Clemson vs Arkansas Super Regional Notes |
Clemson Advances to Super Regional
Clemson (50-14), the #2 national seed in the NCAA Tournament, will play host to Arkansas (34-26) in Super Regional action beginning Friday, June 7 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. The games Friday and Saturday will both start at 7:15 PM, while Sunday's game (if necessary) will start at 2:00 PM. The winner of the best-of-three series will advance to the College World Series in Omaha, NE from June 14-22. The winner of the Clemson (SC) Super Regional will face the winner of the Lincoln (NE) Super Regional in the opening round in Omaha. Nebraska is playing host to Richmond. All of the Super Regional games will be broadcast on the radio by Clemson Tiger Sports Properties and can be heard live via the internet at www.clemsontigers.com. Live stats will also be available on Clemson's website. Scouting Arkansas Arkansas (34-26) enters the Super Regional after three straight wins in the Wichita (KS) Regional. The Razorbacks beat Oklahoma in their first game 8-5, then won two straight games over Oral Roberts 7-6 and 11-6. Arkansas was 13-14 in SEC regular-season play, good for fifth place in the SEC West. The Razorbacks lost two of three games in the SEC Tournament, both losses coming to South Carolina. Earlier in the season, Arkansas swept the Gamecocks in a rain-shortened series in Fayetteville, AR. Arkansas also was 3-1 against Auburn and 1-2 at Georgia earlier this season. The two teams have met just three times. Arkansas downed the Tigers 6-5 in the 1987 NCAA South Regional at Huntsville, AL on May 23. The next day, Arkansas bounced Clemson from the tournament with a 4-2 win. In 1999, the two teams met again in the Fayetteville (AR) Regional. Clemson had beat Delaware earlier that day, while Arkansas had just lost to Southwest Missouri State in the previous game. The Tigers, behind 6.2 solid innings pitched by Steve Reba, defeated Arkansas 12-4. Reba struck out six, walked one, and allowed three earned runs in picking up the win. Khalil Greene, the only other current Tiger who has faced Arkansas, went 4-for-5 with three doubles and three RBIs in the game. Greene became just the second Tiger to ever hit three doubles in an NCAA Tournament game. No current Razorback played in that game. Arkansas, led by 33rd-year Head Coach Norm DeBriyn, is 11-11 on opponents' home fields. The Razorbacks sport a .279 team batting average, led by Scott Bridges at .315. Michael Conner is their leading power hitter, with 15 homers and 46 RBIs. They also have a .966 team fielding percentage. The Arkansas pitching staff has a 4.28 ERA and a .280 opponents' batting average. Scott Woods leads the staff with a 6-2 record and 2.62 ERA in 17 appearances.
Arkansas-Clemson Comparison
Cateorgy UA CU
Clemson's NCAA Tournament History
The 2002 season marks Clemson's 28th trip to an NCAA Regional
dating back to the 1947 season. That year, Clemson actually advanced
to the Final Eight of the NCAA Tournament, but it is not considered a
College World Series season because only four teams went to the CWS
in those days.
Clemson won the District III Tournament in Charlotte that
year by coming through the losers bracket. The Tigers, coached by
Randy Hinson, lost in the first round to Alabama 8-2, then came back
with a win over Auburn and two wins over Alabama to advance.
Clemson's season ended when a Yale team, led by future President
George Bush, defeated the Tigers in New Haven, CT, 7-3. Bush was
1-for-3 as the starting first baseman.
Clemson made its first trip to the College World Series in
1958 when the Tigers again came through the losers bracket. After
losing to Florida in the first round, Clemson came back to defeat
George Washington, Florida State, and Florida twice to advance under
first year coach Bill Wilhelm. Clemson defeated Florida 15-14 and
3-1 on June 9 to advance. Harold Stowe struck out 17 in that second
game on June 9 and that is still a Clemson single-game record for
strikeouts in an NCAA Tournament game.
The Tigers advanced to the CWS in 1959, this time with three
easy wins; one over Georgia Tech and two over Florida State. One of
the wins over the Seminoles was a 24-2 victory in Gastonia, NC. That
is still tied for the most runs scored by Clemson in an NCAA
Tournament game.
That was Clemson's last trip to Omaha until 1976. In fact,
Clemson made just one NCAA Tournament appearance between 1960 and
1974. That was in 1967 when Clemson reached the Regional
Championship, but lost to Auburn 6-5.
