Baseball: Clemson Regional Notes |
Clemson at NCAA Clemson Regional
May 25-27, 2001 Doug Kingsmore Stadium, Clemson, SC Clemson vs. William & Mary * Friday, May 25, 7:00 PM (CTN) Clemson Regional Schedule Friday, May 25 Game 1 2:00 PM #1 South Alabama vs. #4 Seton Hall Game 2 7:00 PM #2 Clemson vs. #3 William & Mary Saturday, May 26 Game 3 11:00 AM Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser Game 4 3:00 PM Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner Game 5 7:00 PM Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Loser Sunday, May 27 Game 6 2:00 PM Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner Game 7 *TBA Game 6 Winner vs. Game 6 Loser (if necessary) *Game 7 to be played 50 minutes following conclusion of Game 6 Clemson Draws No. 2 Seed Clemson has been tabbed the No. 2 seed for the Clemson Regional at Doug Kingsmore Stadium this weekend in the NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament. The field also includes top-seeded South Alabama, third-seeded William & Mary and fourth-seeded Seton Hall. South Alabama will face Seton Hall on Friday at 2:00 PM, while Clemson and William & Mary will meet on Friday at 7:00 PM. Clemson will take on the Tribe of William & Mary for only the second time. The last meeting occurred last season, a 10-6 victory by Clemson. Clemson is 4-4 against top-seeded South Alabama. The last meeting between the two schools was an NCAA Tournament game at Clemson in 1998. The Jaguars out-lasted the Tigers 2-1 in a 16-inning game that took 4:14 minutes to complete. Clemson is 4-0 all-time against Seton Hall, including a 6-3 victory in the second game of the NCAA South Regional in 1987. The winner of the Clemson Regional will move on to play the victor of the Coral Gables, FL Regional in a Super Regional at a site to be determined Monday, May 29. The Coral Gables Regional consists of Bucknell, Stetson, Florida and Miami (FL), the regional host and second seed nationally. The winner of the Super Regional will advance to Omaha, NE for the College World Series.
Probable Clemson Position Starters
Clemson in the NCAA Tournament
Clemson will be making its 27th appearance in the NCAA Baseball
Tournament, the seventh-best total in the nation. It marks the 15th
consecutive selection for the tournament, which is the third longest
active streak. The Tigers are 70-55 all-time in the NCAA tournament
with nine appearances in the College World Series. Clemson finished
as the regular season runner-up in the Atlantic Coast Conference this
season behind Florida State. Clemson was 17-7 in ACC action and 38-20
overall, including a 24-8 mark at home.
Leggett in the NCAA Tournament
Clemson head coach Jack Leggett has a 29-25 (.537) record in NCAA
Tournament play. As the Clemson coach, Leggett is 25-15 (.625) in
seven tournaments with three appearances in the College World Series.
Prior to coming to Clemson, Leggett coached in five NCAA Tournaments
at Western Carolina where he was 4-10 (.286).
Quickly on Clemson
Clemson enters the tournament led by third baseman Jeff Baker, who
leads the ACC with 22 home runs and 69 RBIs. Senior outfielder Casey
Stone is tied with Baker with a team-leading .376 batting average and
leads the team with 96 hits. Steve Reba, a junior right hander with
an ACC best 11-3 record, is expected to start in the opener against
William & Mary. Reba started against the Tribe last season and
allowed only one run and five hits while striking out seven in 5.2
innings. The Tigers finished 17-7 and finished second in the ACC
behind Florida State.
Regionals at Clemson
The 2001 Clemson Regional marks the eighth time Clemson has been the
site of the NCAA tournament. The Tigers also played host in 1980,
1981, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998 and 2000. Last season the Tigers won the
four-team regional at Doug Kingsmore Stadium and then defeated
Mississippi State in the Super Regional to advance to the College
World Series. Clemson is 19-6 in regional action as the host school.
Clemson vs. William & Mary
This will be just the second ever meeting between Clemson and William
& Mary. The Tigers won 12-2 of the Tribe last year on March 8. Steve
Reba started the game for the Tigers and did not allow a base runner
until the fourth inning, which led to the first Tribe run. He allowed
another hit in the fourth inning and then an unearned run scored in
the fifth. Reba's 10.1 hitless and 13.1 scoreless inning streaks
ended in the contest and he did not pitch for another month after
straining a fore arm muscle.
Last Meeting...
