Tuesday 05/15/2001
May 15, 2001
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Clemson at ACC Tournament May 16-20, 2001 Charlotte Knight’s Stadium, Fort Mill, SC #13 Clemson (37-18, 17-7 ACC) vs. Virginia (24-29, 9-15 ACC) Wednesday, May 16, 5:00 PM
Probable Starting Rotation Game 1: Matt Henrie (RHP, 5-2, 2.98 ERA) Game 2: Steve Reba (RHP, 10-3, 2.22 ERA) Game 3: Jarrod Schmidt (RHP, 6-3, 4.07 ERA)
Clemson vs. Virginia The Tigers swept Virginia this past weekend at Doug Kingsmore Stadium in Clemson to extend their series lead to 93-25. Clemson has now won 33 of the last 34 games against the Cavaliers in Clemson and improved to 22-5 against Virginia under head coach Jack Leggett.
The two teams met twice in the ACC Tournament a year ago, with Clemson taking both games. The Tigers won 9-7 in the first round game and then won 12-5 to advance to the championship game vs. Georgia Tech. Prior to last year’s meetings in Fort Mill, the two teams had not faced one another in the ACC Tournament since the Cavaliers won 4-2 in Durham in 1996 on their way to the ACC Championship. The Tigers are 10-3 against the Cavaliers in the ACC Tournament.
Clemson vs. UVA in ACC Tourney
Deja Vu Clemson will open the ACC Tournament with the same opponent it closed out the regular season against for the fourth straight season. The Tigers swept Virginia in the three-game series this past weekend at Doug Kingsmore Stadium and will now play them in the first round of the tournament. The same scenario played out last year after the Tigers took two of three games vs. the Cavaliers in Charlottesville and then played them in the first round. Clemson lost two of three games at N.C. State in 1999 and then beat the Wolfpack 7-6 in the first round of the tournament. In 1998, Clemson won two of three games at North Carolina and then lost 4-1 to the Tar Heels in the first round of the ACC Tournament.
Clemson in the ACC Tournament Clemson has 83 wins in its 124 ACC Tournament games and has appeared in the championship game a league best 19 times. That is more than double any other team. North Carolina and N.C. State are tied for the second most appearances in the final game, having advanced to the last game eight times each. Clemson has been in the championship game three of the last four years and eight of the last 10 years. The Tigers, which have won at least two games every year but 1998, have won the ACC Tournament title eight times, the most recent when Clemson won back-to-back titles in 1993 and 1994, the first season under head coach Jack Leggett. Both times the tournament was held in Greenville, SC. The Tigers also have 20 ACC regular-season championships, the last coming in 1995.
Clemson's ACC Tournament TitlesYear Result Location1976 def. Maryland, 3-2 Clemson, SC1978 def. Wake Forest, 22-9 Clemson, SC1978 def. Wake Forest, 7-2 Clemson, SC1980 def. N. Carolina, 12-3 Raleigh, NC1981 def. N. Carolina, 7-5 Chapel Hill, NC1989 def. N. Carolina, 12-4 Greenville, SC1991 def. Georgia Tech, 24-8 Greenville, SC1993 def. N.C. State, 11-7 Greenville, SC1994 def. Florida State, 4-1 Greenville, SC
Tigers Against the Field Clemson is 83-41 (.669) all-time in the ACC Tournament and boasts a .500 record or better against all eight teams. Clemson has met both North Carolina and N.C. State 22 times in the history of the tournament that started in 1973 in Chapel Hill, NC. The Tigers are 13-9 against both the Tar Heels and Wolfpack. The only team to keep Clemson from a winning record in the ACC tournament is Florida State. The two schools which are the this year’s top two seeds are 7-7 in 14 previous meetings.
Clemson vs. ACC in Tourney
Clemson to Serve as Regional Host for Second Straight Year Clemson has been selected to serve as host to one of 16 regional sites for the 2001 NCAA Baseball Championship on May 25-27 the NCAA announced Monday afternoon.