Clemson made it to Omaha three out of five years between
1976-80. Clemson won a regional in Columbia, SC in 1976 with three
straight wins, then came through the losers bracket in Miami (FL) in
1977 to advance to Omaha. The 1980 season was the first year Clemson
played host to a Regional, as Clemson swept three games by scoring 45
runs, including 17 in a 17-12 win over South Carolina.
The Tigers have been to the NCAA Tournament every year since
1987, making College World Series appearances in 1991, 1995, 1996,
and 2000. Clemson's streak of 16 consecutive regionals is the
third-longest active streak in the country behind Miami's (FL) 30 and
Florida State's 25 in a row. Clemson's streak of 16 in a row is the
fifth-longest streak in college baseball history.
Consecutive Years in Regionals To Date Rk School App. 1. Miami (FL) 30 2. Florida State 25 3. Clemson 16 4. Louisiana State 15 5. Cal. State-Fullerton 12 6. Southern California 11 7. Stanford 10 8. Rice 9 All-Time Consecutive Regional Appearances Rk School App. Years 1. Miami (FL) 30 1973-02 2. Florida State 25 1978-02 3. Oklahoma State 19 1981-99 4. Texas 18 1979-96 5. Clemson 16 1987-02 6. No Colorado 15 1952-66 7. Georgia Tech 14 1985-98 Wichita State 14 1987-00 9. Texas 12 1965-76 All-Time Regional Apperances Rk School App. 1. Texas 46 2. Florida State 40 3. So California 35 4. Oklahoma State 32 5. Miami (FL) 31 6. Clemson 28 7. Fresno State 27 Saint John's 27
Overall, Clemson has been to 28 regionals (including this
year), sixth-best all-time. Clemson's overall record in NCAA play is
76-59, a .563 winning percentage.
Clemson is 31-17 (.646) under Jack Leggett in NCAA Tournament
play, including a 22-4 record in home NCAA Tournament games. Leggett
has taken Clemson to a Regional all nine years he has been Clemson's
head coach, including the College World Series three times. Leggett
has taken Clemson to the Super Regional each of the four years that
format has been in existence. Clemson is one of six teams nationally
to go to four straight Super Regionals.
Clemson's College World Series Seasons
Year Site Record Clinch Win vs. CWS 1958 Gastonia, NC 4-1 Florida, 3-1 1-2 1959 Gastonia, NC 3-0 Florida State, 5-0 1-2 1976 Columbia, SC 3-0 Furman, 6-2 1-2 1977 Miami, FL 3-1 Miami (FL), 10-9 1-2 1980 Clemson, SC 3-0 South Carolina, 17-12 0-2 1991 Orono, ME 4-0 Maine, 13-5 0-2 1995 Clemson, SC 4-0 Alabama, 7-4 0-2 1996 Clemson, SC 4-0 Tennessee, 12-5 2-2 2000 Clemson, SC 5-0 Mississippi State, 9-4 1-2
Coming Through Losers Bracket
Coming through the losers bracket to advance in the NCAA
Tournament is something Clemson has not done a great deal. However,
the Tigers have done it three times in history, with the most recent
occurrence coming in 1999 when Clemson defeated Southwest Missouri
State twice on May 30 to advance to a Super Regional at Texas A&M.
Jack Leggett's team defeated Southwest Missouri State 8-7 and
7-5 after losing earlier in the tournament to the same team by a 23-5
score. The Tigers nearly duplicated the feat in College Station.
After losing game one 20-3, Clemson defeated the Aggies 10-3 in the
second game. Clemson held a 4-3 lead going into the ninth inning in
the third game, but Texas A&M hit two solo homers and won 5-4.
The other two times Clemson has beaten a team twice on the
last day to advance took place in 1947 and 1958. The 1947 wins over
Alabama sent Clemson to the Final Eight of the NCAA Tournament, but
not the College World Series. The two wins over Florida on June 9,
1958 did send Clemson to Omaha.
Times Tigers Beat a Team Twice to Advance
Date Opponent Site Scores 6-14-47 Alabama Charlotte, NC 1-0, 4-1 6-9-58 Florida Gastonia, NC 15-14, 3-1 5-30-99 S.W. Miss State Fayetteville, AR 8-7, 7-5
Clemson To Play Host for 10th Time
This is the 10th time in history that Clemson has played host
to an NCAA Regional at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Clemson has a 25-6
record in NCAA Regional games played at home, including an active
11-game winning streak. Clemson has not lost a home NCAA Tournament
game since 1998, when Southern California defeated the Tigers 8-5 on
May 23. That Trojan team went on to win the National Championship.
