Furman 9-6 in 11 Clemson scored three runs in the top of the 11th inning without the aid of a hit to beat Furman 9-6 in front of a record crowd of 1,612 at Furman Baseball Stadium on Wednesday.
With the score tied 6-6, Chad Coder walked to lead off the Clemson 11th and then Steve Pyzik’s sacrifice bunt was fielded by new third baseman Cole Hubka, who threw wide of first base to score Coder from second. Kyle Frank was hit by a pitch to load the bases and then a wild pitch scored Johnson and advanced Frank and Pyzik to second and third. Casey Stone the flied out to left field to sacrifice himself to score Pyzik.
Josh Cram got the win for the Tigers in 4 2/3 innings of action. He struck out five and allowed just one hit against 14 batters to improve to 3-1 on the year. He was one of eight Clemson pitchers used as Clemson coach Jack Leggett was trying to work as many pitchers into the game as possible to prepare for next week’s ACC Tournament. Stone was 4 for 5 in the game to lead the Tigers. It was the fourth time this year that he had four hits in a game. He had three RBIs and scored twice. Baker was the only other Tiger with multiple hits as he went 2 for 5 with two RBIs and one runs scored. Jeff Baker hit his 20th home run of the season. The total is the best in the ACC.
Clemson 4-1 in Extra Innings The Tigers are 4-1 when fans get free baseball. Clemson lost 12-9 to Georgia Southern on March 13 in the first of five extra innings games for Clemson. The Tigers have rebounded to win four straight extra frame affairs. Clemson has played two extra inning ACC games, beating Wake Forest 4-1 (12 innings) on March 23 and North Carolina 10-9 on April 28 (10 innings). The other two victories were against Coastal Carolina (8-7 in 11) in an extremely pivotal game for the Tigers and Wednesday at Furman (9-6 in 11). The Tigers scored five runs in the bottom of the ninth against Coastal Carolina on April 11 to snap a five-game losing skid. Clemson is 13-5 since that rally.
Pyzik Lays Down the Bunt The sacrifice bunt by Steve Pyzik’s in the 10th inning at Furman on Wednesday was his 11th sac bunt of the season, which ranks second in school history. Casey Stone owns the school record for sacrifice bunts in a season. He had 14 last year. The pair are the only two in history to post double digit sacrifice bunt totals.
Top Five Single Season Bunt Totals
Stone on Fire Senior Casey Stone was 4 for 5 with three RBIs at Furman Wednesday night to up his season average to .377, which is second on the team behind Jeff Baker and ninth best in the ACC. In Stone’s last 18 games, which was the come-from-behind win over Coastal Carolina, the left fielder from Abbeville, SC is 32 for 77 or .416 from the plate.
Baker Belts No. 20 Sophomore Jeff Baker hit his 20th home run of the 2001 season Wednesday in the 9-6 extra-inning victory over Furman. He moved into fourth place on the single season home run list and is just four home runs away from the Clemson record shared by Eric Macrina and Matthew LeCroy. Baker is leading the ACC by three home runs. Virginia’s Jon Benick is third on the list with 17.
Top Five Home Run Seasons
Clemson Takes Series at N.C. State The Tigers took two of three games against N.C. State last weekend in Raleigh. Clemson held on for a 7-6 victory in the first game of a day-night doubleheader before a ninth-inning rally fell short in the nightcap with the Wolfpack winning 4-3. Sunday’s game went in favor of the Orange and Purple 10-2.
Jeff Baker and Khalil Greene hit home runs to spark Clemson to the 7-6 victory early on Saturday. Baker gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead on his 18th home run of the season. The shot over the fence in right-center field was his 29th career homer, which tied him with Matthew LeCroy for home runs by a Tiger in his freshman and sophomore seasons. Greene broke a 1-1 tie in the top of the fourth inning with his eighth home run of the season which he hit high off the score board in deep left-center field. Clemson added three runs in the fifth inning and two in the sixth and had to hold on for a one-run victory. Steve Reba got the win to improve to 9-3 after he pitched 6 1/3 innings scattering eight hits while only allowing four runs, three earned.