Tigers Beat William & Mary 10-6
Jack Leggett picked up win No. 300 at Clemson as the Tigers rallied
to down William & Mary 10-6 on March 8, 2000. Clemson lead 5-1 before
the Tribe tied the score at 5-5 in the seventh inning. But Casey
Stone and Patrick Boyd each had two-run singles in the eighth to
preserve the win. Matt Additon pitched 2.0 scoreless innings in
relief to pick up the win. Steve Reba started, but did not factor in
the decision. Boyd led the Tigers with three hits, two runs scored,
and four RBIs. Five other Tigers had two hits apiece.
About William & Mary
William & Mary (35-18) defeated James Madison for the Colonial
Athletic Association Tournament title to receive a bid to the NCAA
Tournament. The Tribe has won 10 of its last 11 games and is led by
Marshall Hubbard's .395 batting average. Brendan Harris is the team
leader in home runs (17) and RBIs (65). Clark Saylor is the team's
leading pitcher with a 9-1 record and 2.96 ERA.
About South Alabama
South Alabama (44-17) won five straight games in the Sun Belt
Conference after losing in the opening round Arkansas-Little Rock.
Nick Gretz leads the offense with a .374 batting average while Tim
Merritt leads the team with 12 home runs and 63 RBIs. Clark Girardeau
leads the pitching staff with a 10-3 record.
Clemson vs. South Alabama
Any meeting with South Alabama in the Clemson Regional would be the
ninth ever meeting between the two schools and the first since a 2-1
16-inning Jaguar win in the 1998 Clemson Regional that sent the
Tigers to the loser's bracket. The game went four hours, 14 minutes
and ended after 11:15 PM. The loss forced the Tigers into the 11:00
AM game on Saturday against Southern California, which eliminated the
Tigers with an 8-5 loss. The Trojans went on to win the national
championship that season.
The series between South Alabama and Clemson is tied at four games
apiece. That meeting in 1998 was the only time the Tigers have faced
the Jaguars under head coach Jack Leggett. Clemson took two of three
games from USA in 1987 and swept both games played in 1986 in Mobile.
South Alabama claimed the only two other games played in the series,
both in 1973 in Mobile. This will be the fifth meeting played at
Clemson.
About Seton Hall
Seton Hall enters the regional as the champion of the Big East
tournament with a 33-21-1 record. Casey Grimm is the top hitter with
a .363 batting average and is tied for the team lead in home runs
with five. The pitching staff is led by Chris Reilly, who has a 6-1
record and a 3.00 ERA, and Shawn Turkington, who is 6-2 with a 4.18
ERA.
Clemson vs. Seton Hall
The Tigers are a perfect 4-0 in the previous meetings against Seton
Hall. Clemson swept a three-game series in 1989, winning by scores of
7-5, 8-5 and 17-7. The only other meeting between the schools was in
the second round of the 1987 NCAA South Regional in Huntsville, AL.
The Tigers were victorious in the contest 6-3 but lost to Arkansas in
the next round. Clemson regrouped to beat Auburn to advance to the
championship for a re-match vs. Arkansas. The Razorbacks won 4-2 to
advance to Omaha.
Clemson Regional Team Comparison
Statistic S Al Clemson W&M Seton Hall Record 44-17 38-20 35-18 32-21-1 Batting Average .305 .301 .315 .298 Runs per Game 7.65 7.51 7.74 7.03 Homers 61 76 55 36 Slugging % .473 .482 .477 .429 On-Base % .391 .380 .381 .390 Stolen Bases 88-119 86-107 61-82 71-95 Fielding % .964 .967 .969 .964 ERA 3.64 4.00 4.61 4.55 Hits per 9 IP (by pitchers) 8.34 9.37 9.58 9.41 K/BB Ratio 1.92 2.38 1.76 2.05 Opp. Bat Avg. .247 .265 .277 .269 Wild Pitches 50 42 29 41
Clemson in the 2000 NCAA Regional
In Clemson's three games in its own regional last year, the Tigers
out-scored their opponents, Middle Tennessee (twice) and Illinois,
34-6. Old Dominion was also in the regional, but did not face the
Tigers. Clemson hit .345 along with a 2.00 ERA. The Tigers had a .432
on-base percentage and were a perfect 9 for 9 on stolen bases. The
defense played solid as well, committing only three errors in three
games. Tiger pitchers allowed just 21 hits, including just four
extra-base hits (three doubles, one triple).
Casey Stone was 5 for 14 with six RBIs and two stolen bases in the
regional and was voted Clemson Regional MVP. Five other Tigers made
the All-Regional squad: Ryan Riley (2B), Justin Singleton (OF), Brian
Ellis (C) and Henri Stanley (DH/UT) and Ryan Mottle (P).
Field of 64 Vying for 2001 CWS Berth
The field of 64 teams competing for the 2001 NCAA Division I Baseball
Championship was announced today by the NCAA.