Clemson first played host to an NCAA Regional in 1980. The
Tigers swept through three games that year, including a 17-12 win
over rival South Carolina that clinched Clemson's trip to Omaha.
Clemson has celebrated a trip to Omaha by winning a regional
on its home field four times in history, including each of the last
three times Clemson has advanced to the College World Series. Each
time Clemson has won a regional at home, the Tigers have posted a
perfect record. In other words, Clemson has never lost an NCAA
Tournament game at home, then come through the losers bracket to win
the regional.
This is the seventh year in the nine seasons Jack Leggett has
been head coach that Clemson has played host to a regional. The
Tigers have a 22-4 NCAA Tournament record at home under Leggett,
including 20 wins in its last 22 games. The 1994 and 1998 seasons
are the only years Clemson failed to advance from a regional played
at home under Leggett.
Clemson did play an NCAA Tournament "Play-in" game in 1954,
but the official NCAA recordbook does not consider that to be an NCAA
Tournament game, as it is not listed in its recordbooks. That year,
Clemson lost to Virginia Tech in a game at Clemson, 11-10, then
traveled to Blacksburg two days later and lost 7-1.
Super Job Reaching Super Regionals
Clemson's 21-1 win over East Carolina this year marked the
fourth consecutive year that Clemson advanced to at least the Super
Regional of the NCAA Tournament, which expanded from a 48- to 64-team
field prior to the 1999 season. The expansion created the Super
Regional Round, which pits the winners of 16 sub-regionals with the
victors there advancing to the College World Series.
The Tigers won the Fayetteville (AR) Regional in 1999 to
advance to the Super Regional at Texas A&M. In 2000, the Tigers won
the Clemson Regional and advanced to play host to Mississippi State
in the Super Regional.
Clemson is one of just six schools to appear in all four
Super Regional rounds, joined by Florida State, Louisiana State,
Miami (FL), Southern California, and Stanford, who are all in a Super
Regional in 2002.
Clemson at Doug Kingsmore Stadium
Clemson has had strong support from local fans for its NCAA
Tournament Regionals in the past. Clemson drew 18,435 fans for the
regional tournament in 2002, over 2,000 more than the 16,256 it had
in 2001 for the regional. The 2000 season saw Clemson draw 12,700
for two games in a Super Regional. The Doug Kingsmore Stadium record
crowd saw the Tigers defeat Mississippi State to advance to Omaha
that year. A total of 6,392 fans attended that June 3 game in 2000.
The regular-season single-game mark is 6,223 for a 20-1 win over
North Carolina on April 1, 1995.
Clemson has had considerable success at home over the years
and the support of the home fans has a lot to do with that. This
year, Clemson is 34-8 at home with an average attendance of 3,469 for
the 42 home dates, highest average on record. Over the years,
Clemson is 778-171 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium, an .820 winning
percentage.
Clemson Regional Attendance Marks Since '94
Year Teams Reg. CU W-L Attendance 1994 6 Reg. 2-2 20,708 1995 6 Reg. 4-0 25,600 1996 6 Reg. 4-0 20,797 1998 6 Reg. 1-2 19,022 2000 4 Sub 3-0 15,770 2 Super 2-0 12,700 2001 4 Sub 3-0 16,256 2002 4 Sub 3-0 18,435
Tiger NCAA Marks Held by Current Tigers
Clemson has six active players who already hold or co-hold
Clemson NCAA Tournament records. The list includes the heart of
Clemson's batting order; Khalil Greene, Jeff Baker, Michael Johnson,
and Jarrod Schmidt, and two-time First-Team All-ACC starting pitcher
Steve Reba along with Matt Henrie
Greene holds the Clemson record for doubles in an NCAA
Tournament game, doubles in a tournament, and career doubles in NCAA
Tournament play. He had three doubles against Arkansas as a freshman
in 1999, tying the record also held by Dave Caldwell, who had three
doubles against Arizona State in a College World Series game in 1977.
Greene had seven doubles in eight games in the 2000 tournament and
has 18 two-baggers in his career.
