Tigers To Face Presbyterian Tuesday

March 16, 2009

Clemson vs. Presbyterian Clemson (11-4), ranked as high as #18 in the nation, will play host to Presbyterian (2-12) on Tuesday night at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 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 WCCPFM.com. Live stats will also be available at ClemsonTigers.com.

The Series Clemson and Presbyterian have met 76 times on the diamond, with Clemson holding a 57-19 lead in the series dating back to 1906. On April 23, 2008 at Fluor Field in Greenville, SC, the Tigers topped Presbyterian 12-7 behind three hits and four RBIs by Ben Paulsen. Prior to that game, the two teams had not met since 1950, when Clemson won both meetings by scores of 15-2 at Presbyterian and 11-10 (10 innings) in Tigertown.

The Tigers lead 32-7 in games played at Clemson. However, Tuesday’s game will mark the first-ever meeting between the two teams at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Jack Leggett is 1-0 against the Blue Hose as Clemson’s head coach.

The Starting Pitchers Presbyterian will start freshman righthander Will Freeman (0-0, 9.00 ERA) on the mound. The Columbia, SC native has made one start and one relief appearance for a total of 5.0 innings pitched. He has allowed seven hits (.318 opponents’ batting average) and one walk with five strikeouts.

Clemson will counter with sophomore righthander Graham Stoneburner (1-2, 4.97 ERA) on Tuesday. The Richmond, VA native has made four relief appearances and two starts for a total of 12.2 innings pitched. He has allowed 16 hits (.296 opponents’ batting average) and three walks with 18 strikeouts.

The Blue Hose Presbyterian, led by fifth-year Head Coach Elton Pollock, enters Tuesday’s game at #18 Clemson with a 2-12 overall record and 0-5 Big South mark after falling twice in two games at home against Virginia Military. Presbyterian played its first 12 games on the road and was 2-10 in those contests.

Presbyterian is averaging 6.2 runs per game and hitting .287 with a .440 slugging percentage and .352 on-base percentage this season. The team has also totaled 21 doubles, two triples, 17 homers, and 21 stolen bases in 27 attempts. Bobby Cole is hitting .444 in five games, while Jesse Harmon is batting .365 with three homers and seven RBIs. Gabe Grammer is hitting .326 with three home runs, 11 RBIs, and a team-high five stolen bases. Kenny Bryant is batting .300 with four homers and 16 RBIs as well.

The pitching staff has an 8.17 ERA and .321 opponents’ batting average along with 76 strikeouts against 69 walks in 115.2 innings pitched. Daniel Hill has the team’s lone save in eight relief appearances. Presbyterian is fielding at a .946 clip as well.

The Tigers Clemson, ranked as high as #18 in the nation, enters Tuesday’s game against Presbyterian with an 11-4 overall record and 4-2 ACC mark after winning all five games last week, including a three-game sweep of Wake Forest. The Tigers sport a 9-2 home record.

The Tigers are hitting .276 with a .406 slugging percentage and .371 on-base percentage during the 2009 season. Clemson has also totaled 26 doubles, two triples, 12 homers, and 28 stolen bases in 35 attempts.

Ben Paulsen is hitting a team-best .414 with 13 runs, four doubles, two homers, and 14 RBIs. He has also totaled four two-hit games and four three-hit games. Mike Freeman went 12-for-22 (.545) with four doubles and one triple in five games last week. He is now hitting .309 with a .451 on-base percentage. Kyle Parker has two homers and 14 RBIs as well.

The pitching staff has a 2.57 ERA and .212 opponents’ batting average. The staff has allowed 39 walks against 134 strikeouts, good for a 3.4-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Casey Harman has 18 strikeouts against only two walks in 17.1 innings pitched. The team is fielding at a .966 clip as well.

Polls The Tigers moved up two spots to #20 in the Baseball America poll after going 5-0 in five games last week, while they went from not ranked to #18 in the Collegiate Baseball poll. Clemson also moved up five spots to #19 in the Sports Weekly coaches 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.

Newcomers on the Mound In 2009, the Tigers have sent out eight first-year players to the mound, six of which are freshmen. Righthanders Tomas Cruz, Alex Frederick, Richard Mounce, and Scott Weismann along with lefthanders Chris Dwyer and Will Lamb have all been a big reason the Tigers have an outstanding 2.57 ERA and .212 opponents’ batting average this season.

Those eight pitchers have a combined 4-1 record and one save in 62.1 innings. They have also allowed just 11 earned runs (1.59 ERA), 34 hits in 220 at-bats (.155 opponents’ batting average), and 18 walks with 51 strikeouts. They have combined to allow just three extra-base hits (two doubles, one triple) as well.

Clemson Sweeps Wake Forest Clemson, ranked #22 in the nation, swept Wake Forest in three games at Doug Kingsmore Stadium from March 13-15. Clemson outscored the Demon Deacons 17-5 and outhit them .350 to .238, including .276 to .118 with runners in scoring position. Mike Freeman went 6-for-13 (.462) with five runs, two doubles, and one triple. The Tiger pitching staff had a 1.67 ERA and totaled 22 strikeouts against six walks. The staff also stranded 29 Demon Deacons on base.

In game-one on March 13, which was the first game of a doubleheader, Parker hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning to give Clemson the lead for good in its 4-1 win over Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons had taken a 1-0 lead in the top of the sixth inning. Parker, who was 3-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs, added a run-scoring single in the seventh inning. The Tigers outhit Wake Forest 14-8 and had five players with at least two hits. Tomas Cruz pitched 3.0 scoreless innings in relief of two-hit ball to earn the win, while Will Lamb retired the only batter he faced to record his first career save. Starter Trey Delk also struck out eight batters in 5.2 innings pitched.

In game-two on March 13, which was the second game of a doubleheader, Parker went 3-for-5 with a homer, two runs, and three RBIs in Clemson’s 6-1 victory over Wake Forest. After Wake Forest stranded the potential tying run on third base with no outs in the top of the seventh inning, Parker gave the Tigers a 4-1 lead with a two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning. The Tigers, who outhit the Demon Deacons 13-10, added another run in the seventh and one run in the eighth inning on Parker’s third hit of the game. Freeman, Parker, and Casey Harman earned the win, as he allowed just one run and no walks in 6.1 innings pitched.

In game-three on March 15, Ben Paulsen hit a two-run homer in the fifth inning, as he totaled two hits and three RBIs in the game. Freeman added a double, triple, and three runs.