Notes on Baker's Game-Winning Ninth-Inning Home Run |
CLEMSON -- Clemson junior third baseman Jeff Baker socked a walk-off
ninth-inning home run to defeat Winthrop on April 3 at Kingsmore
Stadium. It was the first ninth-inning, game ending home run for
the Tigers since May 6, 1997 when Eric DeMoura hit a three-run homer
in the bottom of the ninth to defeat North Carolina, 5-4.
Baker's home run was the fourth walk-off home run for the
Tigers under Jack Leggett (since 1994) and the 17th game-ending hit
since Leggett has been head coach. Sixteen of the 17 game-ending
hits took place at Kingsmore Stadium. The only exception was a game
ending single by Kurt Bultmann against NC State in the 1999 ACC
Tournament in Durham.
Baker has had many clutch hits in his three-year career, but
the home run against Winthrop was his first walk-off hit. Four
different active Tigers now have game-ending hits in their careers.
Khalil Greene has two, one against Coastal Carolina in 2001 and one
against South Carolina earlier this year. Zane Green and Steve Pyzik
are also current players in the walk-off hit club.
Baker's home run in the ninth to beat Winthrop was also his
third home run of the game. Baker became the 10th Clemson player in
history to hit three home runs in a game, the first since April 11,
1993 when Shane Monahan hit three home runs at NC State. It was the
first time any Clemson player had ever hit three home runs in a game
at Kingsmore Stadium. The last time a Clemson player hit three home
runs in a game on the Clemson campus was on April 14, 1964 when Jack
McCall hit three against Georgia Tech.
Walk-off Game-Winning Hits under Jack Leggett
Date CU-Op Opponent Hit Player RBI
3-5-94 10-8 NC State 1B Gary Burnham 1
4-8-94 10-8 NC State HR Seth Brizek 2
4-10-94 5-4 Wake Forest 1B Mike Eydenberg 1
3-31-95 3-2 North Carolina 1B David Miller 1
3-2-96 8-7 C Carolina HR Doug Livingston 3
5-6-97 5-4 North Carolina HR Eric DeMoura 3
4-17-98 11-10 NC State 1B Kurt Bultmann 1
4-21-99 5-4 South Carolina 1B Brian Ellis 2
5-1-99 5-4 Virginia 1B Patrick Boyd 1
5-19-99 7-6 *NC State 1B Kurt Bultmann 1
4-15-00 6-5 Wake Forest 2B Brian Ellis 1
5-7-00 5-4 Florida State 1B Casey Stone 1
4-11-01 8-7 C Carolina 1B Khalil Greene 1
4-28-01 10-9 North Carolina 1B Steve Pyzik 1
5-13-01 5-4 Virginia 1B Zane Green 1
3-3-02 11-10 South Carolina 2B Khalil Greene 1
4-3-02 6-4 Winthrop HR Jeff Baker 2
*At ACC Tournament in Durham, NC
Three Home Run Games by Clemson Players
Date Player Site Opponent
5-1-50 Ray Mathews H Furman
4-22-53 Bill Barnett H Furman
4-14-64 Jack McCall H Georgia Tech
4-19-75 Denny Walling A Wake Forest
4-7-79 Neil Simons A NC State
4-6-83 Bob Paulling A Georgia
3-31-87 Steve Baucom A Charlotte
5-5-87 Chuck Baldwin A Maryland
4-11-93 Shane Monahan A NC State
4-3-02 Jeff Baker H Winthrop