The national top eight seeds are Cal State Fullerton (41-15); Miami
(FL) (44-12); Southern California (39-17); Stanford (42-14); Tulane
(50-10); Georgia (41-18); East Carolina (44-11) and Nebraska (45-14).
The Southeastern Conference leads all conferences in the number of
teams in the championship field with eight, followed by the Big 12
with five. The Atlantic Coast Conference and the Pac-10 have four
teams each.
Twenty-five of the 64 teams were not in the field last year. There
are no teams making a first-ever appearance in the tournament.
Northern Iowa last was in the field in 1961 when they were called
Iowa Teachers College. William & Mary is in the field for the first
time since 1983 and Temple's last appearance was 1984.
Miami (FL) is in the field for the 29th consecutive year, extending
its own record. Florida State is making its 24th straight appearance,
second all time. Other long consecutive streaks include Clemson (15),
LSU (13) and Cal State Fullerton (10). Of the 281 Division I
institutions which sponsor baseball, Tulane has the most Division I
wins with 50. Twenty-four other teams won at least 40 Division I
contests and all are in the field of 64.
Clemson was 8-13 this season against eight teams that are
participating in the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers played: Coastal
Carolina (1-1), Florida State (0-4), Georgia (1-1), Georgia Southern
(1-1), Georgia Tech (2-1), South Carolina (1-3), Wake Forest (2-1)
and Winthrop (0-1).
Each of the 16 regionals feature four teams, playing a
double-elimination format. The regionals are scheduled to be
conducted from Friday, May 25, to Sunday, May 27. Selection of the
eight super regional hosts will be determined and announced on May
28, at 3:00 PM Eastern time. The 55th College World Series is June
8-16, at Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha.
2001 NCAA Regional Pairings Host Seed #1 Seed #2 Seed #3 Seed #4 1) Fullerton, CA CS-Fullerton Arizona State Texas Tech Temple 2) Coral Gables, FL Miami (FL) Florida Stetson Bucknell 3) Los Angeles, CA Southern Cal Pepperdine Fresno St. Oral Roberts 4) Palo Alto, CA Stanford L. Beach St. Texas Marist 5) New Orleans, LA Tulane Mississippi Oklahoma St. Southern 6) Athens, GA Georgia Georgia Tech C. Carolina Ga. Southern 7) Wilson, NC^ East Carolina Winthrop South Florida UMBC 8) Lincoln, NE Nebraska Rutgers BYU N. Iowa 9) Houston, TX Rice Baylor Houston UT-Arlington 10) Knoxville, TN Wake Forest Tennessee Mid. Tenn. St. Tenn. Tech 11) Tallahassee, FL Florida St. Auburn Jacksonville Beth.-Cookman 12) Baton Rouge, LA LSU Va. Comm. California Minnesota 13) Columbia, SC Central Florida S. Carolina The Citadel Princeton 14) South Bend, IN Notre Dame UCSB Florida Int. UW-Milw. 15) Clemson, SC South Alabama Clemson William & Mary Seton Hall 16) Columbus, OH Mississippi St. Ohio State Delaware Kent St. ^ - off-campus site; Note: Host schools in bold
Clemson Slips to 14th in Collegiate Baseball
After winning one of their three games last week in the ACC
Tournament in Fort Mill, SC, the Clemson Tigers fell in all three
polls released on Monday. Clemson slipped to its lowest collective
ranking of the season, falling four spots, from 15th to 19th in the
Baseball America poll. The Tigers dipped three spots, from 17th to
20th, in the Baseball Weekly/ESPN coaches poll and fell just one
spot, from 13th to 14th in the Collegiate Baseball poll.
Clemson lost the opening game of the tournament 7-3 to Virginia and
then rebounded to eliminate North Carolina with a 7-6 win. On Friday,
Florida State, the tournament's top seed, bounced the Tigers from the
tournament with a 5-4 decision.
Six Tigers Garner All-ACC Honors
Six Clemson baseball players have been named All-ACC, including four
first-team selections. Jeff Baker, Khalil Greene, Jarrod Schmidt and
Steve Reba were all first-team selections while Ryan Riley and Casey
Stone garnered second-team kudos. The four first-team selections were
the most since 1995 when Clemson also had four first-team selections.
Clemson had no first-team selections in 2000, a year the Tigers
advanced to the College World Series. Greene and Schmidt were
second-team honorees a year ago, so this is the second time they have
been named All-ACC.