Justin Riley scored the winning run in the bottom of the ninth on an infield single to give N.C. State a 4-3 victory in Saturday’s second game. With one out in the bottom of the ninth, Brian Wright reached first base on a Baker’s second error of the game and then advanced to second on a passed ball. Sean Walsh singled to right field and that moved Wright to third base. Jamey Shearin was intentionally walked by Clemson and then Riley hit a dribbler between third base and the pitcher that Clemson reliever Josh Cram could not field cleanly and Wright scored the winning run.
On Sunday, Matt Henrie pitched seven innings of shutout baseball and Clemson had 16 hits in a 10-2 victory that clinched the weekend ACC series against the Wolfpack. Steve Pyzik’s was 4 for 4 for the Tigers with two RBIs while Ryan Riley, Casey Stone and Khalil Greene each had two hits for Clemson.
Henrie Tabbed ACC Pitcher of the Week Clemson sophomore right-handed pitcher Matt Henrie was named the ACC Pitcher of the Week after pitching seven scoreless innings in a 10-2 win over N.C. State in Raleigh on Sunday.
Henrie gave up no runs on five hits while walking just two and striking out four of the 26 batters he faced. Henrie improved to 5-2 this season in eight starts and sports a 3.09 ERA, the second best among Clemson’s starters and third best in the ACC. He is holding opposing batters to a .226 batting average, which ranks fourth in the ACC. Henrie has pitched 55 1/3 innings with 44 strike outs. He has allowed just 27 earned runs on 47 hits. It was the second time this season that Henrie has been named ACC Pitcher of the Week. He garnered honors March 19 after allowing no runs on three hits in 6.0 innings in a 7-0 victory in the series finale against Maryland.
Baker Sets Two-Year Home Run Standard Third baseman Jeff Baker hit two home runs in the N.C. State series to record the most home runs ever hit by a Tiger in his freshman and sophomore seasons. The sophomore from Woodbridge, VA added on at Furman on Wednesday and now has 31 career home runs – 20 this season to go with 11 last season. That is one more than Matthew LeCroy who is tied for the most career home runs. LeCroy hit 29 home runs by the end of his sophomore season in Clemson (1996).
Most Home Runs in First Two Seasons
The Long Ball Clemson now has 67 home runs as a team this season. The Tigers need to hit only seven more home runs this season to double last year’s output as they hit only 37 home runs a year ago. Jeff Baker led Clemson last year with 11. Fifteen of the 37 homers in 2000 came at Doug Kingsmore Stadium, while this year Clemson has almost tripled the total having hit 41 out of Kingsmore Stadium.
Baker’s total of 20 ranked eighth in the nation entering the week . Jarrod Schmidt has hit 14 home runs to rank third behind Baker and Benick in the ACC, while Michael Johnson is tied for eighth with 11. With Baker, Schmidt and Johnson all with more than 10 home runs this season, the trio has combined for 45 home runs (67.2 percent of the home runs hit by the Tigers this year. Only Baker had a double-figure total in 2000 with his 11 round-trippers. Clemson last had three players with 10 or more home runs in 1999. Patrick Boyd led the Tigers that year with 17 home runs, followed by Kurt Bultmann’s 12 and Jason Harris’ 10. Clemson hit 72 homers that season. That trio ended the year with 39 home runs.
Multiple Home Run Games The two home runs Jeff Baker hit in the North Carolina game on April 28 marked the fifth time this season and the seventh time of his career that he hit two homers in the same game. Clemson has had the same player hit two home runs in the same game nine times this season paced by Jeff Baker five (Richmond, Ohio, Florida State, Coastal Carolina and North Carolina). Michael Johnson has hit two home runs in the same game twice (New York Tech and Duke) and Jarrod Schmidt hit two home runs April 6 at Florida State and again April 14 vs. Duke. The nine multi-home run games this season is the most in school history.
Multi HR Games This Season
Multi HR Games in a Season by Individual
20 tied at 2 including current Tigers:
Multi HR Games in a Season by Team
Greene Sets HBP Records Who is the Ron Hunt of Clemson baseball? The answer is starting shortstop Khalil Greene who believes in getting on base anyway he can. Hunt set many records for being hit by a pitch in his major league career with the Mets and Expos. Greene is establishing records in that area at Clemson.