The Tigers, 37-18 overall and 17-7 in the ACC, will host for the second consecutive year after hosting both the regional and Super Regional rounds last year. Clemson hosted Middle Tennessee, Illinois and Old Dominion in a four-team regional and advanced after defeating Illinois once and Middle Tennessee State twice. The Tigers hosted Mississippi State the following weekend in the Super Regional and earned a trip to the College World Series by defeating the Bulldogs 11-4 and 9-4 in the best-of-three series.
Clemson has also played host to the NCAA Tournament in 1980, 1981, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998 and 2000 and has advanced to the College World Series four of those seven times. Monday’s selection as a host assures that Clemson will make its 15th straight NCAA tournament appearance and its 27th appearance overall. However, seeding for the tournament will not be determined until May 21, when the entire field is announced live at 3:00 PM on ESPN. The Tigers are 19-6 in NCAA Tournament games played at Clemson.
This is the third year of the 64-team format for the NCAA tournament and the winner will advance to the Super Regional at a site to be determined following the first-round games. The Tigers are 70-55 all-time in NCAA Tournament games and have made nine appearances in the College World Series.
2001 Regional Sites
All-Session Tickets Now on Sale Reserved tickets for this year’s tournament are available at the Clemson Athletic Ticket Office or by calling 1-800-CLEMSON. An all-session pass costs $50 and is good for all six or seven games that will be played at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. The games will be played on Friday at 2:00 PM and 7:00 PM, on Saturday at 11:00 AM, 3:00 PM and 7:00 PM, and on Sunday at 2:00 PM and 7:00 PM (if necessary).
Clemson Sweeps Virginia The Tigers needed to win two games to clinch the second seed at this week’s ACC Tournament, but instead they took all three games and claimed second place outright. Had Clemson won just two games it would have tied Wake Forest for second place in the standings, but by virtue of Clemson’s 2-1 series win over the Demon Deacons in late March, the Tigers held the tie-breaker.
Steve Reba allowed just one earned run in seven innings and Khalil Greene had four hits and four runs batted in, leading Clemson to an 8-1 college victory over Virginia in the first game of a Saturday afternoon doubleheader. Reba improved to 10-3 with the victory, becoming the first ACC pitcher to reach the 10-win mark this year. He allowed just six hits in seven innings, struck out seven and did not walk a batter. Greene had four hits, including hits ninth home run of the season as he boosted his batting average over .300 for the season. The Clemson shortstop also had three singles. Leadoff hitter Ryan Riley had three hits and an RBI, while number-nine hitter, Kyle Frank, had two hits and drove in a run.
In the second game Saturday, Michael Johnson belted out five hits, including two home runs to lead Clemson to a 17-1 victory over Virginia. Greene knocked in five runs in the contest, giving him nine RBIs for the day. Greene had four hits and four RBIs in the first game. He had just one hit in the second game, but he had a three-run homer, a sacrifice fly and an RBI ground out.
Clemson needed ninth-inning heroics on Sunday to avoid the second extra inning contest of the week. Zane Green’s two-out, pinch hit single in the bottom of the ninth inning capped a frantic finish as Clemson defeated Virginia 5-4. Clemson led 4-0 heading into the top of the ninth when Virginia came roaring back. The Cavaliers scored a run and loaded the bases with four straight singles off reliever Josh Cram to start the inning. David Stone then struck out but another run scored when Cram hit Chris Sweet with a pitch. After a flyout by Hunter Wyant, Jon Benick hit a two-run single to left field that tied the game at four. The inning ended one batter later when Mark Rueffert popped up to second base.
Michael Johnson led off the bottom of the inning with a walk and moved to second base on Jarrod Schmidt sacrifice bunt. Catcher Jon Smith followed with a strikeout to set up the dramatic ending. Green hit a two-strike, two-out line drive single to center field that scored Johnson from second base and allowed the Tigers to walk off with a victory.
