(7-7), ranked #19 in the unofficial RPI, will travel to Texas to play

at Texas Tech (13-6), ranked #20 in the unofficial RPI, this weekend

at Dan Law Field in Lubbock, TX.  Game times are 7:30 PM EST

(Friday), 3:00 PM EST (Saturday), and 1:00 PM EST (Sunday). 

baseball fans that will not be traveling to Lubbock, TX for the

three-game series at Texas Tech from March 19-21 can tune in via the

internet, as all three games of the series will be webcasted through

Texas Tech's College Sports Pass.

     The College Sports Pass will

provide both audio (Red Raider Baseball Radio Network) and video of

the three game series between Texas Tech and Clemson and it can be

accessed through Texas Tech's official athletic website,

www.texastech.com.  Fans can purchase a month-long subscription

for just $6.95, and that will allow full access to the site for the

weekend.  The College Sports Pass works in conjunction with Real

Networks and users must have the Real Player installed on their

computer system.

      For more information,

including account setup and technical support, log on to

www.texastech.com.

and Texas Tech have met just once on the diamond.  The two played

in the Pepsi/Johnny Quick Best-of-the-West Tournament in Fresno, CA on

March 18, 1993.  Chad Phillips and Andy Taulbee combined for a

four-hit shutout in the Tigers' 5-0 win in that game.  The two

pitchers struck out 12 and did not allow a walk.

Head Coach Jack Leggett has never faced Texas Tech,

however he and the Tigers played in the 1997 NCAA Central Regional at

Texas Tech.  The Red Raiders lost their first two games of the

tourney, while the Tigers went 1-2, losing to Rice (led by Lance

Berkman) and Southwest Texas State after defeating Nevada.  It

will also be the Tigers' first trip to the state of Texas since the

College Station Super Regional in 1999.

one, Texas Tech will start senior righthander Steven Thomas (2-1, 2.89

ERA).  The Kingwood, TX native has started three games and

appeared in four others in 2004.  In 28.0 innings pitched, he has

allowed 23 hits while striking out 26.

      Clemson will counter

with sophomore righthander Jason Berken (2-1, 5.17 ERA) Friday. 

The De Pere, WI native has started three games and allowed just 11

hits in 15.2 innings pitched for a .196 opponents' batting

average.

    In game two, the Red Raiders will

send out junior lefty Dallas Braden (1-1, 4.94 ERA) to the mound. 

The Stockton, CA native has started five games and pitched a total of

23.2 innings.  Braden has allowed 27 hits and five walks while

striking out 30.

      In game three, junior

righthander Michael McGowan (1-0, 0.00 ERA) will start for the Red

Raiders.  The 6'5", 265-pound native of Carrollton, TX has

started just two games and pitched a total of 9.2 innings.  He

has allowed just six hits, three walks, and no runs while striking out

eight.

        Clemson's

starters for Saturday's and Sunday's games have not yet been

determined.

Tech, led by 18th-year Head Coach Larry Hays, enters this weekend's

action with a 13-6 record.  The Red Raiders lost 4-1 at New

Mexico Tuesday.  Texas Tech, which has an astroturf infield and

grass outfield, sports a 10-3 home record and has played just one game

on an opponent's home field.

       The team is

hitting .329, led by Madison Edwards (.385).  Michael Mask is

hitting .380 with seven homers and 29 RBIs.  The Red Raiders have

stolen 46 bases in 52 attempts, which is a big reason they are

averaging 10.9 runs per game.  Josh Brady leads the squad with 11

stolen bases in 11 attempts.  The team has also been patient at

the plate, walking over five times a game.

The pitching staff has a 4.18 ERA and .264 opponents'

batting average.  The staff has a 2.38 walks per nine innings

pitched mark as well.  The team is also fielding at a .966

clip.

enters the Texas Tech series with a 7-7 record after a 9-4 victory

over Coastal Carolina Tuesday.  Despite the .500 record, Clemson

has outscored its opponents 94-63, a margin of 31 runs.

     The Tigers are hitting .278 as

a team, led by Brad McCann's .410 batting average.  The junior

third baseman also has four homers, five doubles, and 17 RBIs. 

Eleven of his 17 RBIs have come in the last four games.  Travis

Storrer is second with a .333 batting average.  He also is riding

a 10-game hitting streak.  In the last four games, Clemson has

stolen 13 bases as well after stealing only six in the first 10

games.  Clemson also sports a 3.89 ERA, 9.75 strikeouts per nine

innings pitched mark, and .960 fielding percentage.

hit four home runs and Kris Harvey pitched 5.1 quality innings to lead

the Tigers to a 9-4 win over Coastal Carolina March 16 at Doug

Kingsmore Stadium.  Travis Storrer, Andy D'Alessio, John

Ingram, and Brad McCann each hit long balls which accounted for seven

of the nine runs.  The other two runs came came in the seventh

inning when pinch-runner Daniel Pritchard stole home and Russell

Triplett scored on a balk.  The runs scored on consecutive plays

without a pitch being thrown.  Harvey allowed just one run and

one walk while striking out five to earn his fourth victory of the

year.  McCann's three-run blast in the eighth inning was the

Tigers' only hit with runners in scoring position in 11 at-bats. 

Patrick Hogan struck out four in 1.1 innings pitched to earn his third

save of the season.

only rating system the NCAA uses to determine selections and seedings

is the RPI, or the Ratings Percentage Index.  Although the NCAA

does not release its official RPI, Boyd Nation has come up with an RPI

index that is all but the same as the official RPI.  He uses

numbers from previous seasons to verify his formulas.

     In the March 15 release, his

RPI index has Clemson #19 despite the 6-7 record.  The Tigers

play arguably the toughest schedule in the nation in 2004. 

Clemson can thank a brutal non-conference schedule for its high RPI

ranking.  Clemson is actually ahead of Auburn (#26), despite the

SEC Tigers 16-2 record and 2-1 series victorty over Clemson.  The

RPI only counts games against Division I teams and is for games

through March 14.

only have the Tigers played a tough schedule, it has played many of

their games away from home.  After this weekend's action at

Texas Tech, Clemson will have played seven home games, eight road

games, and two neutral-site games, meaning 10 of its first 17 games

will have been played away from home.

Tigers only play six full weekend series at home this year. 

Those series include Auburn, Wake Forest, Maryland, N.C. State,

Florida State, and Central Florida.

Striking Difference

year, Clemson's pitching staff has proven to be a power-type staff,

a departure from recent Tiger teams.  The 2004 team, which has

struck out at least 10 batters in nine of the last 12 games, has

struck out 138 in 127.1 innings pitched overall, good for a 9.75

strikeouts per nine innings pitched mark.  The staff has also

allowed just 47 walks, meaning it has a 2.94 strikeout-to-walk ratio. 

The Tiger single-season records in each category are 9.69 and 3.16,

respectively, both set in the record-setting 1996 season that featured

the likes of Kris Benson, Billy Koch, and Ken Vining.  Since

1996, the Tigers have not had a strikout per nine innings pitched mark

better than 7.88.

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