Greene was hit for the 18th time this season April 24 against Western Carolina to set the school season record and added to the record Wednesday night at Furman when he was hit by Corey Etheridge. Greene has now been hit 45 times in his career, an all-time Clemson record. He is just a junior. Burnham owned the all-time record with 39 HBP recorded between 1994-97. Greene was hit five times in the New York Tech series, including a single game record three times in the first game of the series, a 24-3 win. That included being hit twice in one inning in that game, also a first in Clemson baseball history. Greene has now been hit by a pitch 19 times and walked 21 times this season. He has a .411 on-base percentage for his 197 at bats.
Pitching Paces Tigers Clemson ranks second in the ACC in pitching with a 4.07 team ERA. Florida State owns the best team ERA with 3.28, while Georgia Tech is third with a 4.17 ERA. In ACC games only, Clemson has a 3.15 ERA and is second, just behind Florida State, which owns a 3.14 ERA. Right handed pitcher Steve Reba owns the best ERA in the ACC. The junior from Fort Wayne, IN sports a 2.30 ERA and also leads the league with an 9-3 record and opponents batting average. The ACC Pitcher of the Week (April 23) is holding opposing batters to a measly .190. Reba is tops the league in strike outs with 79.
Reba had sprinted out to an 8-1 record before losing two consecutive starts: April 25 vs. South Carolina and April 29 vs. North Carolina. He rebounded for his ninth win of the season, a 7-6 victory at N.C. State last Friday. He pitched the first complete game of his career on April 20, a 3-0 shut out of Georgia Tech. Against Duke on April 14, Steve Reba struck out a career-high 12 batters to lead Clemson to a 10-1 victory over the Blue Devils. Reba went six innings, allowed just two hits and one run. His strike out total was the high mark by a Clemson pitcher since Ryan Mottl had 12 in a loss to Virginia on April 4, 1998.
After Reba’s complete game shutout against Georgia Tech on April 20, Schmidt followed with a complete game of his own on Saturday against the Yellow Jackets. In his second complete game of his career, the sophomore showed his form from a year ago when he amassed a perfect 9-0 record. Against Georgia Tech, he did not allow Tech to score a run until the ninth inning. On April 15 vs. Duke, he got the win in 5 1/3 innings allowing just four runs (three earned) off eight hits. Schmidt is now 5-3 this season and is holding batters to a .246 average, fifth best in the ACC.
Sophomore Matt Henrie is the most improved pitcher on the Clemson staff in 2001. The sophomore from Jupiter, FL and Cardinal Newman High School appeared in just five games in 1999 and had an ERA of 13.50. He pitched just 3.1 innings for the season. He red-shirted the 2000 season. So far this year, Henrie has a 5-2 record and a 3.09 ERA, which ranks third in the ACC. He is holding opposing batters to a .226 average, fourth best in the conference. Henrie was named ACC Pitcher of the Week last week for pitching seven shutout innings at N.C. State. He is a two-time honoree after grabbing kudos earlier this year when he shutout Maryland 7-0. He pitched six innings and allowed just three hits, no runs and struck out five of the 25 batters he faced.
Tigers in the ACC Rankings Jeff Baker has 20 home runs, three in front of Virginia’s Jon Benick for the most in the ACC this season. Jarrod Schmidt ranks third in the league with 14 home runs, while Michael Johnson is tied for eighth with 11. Baker and Schmidt each have eight home runs in ACC games and are tied with Wake Forest’s Carlos Brackley for the most in conference.
Baker has 63 RBIs to lead the conference by two in front of Wake Forest’s Jamie D’Antona. Baker’s 1.29 RBIs per game is best in the league. Baker is second in slugging percentage (.766), second in total bases (147) and third in on-base percentage (.467). Baker is fourth in the individual batting race with a .380 average.
Casey Stone is fifth in the ACC in stolen bases. He is averaging .40 stolen bases per game and is 21 of 25 (.840) on the base paths this season. Chad Coder is ninth in the stolen base department and was perfect on the paths in 15 tries until being thrown out once in the North Carolina series. He is now 15 of 17 (.882) this season. Johnson is tied for seventh in walks. He has boarded base 32 times this season by bases on balls.
