Tigers To Face Top-Ranked Stanford Sunday In Winners’ Bracket

June 10, 2000

Clemson and Stanford (48-15), whose one and only meeting on the diamond came in the 1995 College World Series, will square off Sunday at 3:00 PM EDT in the winners’ bracket at Rosenblatt Stadium. Clemson (51-16) will be the home team and occupy the third-base dugout. The winner of the game will next play on Wednesday at 7:00 PM EDT against one of the three other teams in the bracket. The loser will the San Jose State vs. Louisiana-Lafayette winner Tuesday at 3:00 PM EDT.

Stanford defeated Louisiana-Lafayette 6-4 Friday, while Clemson downed San Jose State 10-6. It was Clemson’s first opening-game win in its last six trips to Omaha. In the 1995 game between the Tigers and Cardinal, Stanford eliminated Clemson with an 8-3 win. The two teams have had two common opponents in 2000, San Jose State and Florida State. Clemson defeated the Spartans on Friday, while Stanford went 1-1 against San Jose State in a home-and-home series. Against Florida State, Clemson went 4-0, including three wins at Clemson’s Doug Kingsmore Stadium and another win in the ACC Tournament. The Cardinal played at Florida State in an early-season series. The Seminoles took two of three games over the Cardinal. Stanford is making its 12th trip to Omaha. Stanford has a 26-20 record in Omaha as well.

Stanford’s road to Omaha started with wins over Fresno State and Alabama in its own regional. After a 14-9 loss to the Crimson Tide, Stanford advanced with a 16-6 win over Alabama. In the Super Regional in Palo Alto against Nebraska, the Cornhuskers won game one by a 7-3 score. But the Cardinal responded with two wins by 7-1 and 5-3 scores.

The Cardinal, led by 24th-year Head Coach Mark Marquess, entered the College World Series with a .309 team batting average and 3.83 ERA. The team entered holding opponents to a .223 batting average. Stanford also entered among the national leaders with a .972 fielding percentage. The Cardinal is also 21-6 away from home.

Joe Borchard and Edmund Muth both have 19 homers and over 72 RBIs to lead the Cardinal hitting attack. John Gall entered with a .344 batting average with 11 homers and 69 RBIs. Stanford is expected to start junior righthander Justin Wayne (14-3, 3.08 ERA). Wayne has six complete games and a .223 opponent batting average in 18 starts (131.1 innings pitched). He also has 145 strikeouts against just 39 walks (3.7 strikeout-to-walk ratio). Wayne has a career record of 30-4. Jeff Bruksch also has 13 saves out of the bullpen. Clemson’s starter on the mound will be a gameday decision.

Clemson has two players and a coach from the west coast. Nick Glaser and Ryan Riley were teammates at Edmonds Community College in Washington for two seasons. Their coach at Edmonds, Hank King, is in his first season as a Tiger Assistant Coach. Both Riley and Glaser are natives of Washington. Recruiting coordinator Tim Corbin has made several recruiting trips to the west coast, an area of emphasis, in recent years.

Clemson Tops Spartans 10-6 in College World Series Opener

Clemson scored eight runs in the second inning, its highest ever output in a single inning by a Tiger team in the College World Series, as the #3 Tigers downed #7 San Jose State 10-6 on June 9. The previous record by a Tiger club was five runs, which occurred on three different occasions. The eight-run outburst started with four Tigers reaching via singles and was highlighted by Patrick Boyd’s three-run homer to left field. Clemson, who added two more runs in the third inning, had all 10 of its runs and nine of its 10 hits in the first three innings. Ryan Mottl earned the win despite allowing nine hits and five earned runs in 5.0 innings. The win was the senior’s 10th of 2000, becoming the first Tiger to rach double digits since Mottl won 10 games as a freshman in 1997. Steve Reba pitched 4.0 scoreless innings in relief to earn the save. He allowed just two hits and one walk, and worked out of a second-and-third jam with no outs in the seventh inning without allowing a run. It was Clemson’s first opening game win in the College World Series in its last six appearances in Omaha.

Clemson Making Ninth Trip to College World Series

Clemson is making its ninth trip to the College World Series in its history, and its first since 1996. Clemson also made it to Omaha in 1995 and 1991. In 1996, Clemson went 2-2, including dramatic wins over Oklahoma State and Alabama. The 1996 team featured the likes of National Player-of-the-Year Kris Benson and All-American Billy Koch.

