Tigers Slam Hokies

by Dan Scott - Correspondent - Tue May 10 23:08:39 GMT-04:00 2005

BLACKSBURG, Va. - Sometimes it's okay to challenge a struggling slugger. Sometimes it's not. Tuesday, Virginia Tech head coach Clint Hartman guessed wrong.

Clemson's Kris Harvey, at the plate following an intentional walk, hit a grand slam home run in the eighth inning to pace the Tigers to a 6-2 win over the Hokies. The game was played before an announced crowd of 680 at English Field in Blacksburg, Va.

Harvey had struggled in the series up to the at-bat, managing just one hit in 13 trips to the plate. He was 0-for-3 on Tuesday, and when the Tigers put runners on second and third with one out against Virginia Tech (20-23, 5-15 ACC) starter and loser Jake Chaney (5-3), Hartman decided to play the percentages - walk the lefthanded-hitting Tyler Colvin and pitch to Harvey.

But Harvey foiled the strategy by hitting Chaney's first pitch over the fence in left-center for the grand slam home run, turning a 2-1 deficit into a 5-2 lead.

Clemson (30-19, 15-9) had taken the early lead when Travis Storrer homered to right field in the second inning to make it 1-0.

The Hokies tied it in the bottom of the frame on an RBI double from Jose Rojas, then went ahead in the sixth when Sheldon Adams crashed a long home run to right.

Meanwhile, Clemson had a number of scoring opportunities go by the board, thanks both to poor execution and - in one instance - great defense by the Hokies.

With the game still tied 1-1 in the fifth inning, Clemson had Stan Widmann at second base with two outs. Herman Demmink, facing Chaney, launched a drive to centerfield that appeared headed for extra bases.

But Hokie center fielder Nate Parks - racing at full speed - went airborne just before reaching the fence and made a leaping catch.

Thankfully, from the Clemson standpoint, Jeff Hahn was brilliant pitching out of the bullpen.

Hahn (3-1) relieved starter Robert Rohrbaugh in the fifth inning following Adams' homer and a single by Bryan Thomas. Hahn pitched out of further trouble in that inning and wasn't seriously challenged again until the eighth, when he walked a pair of batters.

But facing Adams with runners on first and third with two outs, Hahn induced the lefthanded hitter to ground back to the mound to end the threat.

Hahn closed it out with a perfect ninth inning, allowing the Tigers to escape Blacksburg with two wins in the three-game series.

Clemson's final run scored on a monster solo home run to left by backup catcher Gene Pierce in the ninth inning.

The Tigers return to action Friday, beginning a three-game ACC series at Wake Forest.

Clemson 6 (30-19,15-9 ACC)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB

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Herman Demmink 3b........ 5 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 1

Brad Chalk cf............ 5 1 3 0 0 0 1 0 0

Taylor Harbin 2b......... 3 1 1 0 0 1 3 4 1

Tyler Colvin lf.......... 3 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 0

Kris Harvey dh........... 4 1 1 4 0 2 0 0 1

Travis Storrer rf........ 4 1 1 1 0 0 2 0 0

Andy D'Alessio 1b........ 3 0 1 0 1 0 10 1 0

Stan Widmann ss.......... 3 0 0 0 1 0 3 5 1

Adrian Casanova c........ 1 0 1 0 0 0 5 0 0

Jesse Ferguson ph....... 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

Gene Pierce c........... 1 1 1 1 0 0 2 0 0

Robert Rohrbaugh p....... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0

Jeff Hahn p............. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0

Totals................... 33 6 9 6 3 6 27 14 5

Virginia Tech 2 (20-23,5-15 ACC)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB

------------------------------------------------------

Chris Stanton 1b......... 5 0 1 0 0 0 11 0 1

Sheldon Adams lf......... 4 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 2

Bryan Thomas 3b.......... 5 0 2 0 0 2 2 2 2

Billy Marn rf............ 4 0 1 0 1 0 2 0 0

Matt Foley c............. 5 0 0 0 0 2 6 1 2

Matt Hacker 2b........... 3 1 2 0 1 0 2 3 0

Jose Rojas dh............ 3 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 5

Tom Blaszak pr.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Warren Schaeffer ss...... 4 0 0 0 0 2 1 3 0

Nate Parks cf............ 3 0 1 0 1 0 3 0 0

Jake Chaney p............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0

Casey Herald p.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Bobby West p............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Totals................... 36 2 9 2 5 7 27 10 12

Score by Innings R H E

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Clemson............. 010 000 041 - 6 9 2

Virginia Tech....... 010 010 000 - 2 9 0

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E - DEMMINK(10); D'ALESSIO(4). DP - Clemson 1; Va. Tech 1.

LOB - Clemson 5; Va. Tech 12. 2B - HARBIN(21); CASANOVA(4);

ROJAS(4). HR - HARVEY(18); STORRER(5); PIERCE(1); ADAMS(2).

SH - HARBIN(6); CASANOVA(11). SB -

HACKER(5); PARKS(16). CS - CHALK(4); STANTON(5).

Clemson IP H R ER BB SO AB BF

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Robert Rohrbaugh.... 4.0 7 2 2 2 2 19 21

Jeff Hahn........... 5.0 2 0 0 3 5 17 20

Virginia Tech IP H R ER BB SO AB BF

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Jake Chaney......... 7.1 8 5 5 3 5 27 32

Casey Herald........ 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 2 2

Bobby West.......... 1.0 1 1 1 0 1 4 4

Win - HAHN (3-1). Loss - CHANEY (5-3). Save - None.

Umpires - HP: Tim Clougherty 1B: Gerald Trexler

3B: David Pritchett

Start: 7:00 Time: 2:40 Attendance: 680

ROHRBAUGH faced 2 batters in the 5th.

Dan Scott covers Clemson University for the The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Seneca Daily Journal/Clemson Messenger and TigerNet. He also hosts SportsTalk from 9 a.m.-Noon, Monday-Friday, on WCCP-Fm, 104.9. Click here for Dan Scott's SportsTalk discussion board.