In the pitching department, Steve Reba is tops in wins (nine), ERA (2.30) and opponents’ batting average (.190). His ERA ranks 37th in the nation. He now leads the ACC in strike outs. The righty has 79 strike outs this season, three ahead of Blair Varnes of Florida State. Joining Reba to rank among the leads best against batters, Matt Henrie is fourth versus opposing batters who have a .226 average against Henrie. Schmidt is hold batters to an average of .246, good enough for fifth in the league. Henrie’s ERA of 3.09 is third best in the league.
As a team, Clemson leads the ACC in fielding with a .966 fielding percentage. The Tigers are third in batting with a .302 average, behind Georgia Tech (.347) and Wake Forest (.331) and are second in pitching with a 4.07 ERA behind Florida State (3.28).
Baker Invited to Team USA Trials Jeff Baker was one of 19 players invited May 1 to participate in the 2001 USA Baseball National Team Trials which will be held in Tucson, AZ June 16-19.
Baker will be trying to represent the United States for the fourth time in the last five years. The sophomore from Woodbridge, VA was a member of the 1997 USA Youth National Team that finished fifth at the IBA World Youth Championships in Taipei, Taiwan. He was also a member of the 1999 USA Junior National Team that won the gold medal at the IBA World Junior Championships in Kaohsiung China and in 2000 helped led the USA National Team to the gold medal at the Honkbal Classic in Holland.
The USA National Team will be selected from a pool of approximately 20-29 players, of which an additional 5-10 have yet to be determined. Team USA will play approximately 30 games on the Red, White and Blue Summer Tour, beginning on June 22 with the 30th annual USA vs Japan Collegiate All-Star Series, which this year will be played in Japan.
Boyd Will Not Return This Year Senior preseason All-American center fielder Patrick Boyd will not return to the Clemson lineup this season and will need five more weeks of rehabilitation for his back Clemson head coach Jack Leggett announced Thursday at the conclusion of practice.
Clemson has been without the services Boyd for all but one game this season because of a stress fracture in his back. Boyd missed all of preseason practice and missed the team’s first 13 games of the season before appearing in the lineup March 11 in the Tigers’ 17-4 win over Ohio University.
Boyd was 1 for 3 with a double and scored two runs against Ohio, but the pain continued and forced him to miss the two games with Georgia Southern. On March 14, he flew with team doctor Byron Harder to Tampa, FL to be checked out by a back specialist, Dr. Tom Tolli, who works primarily with major league baseball players, including Jose Canseco. Boyd immediately began a six-week rehabilitation process and was expected to return to the lineup last weekend vs. North Carolina, but he decided to rest this week while Clemson was taking final exams. He anticipated returning this weekend for the Tigers’ three-game ACC series at N.C. State, but after further review by Dr. Tolli it was determined Boyd was not ready to come back.
“I’m obviously disappointed with the results,” Boyd said. “Right now my plan is to focus on getting 100 percent healthy and from their I’ll weigh my options and go in the direction that I think will best benefit my future in baseball.”
“It is an unfortunate situation, but the stress fracture has not healed the way it needed to heal,” Leggett said. “It is very disappointing it had to happen this way, but it is in his best interest not to play. If he were to come back and keep swinging, he could do permanent damage. It is just very disappointing for him because of the person that he is and the potential that he has.”
Boyd, who came back to Clemson for his senior year after getting drafted in the fourth round by the Pittsburgh Pirates last year, was a 1999 All-American and is a 2001 preseason second-team All-American by Baseball America. He is a career .341 hitter with a .442 on-base percentage and 49 stolen bases in three seasons. The senior from Palm Harbor, FL ranks in the school’s career top-10 lists in five different categories, including walks, doubles, runs scored, hits and RBIs.
Clemson Wins UNC Series 2-1 The Tigers beat North Carolina on Friday and Saturday in come-from-behind victories to clinch the season series against the Tar Heels and then lost Sunday’s game 4-0.
