Tigers Move Up in Baseball Polls |
Clemson University
Notes Clemson went 3-2 in five games this past week, including splitting a pair of midweek games and winning two of three games at #2 Florida State over the weekend. Behind five home runs, including two by Andy D'Alessio, #16 Clemson blasted Wofford 12-3 at West End Field in Greenville, SC on May 8. The Tigers scored five runs in the second inning and cruised to victory, scoring in all but two of the eight innings in which they batted. Clemson hit five solo homers, as Doug Hogan, Ben Paulsen, and Taylor Harbin also hit long balls. Clemson totaled 15 hits, including nine extra-base hits, and nine walks. Six different Tigers had at least two hits. D'Alessio went 3-for-4 with a double, two homers, and three RBIs. Alex Lee went 2-for-3 and reached base four times as well. Starter D.J. Mitchell pitched 5.0 scoreless innings with five strikeouts to earn the win. Four Furman pitchers held #16 Clemson to six hits in the Paladins' 6-3 victory at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on May 9. Reliever Spencer Hale limited Clemson to one run on three hits in 3.1 innings pitched to pick up the win. Nicholas Karow pitched 1.2 scoreless innings to earn the save as well. D'Alessio's two-out, two-run single in the third inning gave Clemson a 2-1 lead, but the Paladins scored the next five runs. Paul Ortenzo's two-run double in the sixth inning and Bobby Hubbard's two-run triple in the eighth inning highlighted Furman's upset win. Harbin was 2-for-3 with a home run to lead Clemson, who was just 1-for-15 with runners on base. Five Tiger pitchers combined for 14 strikeouts as well. The #16 Tigers then won two of three games at #2 Florida State from May 11-13 at Dick Howser Stadium. It was the Tigers' first series win in Tallahassee since 1993. Clemson hit .306 in the series and totaled 15 extra-base hits, including 10 doubles and five home runs. D'Alessio was 6-for-13 (.462) with five runs scored, a double, three homers, and six RBIs. Hogan added five hits, including three doubles. The pitching staff had a 6.23 ERA, while the Tiger defense turned six double plays as well. The Seminoles had not lost a weekend series all season and entered the series with a 32-2 home record. The Tiger victories in the final two games of the series also meant Florida State lost back-to-back games for the first time in 2007, and it was the first time since 1993 that Clemson won a series in Tallahassee. Clemson also did so without the services of its leading hitter in Brad Chalk, who did not make the trip due to a back injury, and started five freshmen in the lineup in its two wins. In game-one on May 11, Tony Thomas, Jr. reached base in all five plate appearances to lead Florida State to an 11-1 win over Clemson. Thomas was 3-for-3 with two doubles, a walk, hit-by-pitch, and two steals, as the Seminoles totaled 15 hits and were 9-for-13 with runners in scoring position. A six-run seventh-inning blew the game open for the Seminoles, who clinched the ACC Atlantic Division title with the victory. Starter Bryan Henry allowed eight hits, one run, and no walks with eight strikeouts to improve to 13-0 on the season. D'Alessio's solo homer in the fourth inning scored Clemson's lone run. The Tigers totaled 10 hits, but they were just 2-for-18 with runners on base. In game-two on May 12, Clemson scored three runs in the ninth inning to top Florida State 7-6. Harbin tied the score in the ninth with a two-run double down the left-field line, then Hogan beat out a potential double play to allow D'Alessio to score the go-ahead run. The Seminoles took a 6-1 lead in the third inning, but they did not score the rest of the way. Alan Farina pitched 4.1 scoreless innings of relief, allowing just four hits and no walks with six strikeouts to record the win. It was the first time all season the Seminoles lost when leading at any time after the third inning. In game-three on May 13, D'Alessio went 3-for-5 with two homers and five RBIs to lead Clemson to an 11-6 win over Florida State. D'Alessio gave the Tigers an early lead on a three-run homer in the first inning. After the Tigers scored four runs in the sixth inning, D'Alessio blasted a two-run homer in the seventh inning to give