Greene has set a record for setting records this year and he
should add some NCAA Tournament marks to his list this week. The
senior shortstop has played 24 NCAA games, tying former teammate
Casey Stone. Greene has 38 career NCAA Tournament hits, a Clemson
best. Greene also tied for the most hits in a game with five against
Georgia Southern in 2002 and holds the Clemson career tournament
record with 25 runs scored. Finally, Greene is just one RBIs short
of Stone's mark of 23 for a career in NCAA Tournament play.
Last year, first-baseman Michael Johnson hit four homers in
the NCAA Tourney, a Clemson standard for round-trippers in a
tournament. Johnson and Jeff Baker each need just one more homer to
tie Bill Foley's career record of six in NCAA Tourney play. Johnson
also tied the single-game RBI record with six against Seton Hall in
2001. Johnson is 15-for-35 (.429) in NCAA play in his career.
Baker hit two home runs against Middle Tennessee State in
2000, tying the Clemson single-game NCAA Tournament mark. Jarrod
Schmidt hit .588 in the NCAA Tournament last year for a
record-setting batting average given a minimum of 15 at-bats.
Schmidt is 18-for-34 in 10 games in his career in NCAA play, a .529
batting average.
Reba made four relief appearances in the 2000 Tournament to
tie a Clemson tournament record. He is 4-0 in his career in NCAA
Tournament play. The wins record is five held by Harold Stowe from
1958-59. Reba also tied Stowe with his ninth career appearance in
the 2002 Clemson Regional.
Matt Henrie has not allowed a run in 8.0 innings pitched in
the 2002 tournament, good for a 0.00 ERA. That mark is best by a
Tiger in a single tournament given a minimum of 5.0 innings pitched.
Tigers Reach 50-Win Mark
The Tigers have won 50 or more games 10 times in history and
five times under Jack Leggett. Clemson's first 50-win season came in
1987 under Bill Wilhelm when the Tigers had a 54-14-1 record.
Clemson also won at least 50 in 1988 and 1989, but all three of those
clubs reached a regional final and failed to reach the College World
Series.
The 1991 Clemson team did reach the College World Series and
posted a 60-10 record. Clemson had the #1 seed in the College World
Series that year, but lost to hometown Creighton in a nationally
televised game on CBS in the first round, then lost on a walk-off
home run to Long Beach State.
Jack Leggett's winningest team was the 1994 Tigers that won
57 contests. That team benefited by a 66-game regular season
schedule, as the Tigers played nine extra games in Hawaii that year.
Each of Leggett's last three CWS teams have won at least 50 games and
finished in the top 10 of all three polls.
Clemson's 50-Win Seasons
NCAA Final Rankings Year Record Pct. W-L BA-CB-USA 1987 54-14-1 .790 3-2 10-10-NP 1988 54-14-0 .794 2-2 15-21-NP 1989 50-20-0 .714 3-2 14-14-NP 1991 60-10-0 .857 4-2 4-8-NP 1992 50-14-0 .781 1-2 7-10-NP 1994 57-18-0 .760 2-2 4-9-9 1995 54-14-0 .794 4-2 8-8-8 1996 51-17-0 .750 6-2 5-4-4 2000 51-18-0 .739 6-2 7-6-5 2001 50-14-0 .781 3-0 -------
36
That's how many of Clemson's 61 pre-NCAA Tournament games
came against teams in the 2002 NCAA Tournament, which equates to over
59 percent. Clemson sported a 23-13 record in those 36 games. The
Tigers also played 20 games against #1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament.
In those 20 games, Clemson was 10-10, including three wins each
against Wake Forest and South Carolina. The Tigers earned a #2
national seed thanks in part to their rigorous schedule. The ACC is
the top conference this year according to Boyd Nation's RPI.
Clemson Has 15 Top-25 Wins
Clemson has 50 wins entering the Super Regional, and 15 of
the victories have come over top-25 teams. In those 15 are eight
wins over top-10 teams and six over top-five clubs. This Clemson
team already ranks tied for second in most top-25 wins, third in
top-10 wins, and tied for second in top-five victories.
The Clemson record for top-25 wins in a season is 19, set in
Jack Leggett's first year when the Tigers were 19-12 against ranked
opponents in 1994. Clemson is 8-9 against top-10 teams this year,
including two recorded in the ACC Tournament. The record for a
season is 11, set by the 2000 Clemson team. Leggett's 1994 team had
10 top-10 wins.
That 1994 team had a 7-3 record against top-five teams. This
year's team has six top-five wins, the same total the 2000 club had.