Baker, a sophomore third baseman, has 22 home runs to lead the ACC
and is tied for the team lead with Stone, a senior left fielder, with
a .376 batting average. Greene switched from third base to shortstop
and has now been named All-ACC in both positions. Schmidt has 15 home
runs and ranks among the league's top five in that category. He also
has a 6-3 record and a 4.15 ERA as a right-handed pitcher. Reba, a
junior right-hander leads the ACC with 11 wins and a 2.26 ERA. Riley,
a senior, was one of the top second basemen in the ACC and has a .287
batting average. Seventeen of his 58 hits have been for extra bases.
Clemson Regular Season All-ACC Selections First Team 3B Jeff Baker So. SS Khalil Greene Jr. DH Jarrod Schmidt So. SP Steve Reba Jr. Second Team 2B Ryan Riley Sr. OF Casey Stone Sr.
Baker Belts No. 22
Sophomore Jeff Baker hit his 22nd home run of the 2001 season Sunday
in the 5-4 loss to Florida State in the ACC Tournament. The solo shot
in the eighth inning moved the sophomore from Woodbridge, VA into
third place ahead of Jim McCollom who hit 21 in 1985. Baker is not
just two home runs away from the school record (24) shared by Eric
Macrina (1991) and Matthew LeCroy (1997). Baker is leading the ACC by
four home runs. Virginia's Jon Benick and Florida State's John-Ford
Griffin each have 18.
Top Five Home Run Seasons Player Year GP HR Eric Macrina 1991 69 24 Matthew LeCroy 1997 64 24 Jeff Baker 2001 58 22 Jim McCollom 1985 64 21 Keith Williams 1993 65 19
Baker Sets Two-Year Home Run Standard
Third baseman Jeff Baker has hit 33 home runs in his first two years,
which is the school record for home runs hit during a player's
freshman and sophomore years. He has 22 this season, two off the
school record, to go with 11 home runs a year ago. His 22 home runs
are four more than Matthew LeCroy who is tied for the most career
home runs. LeCroy hit 29 home runs by the end of his sophomore season
in Clemson (1996). Jarrod Schmidt is tied fifth most by a freshman
and sophomore, while Michael Johnson is 10th.
Clemson at the 2000 NCAA Tournament...
Mottl Shuts Out Middle Tennessee in Clemson Regional Opener
No Tiger on last season's roster had pitched a shutout coming into
Clemson's game with Middle Tennessee in the first round of the
Clemson Regional on May 26; but Ryan Mottl changed that by allowing
just four hits and one walk in 9.0 innings as Clemson defeated the
Blue Raiders 4-0. Mottl also pitched back-to-back complete games for
the first time since 1996 (Kris Benson). Mottl, who set the Clemson
record with his 66th career start, struck out eight and improved to
9-3 in 2000 and 22-2 at home in his career. Jeff Baker added two solo
homers in his first career NCAA Tournament game. Baker had two homers
two games ago against Virginia, therefore hit four homers in the last
three games. Khalil Greene also extended his hitting streak to 20
games with his first-inning double down the right-field line. Casey
Stone added a clutch two-out, run-scoring hit and a sacrifice fly as
well. Former Tiger pitcher Jeff Parsons, who pitched in Tigertown as
a freshman in 1997, allowed four runs and nine hits in 7.1 innings,
as he suffered the loss. The meeting between Clemson and Middle
Tennessee was the first.
Five-Run Eighth Inning Propels Tigers to 9-3 Win Over Illinois
Clemson scored five runs in the eighth inning and Kevin Lynn pitched
5.1 outstanding innings in relief as the Tigers downed Illinois 9-3
in the second round of the Clemson Regional on May 27. Lynn, who
relieved Scott Berney in the fourth inning, allowed two hits, one
run, and no walks to run his record to 4-1. Clemson scored three runs
on three separate Illinois wild pitches, as the Tigers had just four
RBIs in the contest. Clemson, who had just six hits, was led by Casey
Stone, who had two hits. Brian Ellis walked three times and scored
three times as well. Justin Singleton, who was a defensive
replacement in the seventh inning, lined a key two-run triple in the
eighth inning off lefthander Andy Dickinson. It was just Singleton's
12th at bat against a lefty all season. Khalil Greene's 20-game
hitting streak came to an end, as he was robbed twice by outstanding
defensive plays.