Khalil Greene slugged a two-out three-run home run in the sixth inning to key Clemson to a come-from-behind 6-3 victory over North Carolina in ACC baseball action on Friday, April 27.
On Saturday, Steve Pyzik’s were the heroes. Baker sent the game into extra innings with a two-out two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth and Pyzik’s single drove in the winning run in the 10th inning as Clemson defeated North Carolina 10-9. North Carolina appeared to be headed for victory holding a 9-7 lead with two outs in the bottom of the ninth until Baker stepped to the plate.
Clemson’s best hitter sent Jason Howell’s offering deep over the left field fence for a two-run home run that tied the game at nine and pushed it into extra innings. Baker had already homered earlier in the game and the two-homer night was his fifth multi-homer game of the season. In the bottom of the 10th, Greene singled and stole second base to lead off the inning. Jarrod Schmidt was intentionally walked and Chad Coder laid down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners to second and third base with one out. After Zane Green was intentionally walked to load the bases, Pyzik hit a chopper to the right side of the infield that got through and scored the winning run. Sunday belonged to North Carolina pitcher Scott Autrey as he limited the Clemson offense to four hits in a 4-0 win on Sunday. Autrey struck out six over nine innings and did not allow a Tiger runner to reach third base. He out-dueled Clemson starter Steve Reba (8-3), who struck out five over 8.1 innings but was credited with all four earned runs.
The Tar Heels got to Reba with a two-out rally in the eighth inning. Ron Braun and Brandon Russell singled and then scored when Adam Greenberg doubled to left field. North Carolina padded its lead in the ninth with a pair of runs.
Complete Game Shutout Was the First vs. Clemson by an ACC Team Since 1997 ACC Tournament The pitching performance by North Carolina starter Scott Autrey April 29 was something that no other conference pitcher had been able to do against Clemson in almost four years. The sophomore right hander tossed a complete game shutout against the Tigers, the first in ACC play since May 17, 1997 when Florida State’s Chris Chavez blanked the Tigers 10-0 in the ACC Tournament championship. The last time Clemson was shutout in a complete game not in an ACC contest was the opening weekend of the 2000 season. Central Florida beat the Tigers 5-0 in the ACC Disney Blast on Jan. 30.
Tigers Take Georgia Tech Series 2-1 The Tigers got back to back complete games from Steve Reba on Friday and Jarrod Schmidt on Saturday as Clemson took 3-0 and 5-1 victories against Georgia Tech last weekend to remain in second place in the ACC standings.
Reba struck out seven in Clemson’s first complete game shutout in ACC play since 1996. Last Friday’s effort came against the seventh-ranked Yellow Jackets, who entered the game with a .352 team batting average, the best in the nation. The right hander improved to 8-1 and kept the Tech hitters off-balanced and gave up only an infield single in the first five innings.
Schmidt produced his best outing of the season as Clemson defeated Georgia Tech 5-1 last Saturday night. The right hander allowed five hits and one run while striking out four over nine innings. Schmidt helped his own cause in the eighth inning with a blast over the left field fence for a 5-0 lead.
On Sunday, Georgia Tech used a solid pitching effort from Kyle Bakker and 11 hits by its offense to take a 5-3 victory against the Tigers. Bakker scattered seven hits over eight innings and gave up three runs, none of which were earned.
The First Complete Game Shutout Since… Steve Reba struck out seven Friday night in Clemson’s first complete game shutout in ACC play since Ken Vining’s 2-0 win over Florida State on May 6, 1996. Friday’s effort came against the seventh-ranked Yellow Jackets, who entered the game with a .352 team batting average, the best in the nation. The complete game was the first in Reba’s career.
Back-to-Back Complete Games Steve Reba complete game shutout of the Yellow Jackets on Friday. The feat of back-to-back complete games was last accomplished in the NCAA Atlantic Regional at Clemson in 1996. Billy Koch pitched in a 5-1 victory over Old Dominion on May 24 and Ken Vining defeated West Virginia 6-3 a day later.