This year’s team is quite a contrast from the 1996 team. There are no All-Americans and no players whose numbers jump out at. There are even no 2000 first-team all-conference players on this year’s squad. But there was a tenacious desire of 25 players and four coaches, in particular Jack Leggett, to make it back to Omaha.

Clemson is 7-16 all-time in Omaha. The Tigers made it to Omaha in Bill Wilhelm’s first two seasons at Clemson, 1958 and 1959. He also guided Clemson to Omaha in 1976, 1977, 1980, and 1991. Wilhelm was 4-12 in the College World Series. Jack Leggett has taken Clemson to two previous College World Series, 1995 and 1996. He owns a 3-4 record in Omaha. Leggett was a member of Maine’s baseball team that played in the College World Series in 1976.

Year Games Record Combined Score   Head Coach1958   3     1-2        10-23    Bill Wilhelm1959   3     1-2         9-11    Bill Wilhelm1976   3     1-2        17-17    Bill Wilhelm1977   3     1-2        20-15    Bill Wilhelm1980   2     0-2         9-19    Bill Wilhelm1991   2     0-2        15-20    Bill Wilhelm1995   2     0-2         4-11    Jack Leggett1996   4     2-2        30-39    Jack Leggett2000   1     1-0         10-6    Jack LeggettTotal 23    7-16      124-161

Clemson’s NCAA Tournament History

Clemson (51-16) enters the game against Stanford with more wins than it’s totaled since 1996, when Clemson finished 51-17. The 1996 season was the last trip to Omaha for the Tigers. The Tigers have now participated in 26 NCAA Tournaments overall and 14 in a row. Only Miami (FL), Florida State. Clemson has also won at least one game in all 14 of the regionals. Clemson’s 26 appearances also ranks seventh in the nation, while the 14-year run ranks tied for sixth all-time in NCAA history. Clemson has a 70-53 (.569) all-time record in the tournament, including a 41-27 (.603) record during the 14-year run. Jack Leggett has a 25-13 (.658) record in NCAA Tourney play as the Tiger Head Coach as well. Leggett was 4-10 in the tourney at Western Carolina in five years (1985-89), therefore is 29-23 (.558) in 11 career NCAA Tourneys.

Last season, Clemson lost in the opening round of the Fayetteville (AR) Regional to Southwest Missouri State by a 23-5 score. But in the next two days, Clemson won four games, including two over Southwest Missouri State to advance to the Super Regional at College Station (TX), hosted by Texas A&M. After getting blitzed in the first game 20-3, Clemson won game two 10-3 and led in game three 4-3 entering the top of the ninth inning, but two solo homers off Tiger star closer Chris Heck ended the Tiger season.

Tiger Streaks Rank Third Best in the Country

Clemson has won at least 40 games for 15 straight seasons. The Tigers reached that mark against #4 Florida State on May 8, a 7-4 Tiger win. Clemson is also participate in its 14th straight NCAA Tournament. Both marks rank in the top-three in the country currently. Clemson is tied for third in the nation in consecutive tournament appearances, trailing only Miami (FL) (28) and Florida State (23). Wichita State also a 14-year run in the tournament. As far as consecutive 40-win seasons, Clemson is third in the country with its 15-year streak. The Tigers trail only Florida State (23) and Wichita State (23) in that area.

Tiger Bats Alive And Well in Postseason

Clemson’s 9-2 record in postseason play can be attributed to the hot Tiger bats, as Clemson is hitting .345 in its 11 postseason games. The Tigers are averaging 9.5 runs per game and 12.5 hits per contest. The team also has a .429 on-base percentage and is 21-27 on stolen bases. The Tigers have committed just 12 errors in 11 games for a .972 fielding percentage.

In the 11 postseason games, Henr’ Stanley leads the team with a .579 batting average and a .680 on-base percentage. Justin Singleton is hitting .364, while Patrick Boyd’s is hitting .408 with two homers and 16 RBIs and a .482 on-base percentage. Casey Stone is hitting .358 with 12 RBIs. Jeff Baker also has four homers and 14 RBIs in the postseason. Khalil Greene is hitting at a .367 clip with seven doubles, a triple, and homer in the postseason as well.

