Clemson Baseball Preview vs. Georgia & notes

by Press Release - Wed Mar 29 10:32:37 GMT-04:00 2006

Clemson (16-7), ranked as high as #9 in the country, will play host to #19 Georgia (18-5) at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on Wednesday. First pitch is scheduled for 7:06 PM. On Tuesday night in Athens, the two teams dueled in a 10-inning thriller that saw the Bulldogs come out on top 12-11. Wednesday's game will televised live by CSS and will be broadcast live on the radio by Clemson Tiger Sports Network. Live stats will also be available at ClemsonTigers.com for the game.

The Series

Clemson and Georgia have met 209 times on the diamond, with the Bulldogs holding a 114-93-2 lead in the series that dates back to 1900. Georgia is Clemson's second-most played rival in school history, trailing only South Carolina (273).

Last night at Foley Field, the Bulldogs came out on top 12-11 in 10 innings, as Josh Morris hit a two-out, walkoff single for the win. The two teams combined for 23 runs and 32 hits in a game that saw the lead change hands several times. Clemson hit a season-high four homers in the game, but committed four costly errors. Andy D'Alessio hit two of the Tigers' four homers.

Last year, Georgia won both meetings despite the Tigers out-hitting the Bulldogs in each contest. At Foley Field, the Bulldogs rallied from a 5-0 deficit to down the Tigers 11-10. At Doug Kingsmore Stadium the following day, Georgia beat Clemson 4-1 despite Stephen Faris' complete-game five-hitter.

The Tigers lead 51-44-2 in games played at Clemson and 31-9 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Georgia's win at Clemson last year snapped the Tigers' 10-game winning streak in the series at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Jack Leggett is 16-12 against Georgia as Clemson's head coach, including 10-1 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

The Starting Pitchers

Georgia will start freshman lefthander Nathan Moreau (3-0, 4.84 ERA) on the mound Wednesday. The Lilburn, GA native has made five starts for a total of 22.1 innings pitched. He has allowed 25 hits and five walks with 14 strikeouts, and has not allowed a home run.

The Tigers will counter with sophomore righty P.J. Zocchi (1-0, 4.85 ERA) on Wednesday. The Bronx, NY native has made two starts and four relief appearances for a total of 13.0 innings pitched. He has yielded 17 hits and 11 walks with 16 strikeouts, and has never faced the Bulldogs. Zocchi's last outing was last Wednesday in a start against Elon.

The Bulldogs

Georgia, led by fifth-year Head Coach David Perno, enters Wednesday's game at #9 Clemson with an 18-5 overall record and 3-3 SEC mark after taking two of three games at #10 Arkansas over the weekend and downing the Tigers 12-11 in 10 innings last night. The Bulldogs' impressive schedule has included three wins over #8 San Diego, a win at Southern California, and three wins over Louisville.

The Bulldogs are 3-3 on the road and 7-2 in one-run games. They have a .301 team batting average and .371 on-base percentage, and have hit 29 homers in 23 games. They have also stolen 23 bases in 29 attempts.

Matt Robbins, brother of current Georgia Tech slugger Whit Robbins, has a team-high .375 batting average, two homers, and 19 RBIs. Josh Morris leads the club with seven homers along with 22 RBIs, while Gordon Beckham, son of a former South Carolina quarterback (also named Gordon) from 1979-82, has 21 RBIs.

The pitching staff has a 3.84 ERA and .250 opponents' batting average. The team has surrendered just 12 homers as well, but four of those came last night against Clemson. Sophomore righthander Joshua Fields has five saves in 11 relief appearances, both team highs, while allowing just 10 hits and two walks with 25 strikeouts in 18.1 innings pitched. The team sports a .959 fielding percentage as well, as it did not commit an error against the Tigers last night.

The Tigers

Clemson enters Wednesday's game against #19 Georgia with a 16-7 overall record and 3-3 ACC mark after sweeping #12 N.C. State in a three-game series at Doug Kingsmore Stadium over the weekend and a 12-11 loss in 10 innings at Georgia last night. The Tigers are 15-2 at home, 6-3 against top-25 ranked teams, and 4-1 in night games this season.

As a team, Clemson is hitting .284 with a .367 on-base percentage. The team has 24 sacrifice bunts, including nine by Brad Chalk. He is one away from tying the Clemson career record in that category held by Casey Stone (1998-01).

Tyler Colvin leads the squad with a .357 batting average, eight doubles, six homers, 22 RBIs, and seven stolen bases. Herman Demmink is hitting .333 with a .434 on-base percentage and eight steals in eight attempts. Andy D'Alessio has added seven long balls and 24 RBIs as well, including five homers and 13 RBIs in the last six games.

The pitching staff has a 2.91 ERA and .236 opponents' batting average. It has also allowed just eight homers and 24 doubles in 23 games. Steve Richard has a team-best four saves, while Daniel Moskos has added two saves and a 1.71 ERA in a team-high 11 relief appearances. Freshman lefty Alex Martin has also given Clemson a boost recently, as he has not given up a run in 8.2 innings pitched this season. The Tigers sport a .968 fielding percentage as well.

Georgia Sink Tigers 12-11 in 10 Innings

Josh Morris' walkoff single in the 10th inning lifted #19 Georgia to a 12-11 victory over #9 Clemson in Athens on March 28. The wild contest featured 23 runs, 32 hits, four Tiger homers, and four costly Tiger errors. The back-and-forth game saw Clemson take a 5-3 lead after trailing 3-0 thanks to homers by Andy D'Alessio and Marquez Smith. D'Alessio later added another home run, while Tyler Colvin hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning to give Clemson 9-7 lead. But Georgia tied the score with three runs in the bottom of the seventh. After Taylor Harbin tied the score with a run-scoring double in the ninth, Morris won the game with his two-out, bases-loaded single to right field in the 10th inning. Every Tiger starter had at least one hit. Colvin and D'Alessio each had three hits and three RBIs, but Clemson allowed four unearned runs thanks to four costly errors.