Tigers Play Host to Chanticleers in Two Weekday Games

March 25, 2002

Clemson, SC —

Number-one ranked Clemson (18-1) will face Coastal Carolina (16-8) Tuesday at 7:15 PM in the first of two games at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Game two will start at 3:00 PM Wednesday.

Righthander Matt Henrie (4-0) will start Tuesday for the Tigers. Henrie has a 2.03 ERA and has walked just six batters in 31.0 innings pitched this season. In his last three starts, Henrie is 3-0 and has allowed just one earned run in 20.1 innings pitched for a 0.44 ERA. Lefthander Justin Sturge is slated to start for the Chanticleers. Sturge enters the contest with a 5-1 record and 0.98 ERA in 36.2 innings pitched. He is allowing opposing batters to hit a meager .185.

Wednesday’s starter for the Tigers will be B.J. LaMura, who will be making his first career start. LaMura has appeared in four games and 10.0 innings. The junior righty has allowed just one run on three hits while striking out nine. The Chanticleers have yet to decide on a starter for game two.

Clemson and Coastal Carolina have faced two common opponents in 2002, South Carolina and Purdue. Clemson defeated the Gamecocks twice in two games, while the Chanticleers fell to South Carolina 11-2. Clemson also swept Purdue, while Coastal Carolina took two of three games during the Boilermakers southern road trip.

The Chanticleers are coming off a three-game series with Kent. The Golden Flashes took two of three games in Conway. Coastal Carolina is hitting .286 as a team and is led at the plate by catcher Randy McGarvey, who is hitting .368 with two homers and 12 RBIs. Outfielder Ryan McGraw is hitting .353 and already had 22 steals in 23 attempts. As a team, Coastal Carolina had stolen 66 bases in 73 attempts in 24 games. Third-baseman Adam Keim is the Chanticleers’ leading power hitter, belting six homers and driving in 24 runs to go along with a .327 batting average.

Khalil Greene leads Clemson in batting average at .532 and needs just one RBI to break the Clemson record for RBIs (set by Jim McCollum) of 218.