Tiger Bats Explode in 21-3 Regional Championship Clinching Win
Clemson set a team record for hits in an NCAA Tournament game with 24
as the Tigers captured the Clemson Regional Championship with a 21-3
win over Middle Tennessee on May 28. After the Blue Raiders jumped
out to a 3-1 lead after one inning, Clemson scored 20 unanswered
runs, including at least one run in each of the first seven innings,
including five in both the fifth and sixth innings and six runs in
the seventh. Ryan Riley led Clemson with five RBIs, three runs
scored, and two hits in two at bats. Henrí Stanley and Patrick Boyd
each had four hits as well. All nine Tiger starters had at least one
hit by the fifth inning and eight Tigers in all had at least two
hits. The Tigers set season highs for both runs and hits. Jarrod
Schmidt pitched superbly after allowing three first-inning runs. In
6.0 innings, he allowed eight hits, three runs, and one walk while
striking out five to get the win.
Lynn Saves the Day as Tigers Down Bulldogs 11-4 in Game One of Super Regional
Kevin Lynn pitched 7.1 scoreless innings of relief to lead Clemson
over #10 Mississippi State 11-4 in front of 6,308 fans on June 2 in
the first game of the Clemson Super Regional. Lynn relieved Ryan
Mottl and allowed just three hits, no runs, and no walks while
striking out six. After Clemson took a 3-0 lead in the first, the
Bulldogs stormed back with four runs in the second, two of which
scored on a fielding error by Khalil Greene. Greene later redeemed
himself with two outstanding defensive plays and two doubles.
Trailing 4-3 in the fifth, Clemson scored six runs to salt the game
away. Ryan Riley's sacrifice fly tied the score 4-4, and Mike
Calitri's two-run double gave the Tigers a lead they would never
relinquish. Calitri's batted ball was a routine fly ball, but was
lost in the late evening sky. Clemson went on to score three
additional runs in the frame. Justin Singleton and Greene chipped in
with three hits apiece to lead the Tigers' 14-hit attack, while the
Bulldogs managed just four hits in the game.
Tigers Omaha Bound Thanks to 9-4 Win Over Mississippi State
Henrí Stanley came off the bench to tally three hits and three RBIs,
and Brian Ellis added three hits as Clemson downed #10 Mississippi
State 9-4 in front of a Clemson record crowd of 6,392 in the Super
Regional at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Stanley and Ellis, who batted in
the last two spots in the batting order, had six of the team's 12
hits, and had five of the team's seven RBIs. Steve Reba, who relieved
Scott Berney in the second inning, got the win by pitching 4.2
effective innings, allowing five hits and one earned run. Nick Glaser
pitched the final 3.0 innings, allowing two hits and no runs to pick
up his 15th save of the season, setting a Tiger single-season record
in the process. The Bulldogs left 11 runners on base.
Clemson Tops Spartans 10-6 in CWS 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 reach 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.
Stanford Claims 10-4 Win
Stanford hit 12 singles and Justin Wayne pitched 7.2 innings to earn
his 15th win as the Cardinal downed Clemson 10-4 Sunday in the
College World Series. The top-ranked Cardinal scattered 12 Tiger
hits, as Clemson was just 3-for-18 with runners in scoring position,
including 0-for-8 in the first three innings. Kevin Lynn started and
pitched 3.1 innings, allowing four runs on six hits. Lynn suffered
the loss. The Tigers used seven pitchers on the day. Casey Stone and
Henrí Stanley led the Tigers with three hits apiece. Joe Borchard
paced the Cardinal with three hits, three runs, and two RBIs. Clemson
left 11 runners on base.
Tiger Season Ends With 5-4 Loss to Cajuns
Louisiana-Lafayette scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning
to defeat Clemson 5-4 on June 14 in the College World Series. The
loss eliminated the Tigers and ended their season at 51-18. Trailing
3-0 entering the seventh, Clemson plated four runs to take the lead.
Brian Ellis reached on an error by first baseman Scott Atwood, while
Mike Calitri and Justin Singleton scored on the play. Three batters
later, Khalil Greene hit a two-out, two-run double to give Clemson a
4-3 lead. Clemson held the lead entering the ninth inning. Jarvis
Larry led off with a walk and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by
pinch-hitter Neil Simoneaux. After Ryan Mottl relieved Steve Reba,
Rick Haydel singled to left, as Larry advanced to third. Steven
Feehan then laid down a squeeze bunt with one out. Mottl threw to
first as second baseman Ryan Riley was rushing over towards first.
Riley was a step too late, and the ball trickled off his glove into
shallow right-field and foul territory. Larry scored from third and
Haydel came all the way around from first to score just ahead of
Justin Singleton's throw. Jarrod Schmidt pitched 7.0 effective
innings, allowing just six runs, one walk, and two earned runs. Mottl
suffered the loss. Greene had two doubles and two RBIs, while Patrick
Boyd also had two hits, including a double. Clemson left 11 runners
on base and was 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
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