Despite giving up the four runs in the ninth inning on Sunday, Cram got the win and moved to 4-1 on the year. Schmidt led the Tiger offense with two hits, an RBI and a run scored. Stone went 1-3 with two runs scored. Virginia reliever Chris Marinak (2-1) got the loss for Virginia.
Steve Reba, Khalil Greene Earn ACC Weekly Honors Clemson’s Steve Reba earns ACC Pitcher of the Week while Clemson’s Khalil Greene and Florida State’s John-Ford Griffin share ACC Player of the Week honors.
Reba, a junior right-hander from Fort Wayne, IN, threw seven innings, allowing just one run and striking out seven of the 26 batters faced. Reba recorded his ACC-leading 10th victory of the year in the 8-1 win over Virginia in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader. Reba had a 1.29 ERA last week and leads the conference with a 2.22 ERA in 89.0 innings pitched. He has 86 strike outs this season and has allowed only 27 runs, 22 of which have been earned. He is holding opponents to a .194 batting average, the best in the league.
Greene, a junior shortstop, helped Clemson pick up a win over Furman and sweep the series against Virginia. The Key West, FL, native went 7 for 17 (.412) at the plate with 10 RBI and two home runs. He also recorded a stolen base and had at least one hit in all four contests. He became the 10th Tiger this season to hit at least 10 home runs with two in the series against the Cavaliers. He was perfect in the field last week with three put outs and 15 assists. He is not hitting .311 this season.
Clemson Moves Up Two Spots in Baseball America The Clemson baseball team moved up two spots in this week’s Baseball America poll announced on Monday The Tigers climbed to 15th in the Baseball America poll, up from 17th a week ago. Clemson remained the 13th in the Collegiate Baseball poll, but fell from 16th to 17th in the Baseball Weekly/ESPN coaches poll.
Clemson, 37-18 overall and 17-7 in the ACC, posted its first undefeated week of the season, going 4-0 in games against Furman and Virginia. The Tigers claimed a 9-6 mid-week victory on the road at Furman and then swept Virginia to finish alone in second place in the ACC. Clemson beat the Cavaliers by scores of 8-1, 17-1 and 5-4.
Tigers Riding Hot Streak Since April 11, when Clemson snapped a five-game losing streak by scoring five runs in the bottom of the ninth inning and adding a run in the 11th to beat Coastal Carolina, the Tigers have won 16 of their last 21 games (.762). The five-game losing streak tied the longest for the Tigers under head coach Jack Leggett and dropped the Tigers record to 21-13. Clemson had climbed to a No. 8 ranking, but the streak dropped the Tigers to No. 17. Clemson is currently enjoying a five-game win streak, equaling the longest streak of the season.
Clemson also won five consecutive games on two other occasions. Before Clemson’s comeback against Coastal Carolina, the Tiger pitching staff had a team ERA of 4.60. Since that pivotal game the Clemson staff has a 2.95 ERA and has lowered the season ERA to 3.96. Six pitchers on the postseason roster have less than a 3.00 ERA since that time whereas only two had an ERA of less than 3.00 before April 11. Clemson’s offense has actually cooled off somewhat since the turning point. Clemson had a .314 team batting average through the five-game losing streak, but during the last 21 games, it is .289. On the year, the Tigers sport a .305 team batting average which is third best in the ACC behind Georgia Tech (.349) and Wake Forest (.331).
Clemson Wins Seven of Eight Conference Series The Tigers three-game sweep of Virginia was the third sweep in ACC play this season. Clemson also won all three games at Maryland and swept Duke in three meetings at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. The series win over the Cavaliers was the Tigers’ seventh ACC series victory this year. Florida State swept the Clemson series in Tallahassee for the only series loss for the Tigers this year. The last time the Tigers won seven of the eight ACC series was in 1995. Clemson was swept by Florida State that season.
Baker Belts No. 21 Sophomore Jeff Baker hit his 21st home run of the 2001 season Sunday in the 5-4 victory over Virginia. The two-run shot in the sixth inning moved the sophomore from Woodbridge, VA into a third place tie with Jim McCollom who hit 21 in 1985. Baker is not just three home runs away from the school record (24) shared by Eric Macrina (1991) and Matthew LeCroy (1997). Baker is leading the ACC by four home runs. Virginia’s Jon Benick and Florida State’s John-Ford Griffin each have 17.