Clemson a 10-2 lead. Florida State rallied with four runs in the seventh, but Stephen Clyne shut the door to record the save. Mitchell pitched 6.0 effective innings in his first career weekend start to earn the win on his 20th birthday. Clemson outhit the Seminoles 12-7 and totaled eight extra-base hits, including a two-run homer by Harbin. During the week, the Tigers hit .309 with a .407 on-base percentage, 26 walks, and 34 runs in five games. Clemson also had a .979 fielding percentage, committing just four errors. D'Alessio had another big week for the Tigers, as he was 10-for-19 (.526) with seven runs scored, two doubles, five homers, and 11 RBIs. He also had a 1.421 slugging percentage and .609 on-base percentage, and added two multi-homer games, giving him 11 in his career. He has also hit 11 long balls in the last 17 games. Harbin was 7-for-18 (.389) with two doubles, three homers, six RBIs, and four walks. Harbin has hit five homers in the last seven games as well. The pitching staff had a 5.32 ERA and .318 opponents' batting average during the week. The staff also totaled 46 strikeouts against 24 walks. Farina continued to pitch well out of the bullpen. He pitched 5.2 scoreless innings with eight strikeouts in two relief appearances, including his outstanding outing to earn the win at #2 Florida State on Saturday. It was a memorable day for the Florida native, as both his parents graduated from Florida State. He also grew up a Seminole fan and attended Mike Martin's Camp five times as a youth. The Tigers will carry a 34-18 overall record and 17-10 mark in ACC play into their final week of the regular season. The team is hitting .289 with a .372 on-base percentage and 51 stolen bases. Chalk is hitting a team-best .407, but has missed the last 11 games due to a back injury. Hogan is hitting 328 with 11 doubles, nine homers, and 32 RBIs, while D'Alessio is hitting .314 with 14 homers and 41 RBIs. His career home run total is up to 56, three shy of the Tiger record of 59 set by Jeff Baker from 2000-02. The pitching staff has a 3.57 ERA and .258 opponents' batting average on the season. Daniel Moskos has a 2.63 ERA and 66 strikeouts in 54.2 innings pitched. Clyne has a 5-1 record and 1.88 ERA along with three saves in 25 relief appearances. Farina is 4-2 with a 3.45 ERA and 58 strikeouts in 47.0 innings pitched this year. His numbers on the road this season have been remarkable. In 21.1 innings pitched in seven relief appearances on the road, he has a 3-1 record, 0.42 ERA, and .113 opponents' batting average. He has allowed just eight hits (all singles), one run, and three walks with 31 strikeouts as well. The Tigers will play host to College of Charleston on Tuesday night in their final regular-season home game before traveling to Raleigh, NC to take on N.C. State in a three-game series beginning Thursday night. VANDERBILT NO. 1 IN COLLEGIATE BASEBALL POLL TUCSON, Ariz. - Vanderbilt (43-10), winners of 11 of its last 13 games, has been ranked No. 1 in the latest Collegiate Baseball newspaper NCAA Division I baseball poll. This is the seventh poll this season Vanderbilt has been ranked No. 1 by Collegiate Baseball. The Commodores also lead the Southeastern Conference with a 19-8 record. The 19 SEC wins are the most in school history which eclipsed 16 wins in 2004 and 2006. Vanderbilt has never won a regular-season SEC title since the conference began to recognize it in 1993. The team has three SEC titles, all via tournaments in 1973, 1974 and 1980. The Commodores lead the SEC in hitting with a .329 average (best in school history) and is third in ERA at 3.67. Poll Notes: Several other teams have been red hot. Rice has won 14 straight games while Long Beach St. has won 12 in a row. Only one team fell out of the top 30 this week in Michigan. The Wolverines lost three of four games against Penn State over the past weekend but still are first in the Big Ten Conference with an 18-6 record. Cal. St. Fullerton entered the poll after beating Wichita St. two of three games over the past weekend and posting a win over Loyola Marymount earlier in the week. The Collegiate Baseball newspaper poll is the oldest college baseball poll. Its birth took place during the 1957 college baseball season.
