Clemson Regional: Tigers take on Spartans to open weekend action

McKenzie Clark and the Tigers get their NCAA Tournament going on Friday hosting UNC-Greensboro.

by TigerNet Staff - Thu May 18 09:32:06 GMT-04:00 2023

REGIONAL OVERVIEW

-No. 10/10 Clemson takes a 46-9 overall record into the opening game of the 2023 Clemson Regional against UNCG.

-The Tigers are the No. 16 national seed and were selected to host in back-to-back seasons after being the No. 10 seed in 2022. The Tigers welcome Auburn, Cal State Fullerton and UNCG to McWhorter Stadium.

-The Tigers have outscored opponents 331-88 in games this season, including run-ruling 15 opponents.

-Clemson has 435 hits through 55 games, including posting 81 doubles and 70 home runs.

-The Tigers’ pitching staff is posting a 1.33 ERA through 352 innings of work and struck out a combined 300 batters.

-The Tigers are 5-2 in NCAA Regional appearances after being the No. 2 seed in the Tuscaloosa Regional in 2021 with a 2-2 record and going a perfect 3-0 in 2022.

-Last season, Clemson swept its regionals that included run-ruling both UNCW and Louisiana to clinch a 1-0 victory against Auburn.

VS. UNCG

-Clemson holds a 2-1 overall record against the Spartans, including taking two games earlier this season at the Clemson Classic.

-The Tigers took game one, 3-0, before concluding the tournament with a 6-1 win in game two.

-Clemson finished with 20 hits between the two games, including Valerie Cagle and Aby Vieira both hitting five, while McKenzie Clark and Arielle Oda finished with four each.

-Cagle and Millie Thompson each started a game in the circle. Both finished with eight strikeouts in their respective performances.

-Winners of six straight games and 11 of its last 13 contests, UNCG will make its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2021 when it competed in the Athens regional. The NCAA regional appearance will be the seventh in program history (1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2018, 2021, 2023).

-The top-seeded Spartans earned the Southern Conference's automatic bid after defeating the second-seeded Samford Bulldogs, 7-6, in the SoCon Championship game on Saturday in dramatic fashion with back-to-back home runs from Jessie Shipley and Maycin Brown in the bottom of the seventh.

-UNCG has had 11 shutouts this season. This is the most since the 2018 season when the Spartans had 14. Six of the 11 have been shortened games.

-Redshirt sophomore Maddie Spell was named the Southern Conference Tournament's Most Outstanding Player after appearing in all three games in the tournament. She pitched 12.0 innings, giving up eight hits, one earned run, and had five strikeouts. She also hit a solo home run in the championship game. Fifth year Delaney Cumbie and sophomore Jessie Shipley were also named to the All-Tournament team. Senior Ashley Gontram was the recipient of the Pinnacle Award, given to the student-athlete with the highest grade-point average on the championship-winning team.

-In the latest national statistics, which are games through May 12, UNCG is leading the nation in walks (256), is 14th in double plays per game (0.46), 21st in total home runs (64), 29th in home runs per game (1.14), 46th in doubles (73), 47th in shutouts (11), 56th in scoring (5.12), 58th in win-loss percentage (0.643), and 65th in slugging percentage (0.439). The Spartans' 261 walks has led the nation since April 6th.

Parking/Traffic

All parking lots surrounding McWhorter Stadium are free and open, with the exception of the ADA parking (for fans with a state-issued placard) in designated spots.

ADA Parking is available in the Jervey Lot. All other parking is first-come, first-served

*Note: Clemson baseball is hosting its final home series Thursday – Saturday at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Fans can anticipate additional traffic on these days.

Due to Lot 5 being unavailable due to construction, fans are advised to park in Jervey Meadows.

Tickets

A limited amount of all-session general admission tickets are available to purchase. All tickets will be for the berm grass section in the outfield. Tickets can be purchased HERE

All tickets are mobile, as fans should download tickets to their mobile devices prior to arriving to McWhorter Stadium.

Fans are encouraged to visit the Clemson Ticketing Guide available HERE to get answers to any ticketing questions prior to arriving at McWhorter Stadium including a general overview of to manage their tickets, how to add their tickets to their mobile wallet prior to each game, how to transfer tickets if they are unable to attend a game and more.

REGIONAL SCHEDULE

Friday, May 19

Game 1: Clemson vs UNCG – 3 pm (ESPNU)

Game 2: Auburn vs Cal State Fullerton 5:30 pm (ESPN+) -

Saturday, May 20

Game 3: Game 1 Winner vs Game 2 Winner – 1 pm

Game 4: Game 1 Loser vs Game 2 Loser – 3:30 pm

Game 5: Game 3 Loser vs Game 4 Winner – 6 pm

Sunday, May 21

Game 6: Game 3 Winner vs Game 5 Winner – 12 pm

Game 7 (if necessary): 2:30 pm