Top Five Home Run Seasons
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 has added two since then and now has 32 career home runs – 21 this season to go with 11 last season. That is three 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 hit six home runs in the Virginia series and now has 73 home runs as a team this season. The Tigers need to hit only one 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 more than tripled the total having hit 47 out of Kingsmore Stadium.
Baker’s total of 21 ranks sixth in the nation entering the week, just five behind John Vanbenschoten of Kent State, who has 26 homers to lead Division I. Jarrod Schmidt has hit 15 home runs to rank fourth behind Baker, Benick and Griffin in the ACC, while Michael Johnson is tied for fifth with 13.
Khalil Greene had two home runs in the Saturday doubleheader with Virginia for his ninth and 10th homers of the season. He joins Baker, Schmidt and Johnson with 10 home runs or more this season, the quartet has combined for 59 home runs (80.8 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 four players with 10 or more home runs in 1997 when five players had double digit totals. Matthew LeCroy led the Tigers with a school best 24, followed by Kurt Bultmann (16), Gary Burnham (15), Jason Embler (14) and Matt Padgett (13). Those five players accounted for 82 of Clemson’s 95 (86.3 percent) homers that season.
Multiple Home Run Games The two home runs hit by Michael Johnson in Saturday’s 17-1 win over Virginia marked the 10th time this season that a Tigerhit two home runs in the same game. 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. He leads Clemson in that category. Jarrod Schmidt is the only other Tiger with multiple home runs in more than one game. He hit two home runs April 6 at Florida State and again April 14 vs. Duke. The 10 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
19 tied at 2 including current Tigers:
Multi HR Games in a Season by Team
Back-to-Back First baseman Khalil Greene hit back-to-back home runs in the fifth inning the April 17 10-4 win over Georgia. It marked the third time this season that Clemson has launched consecutive home runs. The Tigers did it in the very first game of the year when Jarrod Schmidt hit homers in the bottom of the first inning against Richmond. The Tigers did it again in the series finale at Wake Forest as Ryan Riley and Schmidt belted blasts in the third inning en route to a 9-1 victory and series win.
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 19th time this season May 9 at Furman to extend his season record. It was the 45th time 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 .413 on-base percentage for his 209 at bats.
Pyzik Lays Down the Bunt The sacrifice bunt by Steve Pyzik in the 10th inning at Furman on May 9 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 in a season.
Top Five Single Season Bunt Totals
Stone on Fire Senior Casey Stone was 8 for 16 in the four games last week against Furman and Virginia with six RBI thanks to two doubles. He also scored five runs for Clemson in the four games. His 4 for 5 performance with three RBIs at Furman May 9 are largely responsible for his .500 week. He is now batting .376 for the season, which is second behind Jeff Baker (.381) and is seventh best in the ACC. In Stone’s last 21 games, which was the come-from-behind win over Coastal Carolina, the left fielder from Abbeville, SC is 36 for 88 or .409 from the plate.
Pitching Paces Tigers Clemson ranks second in the ACC in pitching with a 3.96 team ERA. Florida State owns the best team ERA with 3.27, while Georgia Tech is third with a 4.41 ERA. In ACC games only, Clemson leads the league with a 3.01 ERA and has given up only nine home runs in conference action. The next closest staff in home runs allowed is Florida State, which has watched opponents tee off on 17 home runs. The Seminoles have a 3.13 ERA in ACC games to rank second.
Right handed pitcher Steve Reba owns the best ERA in the ACC. The junior from Fort Wayne, IN sports a 2.22 ERA and also leads the league with an 10-3 record and opponents batting average. The former ACC Pitcher of the Week (April 23) is holding opposing batters to a measly .194. Reba is tops the league in strike outs with 86.