Clemson had just three complete games in all of 2000. Ryan Mottl pitched complete games in the 8-4 win over Florida State (5/18) in the ACC Tournament and then again in the 4-0 victory against Middle Tennessee (5/26) in the Clemson Regional. Mottl’s pair of complete games were in back-to-back starts. Schmidt had the first of his career at North Carolina (4/1) in a 10-2 victory.
Reba Grabs ACC Weekly Pitching Honors Clemson’s Steve Reba earned Atlantic Coast Conference Pitcher of the Week honors April 23 while Virginia’s Dan Street was selected the ACC Player of the Week honors.
Pitcher of the Week honors were claimed by Reba, a junior right-handed pitcher for the Tigers. The Fort Wayne, IN native threw a complete game shutout of seventh-ranked Georgia Tech to open the series with a 3-0 win over the Yellow Jackets. In nine innings, Reba faced 33 batters, striking out seven and allowing just three hits and one walk. He held the Jackets to a .097 batting average and was the first Clemson complete game shutout versus an ACC opponent since Ken Vining took home a 2-0 victory against Florida State in 1996.
Tigers Complete 3-Game Sweep of Duke Clemson scored five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning on its way to a 6-4 victory and a three-game sweep of the Duke Blue Devils on April 15.
Clemson’s three-game sweep coupled with Wake Forest’s 2-1 series win over Georgia Tech vaulted the Tigers from fourth place in the ACC standings on Friday into second place behind only Florida State on Sunday. Duke, which had failed to score a run before the fourth inning in either of the two previous games, scored one run in the first inning on Sunday. The Blue Devils added a pair of runs in the top of the fifth inning to take a 3-0 lead.
Clemson scored five runs on four hits in the fifth inning to go on top 5-3. Ryan Riley was hit by Duke starter Justin Dilucchio. Michael Johnson followed with a single to score Stone and then Khalil Greene doubled to score Riley. Schmidt tied the game with a base hit that scored Johnson. The Tigers added two runs on a throwing error by Alleva at third base.
Duke got one run back in the top of the sixth inning on a sacrifice fly by Scott Grossi that scored Kevin Kelly, but Clemson added an insurance run in the eighth on a base hit by Riley that scored Steve Pyzik.
Clemson Swept by Florida State The Tigers dropped all three games April 6-8 in Tallahassee to fall to 5-4 in the ACC. Florida State won 7-4 on Friday, 7-6 on Saturday and then claimed a 6-1 win on Sunday to complete its first sweep of the Tigers since 1995. Clemson threw undefeated pitchers in all three contests and all were charged with their first loss of the season, including the starters in the first two games that ranked one and two in the ACC in ERA. Steve Reba entered Friday night’s game with a 1.99 ERA yet allowed five runs (three earned) on seven hits in 5 1/3 innings. Matt Henrie entered the game with a 3-0 record and a 2.08 ERA but allowed six earned runs on nine hits in 4 1/3 innings for his first defeat. On Sunday, Nick Glaser let three earned runs score on five hits in 1 2/3 innings. The Orange and Purple had their moments on offense. Jarrod Schmidt belted two home runs on Friday in a 2 for 3 night and then on Saturday Jeff Baker put up two homers, including a shot in the ninth that could have tied the game had Kyle Jernigan not roped in a shot to deep center field by Chad Coder the batter before Baker. Clemson gave up big innings on both Friday and Saturday. The Seminoles scored five runs in the sixth inning on Friday and then scored four runs in the fifth on Saturday.
Clemson Wins 2 of 3 at Wake Forest The Tigers took two of the three meetings from Wake Forest in Winston-Salem March 23-25. Clemson won the first game 4-1 in 12 innings and took the rubber game on Sunday with a convincing 9-1 victory. Wake Forest won 12-3 on Saturday.
On, Wake Forest left the bases loaded in the ninth after a couple of squandered bunting situations and then again failed to score on three singles in the 11th. Clemson made the Deacons pay in the very next inning and loaded the bases with just one hit. A hit by pitch, sacrifice bunt, an error and a single filled the bases full of Tigers before Michael Johnson’s single to left brought in one run. Zane Green lined a single to left to score two more runs and give Clemson the 4-1 victory. On Saturday, Wake Forest senior Cory Sullivan was the star of the game throwing a complete game win and going three-for-five at the plate with three RBI as the Demon Deacons won 12-3.
