Top-Ranked Tigers Coast to 6-0 Win at College of Charleston Friday

March 3, 2006

Mount Pleasant, SC –

Righthanders P.J. Zocchi, Matt Vaughn, and David Kopp combined for a six-hit shutout in #1 Clemson’s 6-0 victory at College of Charleston on Friday afternoon. The crowd of 3,122 fans, a vast majority of which were Tiger fans, was the highest figure in Cougar history. It was the first time College of Charleston was shut out at home since 2003, a streak of 70 games.

The Tigers upped their record to 6-1, while College of Charleston fell to 7-3. Clemson also upheld its perfect record against College of Charleston, as it moved to 16-0 in the series dating back to 1899.

Zocchi (1-0) earned the victory by pitching a career-long 6.0 innings, allowing five hits and two walks with four strikeouts. It doubled Zocchi’s longest prior outing, as his previous long appearance was 3.0 innings (on two occasions). The Bronx, NY native also registered the win in just his fourth career start, including first on the road. Vaughn, a native of nearby Summerville, pitched 2.0 innings, allowing no hits and no walks with three strikeouts. Kopp closed out the game with a scoreless ninth inning in his first outing of 2006. Cougar starter Graham Godfrey (2-2) allowed all six runs on seven hits and suffered the loss.

Clemson took the game’s first lead in the fourth inning when Travis Storrer broke a 1-for-19 slump with an opposite-field two-run homer just inside the left-field foul pole. Tyler Colvin, who singled through the right side, also scored on the play. It was Storrer’s first long ball of the season.

The Tigers doubled their lead in the fifth inning without the benefit of a hard-hit ball. Adrian Casanova led off reaching first after being hit by a pitch. Herman Demmink followed with a slow roller down the third-base line. Demmink was safe at first (ruled a single), and third-baseman Jess Easterling, a transfer from Clemson, threw wide of first, allowing Casanova to score all the way from first base. Brad Chalk then plated Demmink with a bloop single to center.

Andy D’Alessio led off the sixth with a solo homer to right-center into a stiff breeze, his first long ball of the season. Stan Widmann followed with a walk and went to second on Casanova’s sacrifice bunt. Demmink then belted a double to left-center to score Widmann.

Storrer had a game-high three hits, while Demmink and Chalk added two hits apiece. Six different Cougars had one hit apiece.

Clemson will travel directly to Columbia to play #9 South Carolina at Sarge Frye Field on Saturday at 1:30 PM. There will be no live radio coverage of the game, however the game will be broadcast in its entirety on Clemson Tiger Sports Network after the postgame show of the Clemson-Georgia Tech men’s basketball game, which is scheduled to start shortly after 2:00 PM on Saturday.