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 on May 5. 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 6-3 this season and is holding batters to a .241 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 2.98 ERA, which ranks third in the ACC behind Reba and Virginia’s Dan Street, who the Tigers did not face over the weekend. He is holding opposing batters to a .220 average, second best in the conference, again behind Reba. Henrie was named ACC Pitcher of the Week (May 7) 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 on March 18. He pitched six innings and allowed just three hits, no runs and struck out five of the 25 batters he faced.
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 May 9 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 16-5 since that rally.
Tigers in the ACC Rankings Jeff Baker has 21 home runs, four in front of Virginia’s Jon Benick and Florida State’s John-Ford Griffin, for the most in the ACC. Jarrod Schmidt ranks fourth in the league with 16 home runs, while Michael Johnson is tied for fifth with 13. Baker and Schmidt each have nine home runs in ACC games to lead the conference.
Baker has 66 RBIs to lead the conference by two in front of Griffin of Florida State. Baker’s 1.27 RBIs per game is best in the league. Baker is second in slugging percentage (.772), second in total bases (156) and third in on-base percentage (.475). Baker is fourth in the individual batting race with a .381 average. He has also scored the fifth most runs in the ACC, having scored 59.
Casey Stone is third in the conference in hits with 91, just four in back of Victor Menocal of Georgia Tech (95) and two behind Griffin (93). Stone is also fifth in the ACC in stolen bases. He is averaging .40 stolen bases per game and is 22 of 27 (.815) 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 17 of 19 (.895) this season. Johnson is tied for sixth in walks. He has boarded base 35 times this season by bases on balls and walked three times in the Virginia series.
In the pitching department, Steve Reba is tops in wins (10), ERA (2.22) and opponents’ batting average (.194). His ERA ranks 23rd in the nation. He now leads the ACC in strike outs. The righty has 86 strike outs this season, two ahead of Steve Kelly of Georgia Tech. Joining Reba to rank among the leads best against batters, Matt Henrie is second versus opposing batters who have a .220 average against Henrie. Schmidt is hold batters to an average of .241, good enough for fifth in the league. Henrie’s ERA of 2.89 is third best in the league.
As a team, Clemson leads the ACC in fielding with a .967 fielding percentage. The Tigers are third in batting with a .305 average, behind Georgia Tech (.349) and Wake Forest (.331) and are second in pitching with a 3.96 ERA behind Florida State (3.27).
Clemson’s Senior Class
Clemson honored four seniors May 13 prior to the regular-season finale against Virginia: 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 in 13 appearances (three starts) with one save and a 2.88 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 .285 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 .376 batting average and is fifth in the ACC in stolen bases (22-27). His 73 singles this season are tied for the third 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.
Boyd Out for the Year Senior preseason All-American center fielder Patrick Boyd will not return to the Clemson lineup this season is in the middle of a five-week rehabilitation for his back Clemson head coach Jack Leggett announced May 4 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 .342 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.
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.
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.
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.
2001 ACC Review…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.
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 was 4 for 4 for the Tigers with two RBIs while Ryan Riley, 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.
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, Jeff Baker and Steve Pyzik 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’s 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 against Georgia Tech 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 Friday, 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’s 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. Khalil Greene and 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.
Clemson at the 2000 ACC Tournament… Clemson Advances With 9-5 Win Over Virginia Patrick Boyd had three hits apiece to lead Clemson to a 9-5 win in the first round of the ACC Tournament at Fort Mill, SC on May 17. Virginia took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on Luis Giraldo’s two-run homer, but Clemson responded with three runs in the third and four runs in the fifth. Stone continued his torrid hitting, as he hit two doubles and scored three runs. Khalil Greene also extended his hitting streak to 15 games. As a team, the Tigers were 8-for-14 (.571) with two outs and 6-for-13 with runners in scoring position. Scott Berney allowed eight hits and four earned runs in 7.1 innings to earn the win. Kevin Lynn pitched 1.2 scoreless innings to earn his first save as a Tiger.
