Tigers Travel North to Take on Cavaliers This Weekend

May 9, 2002

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Clemson, SC –

Top-ranked Clemson (40-9, 13-5 ACC) will travel to Charlottesville, VA to take on Virginia (24-23, 8-10 ACC) in a three-game series at University of Virginia Baseball Field beginning Saturday at 1:00 PM. Game one will be televised by Fox Sports Net South and Sunshine Network. Game two Sunday will start at 2:00 PM and the series finale Monday will start at 1:00 PM. All three games will be broadcast on the radio by Clemson Tiger Sports Properties and can be heard live via the internet at www.clemsontigers.com. Live stats will also be available on Clemson’s website.

Clemson leads the all-time series with Virginia 93-26 dating back to 1955. The Tigers are 65-8 against the Cavaliers dating back to 1975, but Virginia won the last meeting by a 7-3 score in the first round of the 2001 ACC Tournament in Fort Mill, SC. The Tigers had beaten Virginia six times in a row, including a three-game sweep last season at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Two years ago at Virginia, the Tigers took two of three games. Head Coach Jack Leggett is 22-6 against Virginia as the Tiger skipper, including a 9-3 record in Charlottesville.

Clemson will start senior righty Steve Reba (10-1, 3.39 ERA) in game one Saturday. Reba has 30 career wins, fourth most in Clemson history, and is only the third Tiger pitcher to win 10 or more games in back-to-back seasons. Junior righthander Matt Henrie (9-2, 2.75 ERA) carries the ACC’s third-best ERA into action in game two Sunday. The final game will see freshman lefty Tyler Lumsden (1-0, 5.46 ERA) take to the hill in his second start. In his only other start, he threw 7.1 shutout innings to pick up the win against #3 Wake Forest on April 28. Lumsden has only allowed 18 hits in 28.0 innings pitched for a .188 opponents’ batting average.

Virginia will start sophomore righty and Houston, TX native Jeff Kamrath in game one. Kamrath leads the ACC with a 2.34 ERA and has a 7-3 record. Opponents are hitting just .209 against him. Sophomore lefty Joe Koshansky (2-4, 5.17 ERA) will take to the mound in game two Sunday, while junior lefthander Greg Hansard (1-1, 3.00 ERA) will start game three. Hansard has made 16 relief appearances and pitched 30.0 innings without allowing a home run this season. Monday’s start will be his first of the season. Virginia has a 5.39 team ERA and are allowing opponents to hit .291 in 2002.

The series will see the return of four Tigers to their home states, including Tyler Lumsden (Roanoke). Tiger Pitching Coach Kevin O’Sullivan also was an All-ACC catcher at Virginia for two seasons from 1990-91. Clemson is led at the plate by senior shortstop Khalil Greene, who is hitting .472 with 15 homers and 62 RBIs. Greene needs one double to break the ACC record for career doubles and five hits to tie the ACC record for career hits. Clemson is hitting .333 on the season, second best in the ACC. The Tigers are also on pace to set a school record for fielding percentage, with a .971 mark.

Virginia, led by 22nd-year Head Coach Dennis Womack, is hitting .287, led by Dan Street with a .377 batting average. Street also had 11 homers and 49 RBIs, while David Stone is hitting .353 with 22 steals. Mark Reynolds has added 11 homers and 33 RBIs as well for the Cavaliers, who are 11-11 at home this season. They also haven’t played a game since April 30, when they defeated Virginia Tech in Charlottesville.