In his ninth season at Clemson, Jack Leggett has 107 wins
over teams ranked in the top 25. He picked up win #100 against
top-25 teams at #5 South Carolina on April 24 in Clemson's 4-1 win.
Only two times in his nine seasons has he had a losing record against
teams in the top 25.
Overall Top 25 Top 10 Top 5 Year W-L W-L W-L W-L 1994 57-18 19-12 10-4 7-3 1995 54-14 15-10 4-10 1-6 1996 51-17 13-10 7-3 5-2 1997 41-23 6-11 4-7 1-2 1998 43-16 8-5 4-2 0-1 1999 42-27 12-12 6-6 3-4 2000 51-18 14-13 11-10 6-7 2001 41-22 5-12 3-8 1-6 2002 50-14 15-10 8-9 6-6 Totals 430-169 107-95 57-59 30-37
Leggett Against the SEC
In nine seasons under Head Coach Jack Leggett, Clemson has
had tremendous success against the Southeastern Conference.
Leggett's record against the SEC as the Tigers' skipper is 50-22,
including 20 wins against top-25 teams. Leggett has at least a .500
record against all eight SEC schools he has faced while at Clemson.
He has a better winning percentage against SEC teams (.694) than ACC
teams (.672) as well. Below is a list of Leggett's record at Clemson
against each of the eight SEC member schools he has faced.
Opponent Record Pct. Alabama 2-0 1.000 Arkansas 1-0 1.000 Auburn 4-1 .800 Georgia 12-6 .667 Kentucky 3-0 1.000 Mississippi St 2-0 1.000 South Carolina 17-12 .586 Tennessee 9-3 .750 Totals 50-22 .694
Leggett Reaches 800-Win Mark
Head Coach Jack Leggett, in his ninth season as Clemson's
skipper, reached the 800-win mark with a 5-3 win at Virginia on May
13, 2002. He also reached the 400-win mark as Clemson's head coach
in the Tigers' 6-2 win over Coastal Carolina on March 27, 2002. He
is 430-169 (.718) at Clemson and has an 807-456 (.639) career record
in his 23rd year as a collegiate head coach, which includes nine
seasons at Western Carolina and five seasons at Vermont. Leggett
reached the 800-win mark in 1,251 games, just 27 more than it took
legendary Head Coach Bill Wilhelm to win his 800th game.
Leggett Wilhelm
Games Needed 1,251 1,224
Age 48 57
Date Achieved 5/13/02 5/5/86
Win Over Virginia, 5-3 South Carolina, 7-6
Tigers Win 40 for 17th-Straight Year
It appears on every baseball sheet produced by the Clemson
Media Relations office, but it is still worth noting over and over.
That is Clemson's 17-straight 40-win seasons. Clemson reached the
40-win mark in 2002 with a 9-2 win against Wofford on May 8.
Clemson Has Top Semester in Classroom
Clemson has been setting records on the diamond this year and
was ranked #1 in the nation in at least one poll for eight straight
weeks. Jack Leggett's team has also been doing the job at a record
rate in the classroom.
According to data released by the Clemson Student-Athlete
Enrichment Program on May 15, the Tiger baseball team had a 2.82 team
GPA for the Spring 2002 semester and 20 players were named to the
Academic Honor Roll (3.0 GPA or better). That was the best figure on
record for both areas for one semester. Five of the 20 players were
named to the Dean's List as well.
The list of players on the academic honor roll included Jeff
Baker and Khalil Greene, two of the top players in the nation. Both
are in the top-five for the Golden Spikes Award in 2002. The list of
players with at least a 3.0 GPA also included #1 pitcher Steve Reba,
starting centerfielder Kyle Frank, starting first baseman Michael
Johnson, starting designated hitter Jeff Hourigan, starting catcher
Collin Mahoney and starting rightfielder Jarrod Schmidt.
That is right, eight of the 10 everyday starters (including
Reba as the pitcher) posted a 3.0 or better in the spring semester.
It would not be too far fetched to put Russell Triplett in the lineup
at second base and Zane Green in left field. If you add Paul
Harrelson as the relief pitcher, you could have a lineup of 11
players that are all student-athlete honor roll selections.
Below is a possible lineup of student-athlete all-stars and
their 2002 Spring semester GPAs.