Mottl’s Complete Game Leads Tigers Over FSU 8-4 Ryan Mottl pitched a complete-game six-hitter to lead Clemson over #4 Florida State 8-4 in the second round of the ACC Tournament at Fort Mill, SC on May 18. Mottl allowed four runs and three walks while striking out 10 in his first complete game since last season’s Fayetteville Regional. Mottl held the Seminoles to just one hit in nine at bats with two outs. Mottl, who tied the Clemson record with his 65th career start, set a team-season best with his 10 strikeouts.
It was also his most strikeouts in his last 40 starts. Clemson downed the Seminoles for the fourth time in four tries in 2000 and the fifth time in a row overall. The Tigers hit three homers, as Khalil Greene, Brian Ellis, and Mike Calitri all went deep. Greene extended his hitting streak to 16 games with the homer, which put Clemson ahead for good. Bradley LeCroy, subbing for an injured Jeff Baker, had two hits. Six of Clemson’s 12 hits went for extra bases, while Florida State’s lone extra-base hit was Marshall McDougall’s three-run homer in the sixth inning to tie the score at 4-4.
Georgia Tech Rallies To Upend Tigers 9-8 Yellow Jacket Bryan Prince scored on an error in the ninth inning to down Clemson 9-8 in the winner’s bracket of the ACC Tournament at Fort Mill, SC on May 19. Clemson jumped out to a 7-0 lead after three innings thanks to 10 hits. Clemson’s first five batters reached base in the first inning, as Clemson took a 3-0 lead.
Clemson added three more runs in the third inning, highlighted by Patrick Boyd two-run single. Georgia Tech scored five runs in the sixth inning. Jason Basil hit a two-run single and Derik Goffena followed with a three-run homer to make the score 7-6. Mike Calitri hit a solo homer in the seventh to put Clemson up two, but Georgia Tech responded with a run of its own in the bottom of the inning. Down a run entering the ninth, Brad Stockton, who was 3-for-3 with four runs scored, led off with an infield single and Mark Teixeira followed with a double to plate Stockton, but was thrown out at third attempting to stretch it to a triple. After Prince singled and Jason Basil walked, Goffena hit a potential double play ball, but Ryan Riley’s throw was not handled by Calitri at first, and Prince scored all the way from second. Goffena would have been safe if Calitri held on to the ball. Casey Stone led the Tigers with three hits, while Khalil Greene added two hits to extend his hitting streak to 17 games. It was just the second time in 33 games this season this season that the Tigers totaled 10 hits or more and lost.
Greene, Lynn Lead Tigers Over Cavaliers 12-5 Khalil Greene went 5-for-5 with three runs scored as Clemson defeated Virginia 12-5 in the ACC Tournament at Fort Mill, SC on May 20. Clemson advanced to the championship round with the win. Kevin Lynn pitched 7.2 innings, allowing 14 hits, four runs, and one walk while striking out eight to earn the win. Clemson scored five runs in the sixth inning and three more in the seventh to blow the game open. Jeff Baker also added two homers and five RBIs. Clemson had 16 hits and Virginia had 17, but left 15 runners on base to Clemson’s 12. Four different Cavaliers had three hits apiece. Brandon Creswell, who defeated Clemson’s in his last two starts against the Tigers, suffered the loss.
Yellow Jackets Claim ACC Crown With 8-4 Win Mark Teixeira’s two-run double on an 0-2 pitch in the seventh inning put Georgia Tech up 5-4 as the Yellow Jackets went on to win 8-4 to win the ACC Tournament championship at Fort Mill, SC on May 20. Georgia Tech scored three runs in the seventh and two in the eighth to put the game away. Patrick Boyd had tied the score at 2-2 in the fifth inning with a solo homer. Teixeira’s error in the seventh inning put Clemson ahead 4-3. Boyd led Clemson with three hits, including a homer, triple, and two RBIs. Matt Additon walked two batters, both of which scored, and suffered the loss. Clemson left 10 runners on base and had just one hit in nine at bats with runners in scoring position.
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