Overall Season Record: 34-18
ACC Regular-Season Record: 17-10
Last Week: 3-2
Tue. W neutral vs. Wofford, 12-3 (Greenville, SC)
Wed. L home vs. Furman, 3-6
Fri. L away vs. #2 Florida State, 1-11
Sat. W away vs. #2 Florida State, 7-6
Sun. W away vs. #2 Florida State, 11-6
Next Week
Tue. Home vs. College of Charleston, 7:15 PM
Thu. Away vs. N.C. State, 7:00 PM
Fri. Away vs. N.C. State, 7:00 PM
Sat. Away vs. N.C. State, 1:00 PM
Collegiate Baseball Newspaper's
LOUISVILLE SLUGGER?S NATIONAL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
RHP Chance Chapman, Oral Roberts: Chapman broke the school record with 19 strikeouts as Oral Roberts beat Centenary, 12-1. Chapman allowed three hits and one run in his first complete game of the year. He broke his own school record which he tied on March 17 against Arkansas with 17 strikeouts while throwing 150 pitches.
C Blake Murphy, Western Carolina: Murphy had a monster week as he belted 6 home runs over five games as he went 10-for-18. He was 4-for-4 with 2 home runs against Wofford in one game. He followed that up with a 5-for-5 performance against Wofford as he cracked three more homers. For the week, he collected 12 RBIs and scored 16 runs with a 1.611 slugging percentage, 29 total bases and 8 walks.
1B Andy D'Alessio, Clemson: D'Alessio had a huge week as he belted 5 home runs over 5 games as he went 10-for-19 at the plate. He also delivered 2 doubles and knocked in 11 runs.
Baseball America
DURHAM, N.C.--For the seventh week in a row, Vanderbilt held onto the No. 1 spot in Baseball America's Top 25 rankings. The Commodores are fresh off a road series win against Auburn and have won 11 of their last 13 games.
Florida State dropped a spot to No. 3 after losing its first weekend series of the year, while San Diego jumped Virginia to take the No. 5 spot. The Toreros had won 13 straight before dropping their weekend finale to Santa Clara.
Oregon State continued to falter, dropping seven spots from No. 15 to No. 22, after losing two out of three to Washington State.
Missouri returned to the rankings this week at No. 19, and St. John's made its first appearance of the season at No. 23. Michigan and Pepperdine fell the farthest, eight spots, to Nos. 24 and 25, respectively. UCLA and Mississippi both dropped out of the rankings after losing conference series.
The staff of Baseball America determines the Top 25 rankings. Records indicated are through games of May 13 and do not include ties.
COLLEGE TOP 25
Rk. Team W-L Last Prev. 1. Vanderbilt 43-10 2-1 1 2. Rice 41-11 4-0 4 3. Florida State 43-9 1-2 2 4. North Carolina 41-11 4-1 5 5. San Diego 41-15 3-1 6 6. Virginia 39-12 1-2 3 7. Texas 39-14 1-0 7 8. Arizona State 37-12 3-0 10 9. Texas A&M 40-12 2-1 11 10. Arkansas 37-16 1-2 8 11. South Carolina 38-15 3-1 12 12. UC Irvine 34-14 3-1 13 13. Wichita State 43-15 2-2 9 14. Arizona 36-12 1-1 14 15. Clemson 34-18 3-2 18 16. Oklahoma State 37-13 3-0 19 17. Coastal Carolina 41-10 3-1 20 18. Long Beach State 34-14 4-0 22 19. Missouri 35-14 2-1 NR 20. Texas Christian 40-11 3-0 23 21. UC Riverside 33-17 3-0 25 22. Oregon State 36-13 1-2 15 23. St. John's 36-14 4-1 NR 24. Michigan 36-13 2-3 16 25. Pepperdine 32-19 1-3 17 Dropped out: UCLA (21), Mississippi (24).
D'Alessio Earns National, ACC POTW Honors
Andy D'Alessio was one of three players selected as national player-of-the-week by Collegiate Baseball on May 14. He also earned ACC Player-of-the-Week honors for his efforts in five games from May 8-13. He was 10-for-19 (.526) with seven runs scored, two doubles, five homers, 11 RBIs, a 1.421 slugging percentage, and a .609 on-base percentage.
D'Alessio hit two homers and a double against Wofford at Greenville, SC on May 8, then hit three home runs in the series at #2 Florida State, leading the Tigers to two wins. On May 13, he slugged two homers with five RBIs in Clemson's 11-6 victory as well. On the season, he is hitting .314 with 14 homers (including 11 in the last 17 games) and 41 RBIs.
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