Pos. Player Major GPA SP Steve Reba Speech & Communications 3.00 RP Paul Harrelson Secondary Education 3.40 C Collin Mahoney General Business 3.00 1B Michael Johnson Industrial Education 3.50 2B R Triplett Special Education 3.25 SS Khalil Greene Sociology 3.30 3B Jeff Baker PRTM 3.33 LF Zane Green PRTM 3.25 CF Kyle Frank Computer Info. Systems 3.00 RF Jarrod Schmidt PRTM 3.40 DH Jeff Hourigan Undeclared 3.00
Six Tigers Earn All-ACC Honors
Shortstop Khalil Greene, first-baseman Michael Johnson, and
starting pitcher Steve Reba were all selected as First-Team All-ACC
players in 2002. Utility player Russell Triplett, third-baseman Jeff
Baker, and starting pitcher Matt Henrie were Second-Team All-ACC
selections as well. It is the second straight year Reba and Greene
have been selected to the first team. Greene was also lauded as the
ACC Player-of-the-Year in 2002.
Four Tigers Among Top 50 Prospects
Four current Tigers are listed among Baseball America's top
50 college prospects for the 2002 Major League Draft. The players
are Jeff Baker (#3), Khalil Greene (#33), Jarrod Schmidt (#40), and
Michael Johnson (#42).
"Clemson's status as one of the top teams in the country is
buoyed by the amount of pro talent scouts see on the team," says John
Manuel of Baseball America. "Jeff Baker, Khalil Greene, Jarrod
Schmidt, and Michael Johnson all project as players who could be
selected, if healthy, within the first three-to-five rounds come June
4. Clemson alone has a good chance of having more draft picks in the
first few rounds then the entire SEC combined."
"In addition, their command and solid breaking pitches will
enable pitchers Steve Reba, one of the better senior drafts
available, and Matt Henrie to be drafted solidly as well."
Tigers Way Out in Front in Latest RPI Index
The 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 his May 28 release, Nation's RPI index has Clemson #1.
Clemson's .671 rating is well ahead of #2 Florida State, who stands
at .663. The ACC, which has five teams in the RPI's top 13 and four
teams ranked in the top five, is the top-ranked conference according
to Nation's RPI index as well. The RPI only counts games against
Division I teams and are for games through May 26.
Boyd Nation's Unofficial RPI By Team Rk Team Record Rating 1. Clemson 47-14 .671 2. Florida State 56-12 .663 3. Wake Forest 44-11-1 .645 4. South Carolina 48-14 .638 5. Georgia Tech 44-14 .635 6. Louisiana State 40-19 .630 7. Rice 47-11 .629 8. Houston 44-15 .629 9. Texas 46-14 .628 10. Florida 42-17 .626 Boyd Nation's Unofficial RPI By Conference Rk Conference Record Rating 1. Atlantic Coast 345-185 .602 2. Southeastern 405-272 .583 3. Big 12 330-225 .568 4. Pacific 10 272-221 .549 5. Conference USA 361-316 .541
Tigers-a-Plenty in NCAA Stats
Clemson is among the NCAA leaders in several team categories
and several individuals ones. Stats are for games through Sunday,
May 26.
Team/Player Category Stat Rank Clemson Fielding % .972 6th Clemson Winning % .770 8th Clemson Batting Average .325 22nd Clemson Scoring 8.1 25th Khalil Greene Batting Average .475 3rd Steve Reba Wins 12 T-6th Jeff Baker HRs per game 0.38 T-11th Khalil Greene HRs per Game 0.36 17th Jeff Baker RBIs per Game 1.29 19th Michael Johnson HRs per Game 0.33 29th
No Road Woes
After five straight seasons with a losing record on
opponents' home fields, Clemson had a stellar 13-4 record in 2002.
Jack Leggett's first three seasons at Clemson saw the Tigers win over
73-percent of their games on opponents' home fields. This season,
Clemson had a 13-4 away record, including a 5-3 record against top-25
teams. Clemson was 20-5 in 1994, 16-8 in 1995, and 13-5 in 1996 on
opponents' home fields.
Greene-er Pastures Still Ahead
Khalil Greene has set the Clemson career record for at-bats,
hits, doubles, total bases, extra base hits, games played, and RBIs,
but he has no plans to stop there. The Key West, FL native is within
reach of another Tiger record, runs scored. He is also well in range
of the ACC records for RBIs. He holds a dubious record as well. He
set school standards for most times being hit by a pitch in an
inning, game, season, and career.
