CLEMSON BASEBALL

Clemson Baseball Preview vs. Georgia Tech


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Clemson vs. Georgia Tech

        Clemson

(27-14, 11-7 ACC), ranked as high as #17 in the nation, will play host

to #19 Georgia Tech (26-15, 13-7 ACC) this weekend in a three-game

series at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.  Game times are 7:15 PM

(Friday), 7:00 PM (Saturday), and 2:00 PM (Sunday).  All three

games will be broadcast live on the radio by Clemson Tiger Sports

Network.  All three games will also be shown live via webcast at

ACCSelect.com.  Live stats will be available at ClemsonTigers.com

for the series as well.

The Series

        Clemson

and Georgia Tech have met 190 times on the diamond, with the Tigers

holding a narrow 94-93-3 advantage dating back to the 1902 season. 

In 2005, Georgia Tech won two of the three games at Doug Kingsmore

Stadium.  Then in 2006, the two teams met seven times.

       The Yellow Jackets

claimed the final two games of the 2006 regular-season series in

Atlanta after Clemson won game-one.  Then in the ACC Tournament

at Jacksonville, FL on May 25, Clemson won 3-2 on Ben Hall's walkoff

single.  Two days later, Georgia Tech stayed alive in the tourney

with an 8-7 victory in 10 innings.  But hours later, Clemson was

victorious 16-11 to advance to the ACC Tournament Championship

game.

        With the

all-time series tied, the two teams met at the 2006 College World

Series.  Like its meeting in Omaha in 2002, the Tigers defeated

the Yellow Jackets, this time by a score of 8-4 after Clemson fell

behind 4-0.  Clemson scored all eight of its runs in the eighth

inning.  Andy D'Alessio's three-run homer gave Clemson the

lead for good.

The Tigers hold a 39-20-1 lead over the Yellow Jackets

all-time in games played at Clemson and a 29-13 advantage at Doug

Kingsmore Stadium.  The Tigers also hold a 39-33 advantage in

games played in the ACC regular season.

        Tiger

Head Coach Jack Leggett is 28-23 against the Yellow Jackets as

Clemson's head coach, including a 13-4 record at Doug Kingsmore

Stadium.  He was 3-5 against Georgia Tech as Western Carolina's

head coach, meaning he is 31-28 against the Yellow Jackets in his

career.

The Starting Pitchers

        In

game-one, Georgia Tech will start sophomore lefthander David Duncan

(5-2, 3.03 ERA) on the mound.  The New Richmond, OH native has

made 11 starts for a total of 74.1 innings pitched.  He has

allowed 71 hits (.254 opponents' batting average) and 19 walks with

67 strikeouts.

    The Tigers will counter with junior

lefthander Daniel Moskos (3-3, 2.29 ERA) in game-one on Friday. 

The Alta Loma, CA native has made 17 relief appearances and three

starts for a total of 35.1 innings pitched.  He has allowed 33

hits (.260 opponents' batting average) and 16 walks with 46

strikeouts.

   In game-two, the Yellow Jackets will start

sophomore righthander Eddie Burns (3-1, 2.98 ERA) on the mound. 

The Hiram, GA native has made seven starts and six relief appearances

for a total of 48.1 innings pitched.  He has yielded 46 hits

(.250 opponents' batting average) and 13 walks with 45

strikeouts.

       The Tigers will

counter with junior righty David Kopp (4-2, 3.32 ERA) on Saturday. 

The Margate, FL native has made 11 starts for a total of 62.1 innings

pitched.  He has allowed 58 hits (.247 opponents' batting

average) and 19 walks with 50 strikeouts.

   In game-three, Georgia Tech will start

senior righty Ryan Turner (3-3, 3.99 ERA) on the mound.  The

Dahlonega, GA native has made 11 starts for a total of 56.1 innings

pitched.  He has allowed 74 hits (.322 opponents' batting

average) and nine walks with 34 strikeouts.

