Clemson Baseball Preview vs. Wofford

by Press Release - Tue Feb 24 15:41:39 GMT-04:00 2009

Clemson vs. Wofford

Clemson (3-0), ranked as high as #19 in the nation, will host Wofford (2-2) on Wednesday afternoon at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 4:00 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 Wofford have met 98 times on the diamond, with Clemson holding a 74-23-1 lead in the series dating back to 1898.

The two teams have played one game every year since 2001, including six of the last eight years at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. The two also met at Clemson in 1999. Prior to the 1999 game, the last meetings came in 1976 and 1977 at Spartanburg, both Tiger victories.

In 2008, Clemson rallied from a 7-2 deficit to defeat Wofford 9-7 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Wilson Boyd’s two-out, two-run single in the seventh inning gave the Tigers the lead for good.

Clemson holds a 37-8 lead in the series in games played at Clemson and 7-0 advantage in games played at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Jack Leggett is 9-0 against the Terriers as Clemson’s head coach as well.

The Starting Pitchers

Wofford’s starting pitcher has yet to be announced.

Clemson will counter with freshman righty Kevin Brady (0-0, 0.00 ERA) on Wednesday. The Gaithersburg, MD native will be making his first career start on the mound. He made one relief appearance for a total of 1.1 innings pitched against Charlotte this past weekend. He allowed one hit, no runs, and no walks.

The Terriers

Wofford, led by second-year Head Coach Todd Interdonato, enters Wednesday’s game at Clemson with a 2-2 record after splitting four games at home over the weekend. Virginia Tech downed the Terriers in both meetings, while Wofford won games against Southern Illinois-Edwardsville and UNC Asheville.

Wofford is hitting .318 with a .393 on-base percentage and is averaging 9.0 runs per game. The Terriers have hit six homers and stole 13 bases in 13 attempts.

Alex Lee and Konstantine Diamaduros both are hitting a team-best .500 and have each scored five runs. Mike McDonnell has hit a team-high two homers with six RBIs. Michael Gilmartin has a .579 on-base percentage had three stolen bases as well.

The pitching staff has a 8.50 ERA and .338 opponents’ batting average. Freshman righthander Bobby DeLuria has a 3.86 ERA in 4.2 innings pitched over two relief appearances. The team is fieling at a .975 clip as well.

The Tigers

Clemson, ranked as high as #19 in the nation, enters Wednesday’s game against Wofford with a 3-0 record after sweeping Atlantic 10 favorite Charlotte at Doug Kingsmore Stadium last weekend.

The Tigers are hitting .265 with a .360 on-base percentage. The team has 12 steals in 14 attempts. Freshman shortstop Brad Miller leads the team with a .417 batting average along with one homer and four RBIs. Ben Paulsen is hitting .400 with a homer and two RBIs, while Kyle Parker has three RBIs.

The pitching staff has a 2.57 ERA and .225 opponents’ batting average. The staff has also allowed just four walks against 29 strikeouts. Reliever Ryan Hinson has allowed just one hit, no runs, and no walks with three strikeouts in 3.0 innings pitched over two relief appearances. The team is fielding at a .991 clip as well.

Polls

Clemson moved into Collegiate Baseball’s top 25 this week at #25 and remained at #19 in the Baseball America poll. There will not be another Sports Weekly poll released until next week, as Clemson was ranked #25 in its preseason 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.

Stolen Base Totals Up in 2009

In three games, Clemson has stolen 12 bases in 14 attempts. The Tigers did not steal their 12th bases until the 14th game of the 2008 season. A big reason for Clemson’s 4.0 steals per game is the nine steals the Tigers had against Charlotte in the season-opener on February 20. The Tigers were a perfect 9-9 on steals, including three by Addison Johnson and two each by three other Tigers. It was the most stolen bases by the Tigers in a game since April 19, 1989, when Clemson swiped 10 bases in a 16-5 win over Georgia Tech.

Tigers Sweep Charlotte to Open Season

Clemson, ranked #13 in the country, swept Charlotte in a three-game series at Doug Kingsmore Stadium from February 20-22. The Tigers outscored the 49ers 18-8 and outhit them .265 to .225. Clemson also had 12 stolen bases and committed just one error. Brad Miller went 5-for-12 with a homer and four RBIs in the series, while Ben Paulsen was 4-for-10. Ten Tiger pitchers combined for a 2.57 ERA and 29 strikeouts against only four walks. Charlotte was just 2-for-17 with runners in scoring position.

In game-one on February 20, Clemson stole nine bases and capitalized on six errors to defeat Charlotte 8-3. It was the most steals in a game by the Tigers since 1989. Addison Johnson, who missed all of 2008 due to injury, was 3-for-4 with three runs and three steals, while Kyle Parker was 2-for-4 with a double and three RBIs. Mike Freeman, Jeff Schaus, and Miller added two steals apiece. Clemson broke the game open with three runs in the fifth inning thanks to six steals and three 49er errors. Trey Delk pitched 5.1 innings in a starting role to earn the win. He allowed just four hits, one run, and one walk with five strikeouts, while four Tiger hurlers combined for 10 strikeouts against one walk.

In game-two on February 21, Chris Dwyer pitched 6.2 scoreless innings with nine strikeouts to lead Clemson to a 4-0 win over Charlotte. In the freshman lefthander’s first career outing, Dwyer allowed just two hits and one walk in earning the victory, while Kevin Brady and Ryan Hinson combined to pitch the final 2.1 innings to close out the four-hit shutout. The three Tiger hurlers combined for 10 strikeouts against one walk and only one 49er advanced past second base. Clemson scored all four of its runs after the fifth inning, highlighted by Miller’s two-run single in the eighth inning. Miller went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and Richard Mounce added a pinch-hit, run-scoring double.

In game-three on February 22, Wilson Boyd hit a walkoff single in the 10th inning to give Clemson a 6-5 win over Charlotte. The Tigers trailed 5-0 before they scored three runs in the seventh inning on home runs by Paulsen and Miller. Clemson then scored two runs in the eighth inning without the benefit of a hit to tie the score. With two outs and no one on base in the 10th inning, the Tigers loaded the bases before Boyd lined a single to right-center for Clemson’s first walkoff hit since 2007. Paulsen went 3-for-4 to lead Clemson. Tomas Cruz and Hinson combined to pitch 4.0 hitless and scoreless innings in relief to close out the game, while Hinson recorded the victory.