Category Clemson Leader Greene Games Khalil Greene(265) 1st(265) At-Bats Khalil Greene(1,039) 1st(1,039) Hits Khalil Greene(392) 1st(392) Doubles Khalil Greene(91) 1st(91) Total Bases Khalil Greene(644) 1st(644) Extra Base Hits Khalil Greene(147) 1st(147) RBIs Khalil Greene(264) 1st(264) Hit-By-Pitch Khalil Greene(58) 1st(58) Sacrifice Flies Matthew LeCroy(20) T-1st(20) Runs Scored Bert Heffernan(285) 2nd(257) Hitting Streak Rusty Adkins(41) 3rd(30) Home Runs Jeff Baker(58) 5th(49) Batting Average Denny Walling(.421) 7th(.377) Category ACC Leader Greene At-Bats Khalil Greene(1,039) 1st(1,039) Hits Khalil Greene(392) 1st(392) Doubles Khalil Greene(91) 1st(91) RBIs Jeremy Morris, FS(273) 2nd(264) Hit-By-Pitch Karl Jernigan, FS(61) 2nd(58) Runs Scored Tom Sergio, NCS(290) 6th(257) FS - Florida State; NCS - N.C. State Category NCAA Leader Greene Hits Phil Stephenson, WS(418)2nd(392) Doubles Mark Standiford, WS(94) T-2nd(91) At-Bats John Fishel, CSF(1,114) 4th(1,039) Total Bases Phil Stephenson, WS(730)6th(644) Sacrifice Flies Mike McDonald, WS(27) T-6th(20) Hit-By-Pitch Tony Hurtado, SF(92) T-6th(58) Assists Link Jarrett, FS(802) 8th(704) CSF - Cal. State-Fullerton; FS - Florida State; SF - San Francisco; WS - Wichita State; Note: Rankings are assuming no 2002 player is ahead of Greene
Greene Climbing Single-Season Records
Along with his many career records, Greene is now moving up
the Tiger single-season records. The following is a list of his
single-season record placements.
Category Clemson Leader Year Greene Total Bases Khalil Greene(226) 2002 1st(226) Slugging % Khalil Greene(.886) 2002 1st(.886) Extra Base Hits Khalil Greene(54) 2002 1st(54) Home Runs 3 Others(24) ----- T-1st(24) Batting Average Dude Buchanan(.485) 1941 2nd(.482) Hits Shane Monahan(137) 1994 2nd(123) Multi-Hit Games Shane Monahan(46) 1994 2nd(39) Doubles Kurt Bultmann(31) 1997 2nd(29) Runs Scored Shane Monahan(97) 1994 T-4th(85) RBIs Eric Macrina(84) 1991 T-4th(79) Singles Shane Monahan(94) 1994 T-9th(69) Hit-By-Pitch Khalil Greene(21) 2001 T-9th(11)
Greene Up While Others Down
The latter part of the season is typically when one sees
lofty batting averages level off into a "realistic" zone, but Khalil
Greene's is going up. In recent games, he has raised his average to
.482 after it dipped to .436 after a game at Duke on April 20. The
.482 batting average is the best ever in a season in ACC history.
Wake Forest's Bill Merrifield hit .476 in 1983, the ACC record
heading into 2002.
In the last 24 games, 14 of which have been against teams
ranked in the top 10, he is 50-for-91 (.549). That helped him earn
National Co-Player-of-the-Week honors by Collegiate Baseball for the
second time this season when he was 7-for-8 with two homers and seven
RBIs in two games at #9 Georgia Tech. He also was lauded by the ACC
with Co-Player-of-the-Week honors for his efforts against the Yellow
Jackets. It was the third time in 2002 the ACC has tabbed him with
that honor. No other ACC player was honored more than once in 2002.
He also was 8-for-12 at Virginia in three games.
Ironman
Khalil Greene has played in every game (265) since becoming a
Tiger in 1999, and has started all but one of those games. That one
non-start came in the third game of the season his freshman season
against Kansas State, meaning he has started 262 games in a row.
The 265 games played ranks first in the Clemson career
charts. The Tiger record was 259 set by Bert Heffernan from 1985-88
until Greene broke it against N.C. State in the ACC Tournament. His
ability to avoid injury can be attributed to his dedicated
weight-room habits and pre-game stretch routine.
Greene's .482 Average Best Ever in ACC
Khalil Greene's .482 batting average is the all-time best in
ACC history for a single season. Wake Forest's Bill Merrifield holds
the record with a .476 average. He set the mark in 143 at-bats in
1983.