Relieved

In the 2000 NCAA Tournament, Tiger pitchers have a 2.50 ERA, which is odd due to the fact that the five starting pitchers have averaged just 4.1 innings. Therefore the relievers have averaged just under 4.2 innings in the six games. In 27.1 innings, Tiger relief pitchers have allowed just two earned runs for a 0.66 ERA. The foursome of Kevin Lynn, Steve Reba, Nick Glaser, and Matt Additon have also allowed just 16 hits and three walks in those 27.1 innings.

* Jeff Baker has 11 homers in 2000. No other Tiger has more than six. His 11 homers is tied for second most by a Tiger freshman in a season. Matthew LeCroy hit 15 long balls in 1995 and Jim McCollom hit 11 homers in 1982.

* Khalil Greene is hitting a team-best .364 overall. He is also hitting a team-best .447 with runners in scoring position. In 14 career NCAA Tournament games, Greene has 11 doubles.

* Casey Stone is 38-for-his-last-83 (.458) over the last 19 games. He is also 64-for-160 (.400) since becoming the everyday leadoff hitter 36 games ago.

* After starting the season 1-for-28, Justin Singleton is 33-for-86 (.384) since. He is also hitting .471 (8-for-17) in the NCAA Tournament and has raised his overall batting average to .298.

* Patrick Boyd’s is a career .447 hitter in 17 career NCAA Tournament games.

* Henr’ Stanley is 9-for-14 (.643) with a .722 on-base percentage in the 2000 NCAA Tournament. In his career, Stanley is hitting .375 with a .514 on-base percentage in 19 career NCAA Tourney games.

* Ryan Riley is hitting .300 overall, but is hitting .404 with two outs and .414 with runners in scoring position.

* Nick Glaser 15 saves is the most in a season in Tiger history. He broke the record of 14, held Scott Winchester (1995). He was named a Third-Team All-American by NCBWA.

* Scott Berney started the season by not allowing a run in his first 32.2 innings pitched, which is a Clemson record.

* In Kevin Lynn last four outings (22.0 innings pitched), he is 3-0 with a save along with a 2.05 ERA, 18 strikeouts, and only one walk.

* Jeff Baker and Jarrod Schmidt were both named Freshman All-Americans by Collegiate Baseball.

* Seven of Clemson’s 25 players on the postseason roster are freshman.

* Clemson has a .347 team batting average in its six NCAA Tournament games. Meanwhile, the pitching staff has a 2.50 ERA and .227 opponent batting average in the NCAA Tourney.

* Clemson pitchers have thrown 27.1 innings out of the bullpen in the NCAA Tournament this season. They have allowed just two earned runs (0.66 ERA) and 16 hits.

* Clemson is 7-3 in one-run games and 8-3 in two-run games this year.

* Clemson is 36-2 when it totals 10 hits or more in a game. The two losses came at #1 South Carolina in 12 innings and against #3 Georgia Tech in the ACC Tournament. Both scores were 9-8.

* Clemson was 37-5 at home this season, breaking the school record for home wins. The Tigers broke the record of 34 set in 1996.

* Clemson averaged 2,833 fans in its 39 home dates. That is a 874-fan per date increase from last season. Both Super Regional games saw the school attendance record fall, as 6,392 fans saw Clemson down Mississippi State on June 3 to advance to the College World Series.

Individual Player Miscellaneous Batting Stats

Below is a look at Tiger batters’ batting averages in certain situations.

                    Overall  Bases   Two #  Player          Average  Loaded  Outs  RISP 14 Khalil Greene    .364    .400    .371  .447 26 Casey Stone      .357    .500    .373  .351 19 Jeff Baker       .320    .400    .305  .282 1  Henr' Stanley    .312    .100    .300  .255 31 Michael Johnson  .308    .375    .265  .244 42 Ryan Riley       .300    .250    .404  .414 11 Justin Singleton .298    .500    .261  .405 33 Mike Calitri     .297    .833    .232  .308 24 Patrick Boyd's     .292    .500    .367  .373 41 Brian Ellis      .291    .400    .277  .352 2  Bradley LeCroy   .280    .000    .184  .176 9  Steve Pyzik      .242    ----    .143  .300 25 Jarrod Schmidt   .230    .250    .236  .203 15 Ryan Hub         .229    .000    .231  .267 8  Brian Holstad    .206   1.000    .267  .308TEAM                 .306    .385    .302  .326OPPONENTS            .260    .225    .210  .254