Clemson fought back to win Sunday’s series deciding game. Wake Forest pitchers had allowed just six home runs in the first 24 games but four Clemson batters went deep for the Tigers on Sunday. Michael Johnson and Ryan Riley hit back-to-back homers in the fourth to give the Clemson a 5-0 lead. Jeff Baker tacked on insurance runs via the long ball. It was Greene’s second home runs of the year and the eighth for Baker. It was more than enough for Tiger starter Matt Henrie who pitched eight strong innings and yielded just one run on six hits. He struck out five and surrendered just one extra base hit all day. Henrie earned the win to improve to 2-0 on the season. Thomas Boozer pitched the final three outs.
Tigers Sweep Maryland Clemson opened the 2001 ACC schedule with a three-game sweep at Maryland. The Tigers won Friday’s contest 8-6, despite allowing four runs in the bottom of the ninth inning. Jeff Baker was 3 for 5 with four RBIs and his fifth double of the season. Casey Stone was also 3 for 5 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. Chad Coder and Steve Pyzik also had multiple hits for the Tigers.
Ryan Riley was 4 for 4 with and RBI and scored two runs in Clemson’s 9-6 win in the middle game. The game was halted in the top of the ninth on Saturday because of rain. The Tigers were in front 8-5 with no outs and the bases loaded, but Clemson scored one run before allowing one Maryland run to claim the 9-6 decision on Sunday.
Matt Henrie allowed just three hits in 6.0 innings in the series finale as Clemson went on to a 7-0 shutout victory of the Terrapins. Jarrod Schmidt was 2 for 3 with two RBI and Michael Johnson was 2 for 4 with three RBI thanks to his sixth home run of the season. Schmidt and Coder also homered for Clemson.
Jeff Baker Wins Bob Bradley MVP Award Jeff Baker was awarded the first-ever Bob Bradley Award following Wednesday’s game against South Carolina. The award goes to the Clemson MVP in the annual series versus the Gamecocks and is named for the school’s longtime sports information director. Drew Meyer was selected South Carolina’s MVP and was presented the Tom Price Award, named for the Gamecocks former sports information director. Voting was done by the media.
Baker batted .615 (8 for 13) in his three games vs. South Carolina this season. He was a perfect 5 for 5 in the first meeting in Columbia on March 4, a game Clemson won 7-4. It was South Carolina’s first loss of the season against 13 victories. Baker missed the second game in Columbia on April 18 with a head cold. For the series, he hit two home runs, batted in three teammates and scored five times. Meyer was 7 for 15 (.467) with two doubles and two home runs that scored four.
Riley Named ACC Player of the Week Clemson’s Ryan Riley earned ACC Player of the Week honors on Feb. 26 after the Tigers went 3-2 in five games in Las Vegas, NV against UNLV and Oregon State.
Riley, a senior second baseman, earned ACC Player of the Week honors after leading Clemson in a three-game series vs. Oregon State and a two-game series at UNLV. For the week, the Seattle, WA, native notched 11 hits, nine RBIs and a .524 batting average. He finished the five-game stretch with 21 at bats as well as contributing seven runs, three doubles and two home runs. Riley had at least one hit in all five contests and went 3 for 4 on two occasions and missed hitting for the cycle in the finale vs. Oregon State by a triple. He had a single, a double and an inside-the-park home run.
Leggett Selected for Western Carolina Hall of FameJack Leggett, the winningest baseball coach at Western Carolina with 302 victories in nine seasons, will be inducted into the Western Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame Oct. 12-13. Leggett led the Catamounts to an unprecedented five consecutive Southern Conference Championships and five straight NCAA tournament bids from 1985-89. Two of his teams, 1985 and 1987, finished the season ranked among the nation’s top 30. The 1987 squad reached the NCAA Midwest Regional championship game. Western averaged 33 wins per season during Leggett’s tenure and played in the SoCon Championship game in eight of his nine seasons. In addition to his success on the field 100 percent of the players who completed their eligibility with the Catamounts, received a degree from WCU. Three players earned Academic All-American honors.
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