KG 2nd in NCAAs in Career Hits, Doubles
Clemson senior Khalil Greene has 123 hits in 2002 and 392 for
his Clemson career entering the Super Regional. Greene moved into
second place on the all-time NCAA hits at the ACC Tournament when he
went ahead of John Fishel, who played at Cal. State-Fullerton
(1982-85).
Greene is still 26 hits away from Phil Stephenson's (Wichita
State, 1979-82) national record of 418. Stephenson had his 418 hits
in 288 career games, an average of 1.45 hits per game. Greene has
his 392 hits in 265 career games, an average of 1.48 hits per game.
Greene is not the only active player in the all-time top 10.
Notre Dame senior Steve Stanley has 375 career hits entering this
weekend's Super Regional play. That is good enough for fourth on the
all-time list.
Greene now has 91 doubles for his Clemson career, already an
ACC record. But, the senior is challenging the NCAA record of 94,
set by Mark Standiford of Wichita State (1985-88). The 91 doubles is
tied for second-most in NCAA history.
NCAA Career Hits Leaders Player School, Years GP Hits Phil Stephenson Wichita State, 1979-82 288 418 Khalil Greene Clemson, 1999-02 265 392 John Fishel Cal State-Fuln, 1982-85 295 379 Jim Thomas Wichita State, 1979-82 288 373 Tim Raley Wichita State, 1984-87 273 370 Steve Stanley Notre Dame, 1999-02 250 375 Jake Weber N.C. State, 1995-98 248 366 Philip Hartig The Citadel, 1998-01 239 360 Gary Cooper Brigham Young, 1983-86 242 359 NCAA Career Doubles Leaders Player School, Years GP 2B Phil Standiford Wichita State, 1985-88 287 94 Khalil Greene Clemson, 1999-02 265 91 Phil Stephenson Wichita State, 1979-82 288 91 Clay Westlake Arizona State, 1973-76 264 88
Greene Laying the Leather
Perhaps Khalil Greene's proudest accomplishment is his
outstanding career fielding percentage of .943, including a school
record percentage (.965) last season for a shortstop. He has a .966
mark this year and makes spectacular play after spectacular play,
including many for the highlight reel. And in 24 ACC regular-season
games this year, 21 of which he played at shortstop, he did not made
an error in the field in 104 chances. His ability to make the
difficult play look routine has not gone unnoticed.
Greene On a 30-Game Hitting Streak
Khalil Greene is riding a 30-game hitting streak, the
third-longest streak in Clemson history. In fact, he has gone
hitless in only five of the 64 games this season. The Clemson and
ACC record is 41 games, set by Rusty Adkins from 1965-66. Clemson's
Brian Kowitz also had a 37-game streak from 1989-90. He has also
reached base via a hit or walk in all but one game this season. That
one game was against Maryland on March 31.
Greene, Trahan POTY in Swing Sports
Clemson shortstop Khalil Greene and Tiger golfer D.J. Trahan
both accomplished feats the two "swing" and spring sports of baseball
and golf. Greene was named National Player-of-the-Year in baseball
by Collegiate Baseball, while Tiger golfer D.J. Trahan, who played in
the Masters last year, received the Jack Nicklaus Award this year,
going to the nation's top golfer. Having the nation's top players in
each sport is quite a feat few if any school has ever accomplished.
Baker, Greene Finalists for Golden Spikes
Jeff Baker and Khalil Greene are two of five finalists for
the Golden Spikes Award, given to the nation's premier player. They
join Russ Adams of North Carolina, Bobby Brownlie of Rutgers, and
Jeremy Guthrie of Stanford. The winner of the award will be
announced Tuesday, July 9 on Fox Sports Net South at 3:30 PM.
Baker, Greene Semi-Finalists for Smith
Jeff Baker and Khalil Greene are two of 12 semi-finalists for
the Rotary Smith Award. Clemson is the only school to have more than
one player represented among the semi-finalists. The ACC leads all
conferences with five semi-finalists as well. The winner will be
announced at a dinner in Houston, TX on June 24.
Baker, Greene Semi-Finalists for Howser
Jeff Baker and Khalil Greene were named two of 40
semi-finalists for the Dick Howser Trophy Friday, May 10. The award
goes to the top player in collegiate baseball based on performance on
the field, leadership, moral character, and courage, which were all
qualities that were exemplified by Dick Howser's life. The ACC has
10 players among the 40 semi-finalists, most in the country. An ACC
player has won the award in four of the last eight seasons. Former
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