   Clemson will counter with sophomore lefty

Ryan Hinson (4-1, 2.03 ERA) on Sunday.  The Rock Hill, SC native

has made 10 starts for a total of 57.2 innings pitched.  He has

allowed 50 hits (.235 opponents' batting average) and 19 walks with

48 strikeouts.

The Yellow Jackets

        Georgia

Tech, led by 14th-year Head Coach Danny Hall, enters the series with a

26-15 overall record and 13-7 ACC mark after falling to Georgia 10-7

at Turner Field in Atlanta on Tuesday.  The Yellow Jackets, who

are 5-7 on opponents' home fields, also swept #20 N.C. State at home

last weekend.  Georgia Tech is ranked as high as #19 in the

nation as well.

        The

Yellow Jackets are hitting .291 as a team with a .397 on-base

percentage thanks to 222 walks.  They have also hit 91 doubles

and 33 doubles along with 53 stolen bases in 65 attempts.

      Danny Payne is hitting a

team-best .391 with a .529 on-base percentage.  He also has 16

doubles, 32 RBIs, and 46 walks along with 15 steals.  Goose

Creek, SC native Matt Wieters is hitting .359 with seven homers and 39

RBIs, and Michael Fisher is batting .347.

    The pitching staff has a 4.32 ERA

and .278 opponents' batting average on the season.  The team

has allowed 131 walks with 319 strikeouts.  Payne and Wieters

each have three saves, while reliever Jared Hyatt has a 7-0 record adn

2.39 ERA in 37.2 innings pitched.  The team is fielding at a .971

clip as well.

The Tigers

        Clemson

enters the series against #19 Georgia Tech a 27-14 overall record and

11-7 ACC mark after splitting a pair of home midweek games.  On

Tuesday, Elon outslugged Clemson 13-12, then the #17 Tigers beat #5

South Carolina 14-5 on Wednesday.  The Tigers, who are 20-8 at

home and in the midst of an 11-game homestand, lost two of three games

to Virginia at home last weekend as well.

       The team is

hitting .286 with a .369 on-base percentage.  Brad Chalk is

hitting a team-best .407 with a .531 on-base percentage.  Doug

Hogan is hitting .319 with seven homers and 26 RBIs, while Wilson Boyd

is hitting .308 thanks to hitting .417 in the month of April.

     The pitching staff has a 3.36

ERA and .246 opponents' batting average.  It has combined to

strike out 350 against 130 walks.  Daniel Moskos has a team-high

six saves, while Stephen Clyne has a 1.27 ERA along with two saves in

20 relief appearances.  The team is fielding at a .971 clip as

well.

        Clemson

has two players from the state of Georgia on its 2007 roster. 

Sophomore lefthander William Bond (Lawrenceville) and freshman

infielder Ben Paulsen (Acworth) both hail from the state of

Georgia.

Boyd Receives Bob Bradley Award

       

Red-shirt freshman outfielder Wilson Boyd (Hickory, NC)

received the 2007 Bob Bradley Award, given to the Tiger MVP of the

four-game series against rival South Carolina.  In four starts,

he was 5-for-14 (.357) with two runs scored, a triple, and four RBIs. 

He became the first Tiger freshman to win the award, which has been

given annually since 2001.  Boyd, who is hitting .417 in the

month of April, has raised his batting average to .308 on the

season.


Tigers Pound Gamecocks 14-5 in Series-Finale

        A

seven-run seventh inning and 16 hits highlighted #17 Clemson's 14-5

victory over #5 South Carolina at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on April 25

in the last of four regular-season matchups between the two rivals. 

Ben Paulsen's three-run homer in the fifth inning put the Tigers

ahead 9-3, and they never looked back.  Wilson Boyd, who received

the Bob Bradley Award for being Clemson's MVP in the four-game

series, was 2-for-4 with a triple and four RBIs.  Taylor Harbin

added three hits and three RBIs.  All 10 Tigers who played in the

field scored at least one run and nine had at least one hit. 

Starter D.J. Mitchell pitched 6.0 innings to earn the win, as he

allowed just one run on four hits with six strikeouts.

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