Duke (15-4, 2-1 ACC) vs. #16 Clemson Tigers (7-7,0-3)
Duke was pretty weak last year, but we went to Durham and choked badly. They have played mostly cupcakes, but took care of NC State last weekend, and they are an above average squad with a good lineup. Duke pitchers pretty much manhandled them. Last year we choked in Durham badly. We were the far better team and miscues in the field, combined with a terrible performance from the bullpen andthe rest of the staff, caused us to lose 2 of 3 to one of the worst teams in the ACC.
With the way we're playing now, especially with the injury to Miller and the otherwise shitty defense from Epps, Stolz and Hinson, who knows how this will turn out.
All 3 games are on TigerCast.
Clemson AD Series Preview -- Duke AD series preview
The Tigers hold a 61-24-1 lead over the Blue Devils in games played at Clemson and a 42-6 lead at Tiger Field. Clemson also holds a 92-34-2 advantage in ACC regular-season games.
Last Week: Clemson was swept by Virginia at home over the weekend. Clemson also lost to PC earlier this week (Wednesday night) by a score of 4-3.
Duke won 2 of 3 against NC State at home last weekend, and won their midweek home games against NC Central (11-3) and Charlotte (4-1).
Weekend Starters:
Friday, 6:30pm:
| Throws | Player | Rec | ERA | IP | H | R | ER | BB | Ks |
| RHP | Chase Bebout | 2-0 | 1.09 | 24.2 | 15 | 6 | 3 | 7 | 30 |
| RHP | Scott Weismann | 2-2 | 4.98 | 21.2 | 22 | 14 | 12 | 5 | 4 |
Saturday, 6:30pm:
| Throws | Player | Rec | ERA | IP | H | R | ER | BB | Ks |
| RHP | Dennis O'Grady | 4-0 | 1.80 | 25 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 12 | 23 |
| RHP | David Haselden | 1-1 | 2.79 | 19.1 | 17 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 10 |
Sunday, 1pm:
| Throws | Player | Rec | ERA | IP | H | R | ER | BB | Ks |
| RHP | Marcus Stroman | 1-0 | 0.64 | 14 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 17 |
| TBA |
Hitting Comparison
| BA | AB | H | R | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | HBP | SB-ATT | ||
| Clemson | .310 | 468 | 145 | 105 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 89 | 82 | 14 | 22-28 | |
| Duke | .310 | 629 | 195 | 131 | 43 | 10 | 3 | 119 | 90 | 21 | 38-50 |
Again, looks like they've been facing pitching that isn't so hot, but the lineup is putting up good numbers for Duke. The Tigers are averaging 7.5 runs per game and hitting .310 with a .425 slugging percentage and .418 on-base percentage. The Tigers have outscored their opposition by 48 runs (+3.4 per game) despite their .500 record. Clemson's lineup is in flux with our recent play and injury. The lineup below is representative of Sundays game.
| Pos | Player | BA | R | H | 2B | HR | RBI | BB |
| DH | Dominic Attanasio | 0.500 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| CF | Will Lamb | 0.300 | 7 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 7 |
| LF | Jeff Schaus | 0.280 | 4 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 12 | 10 |
| 1b | Richie Shaffer | 0.217 | 18 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 13 |
| RF | Chris Epps | 0.271 | 14 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 13 |
| C | Spencer Kieboom | 0.425 | 8 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 8 |
| 3B | John Hinson | 0.255 | 12 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 6 |
| SS | Jason Stolz | 0.300 | 7 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 4 |
| 2B | Steve Wilkerson | 0.273 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Puke Freshman Anthony D'Alessandro is hitting .403 with 15 RBIs, while freshman Jordan Betts is batting .392 with eight doubles and 14 RBIs. Freshman Chris Marconcini is hitting .324 with four doubles, six triples, one homer, and 20 RBIs, while Will Piwnica-Worms has added a team-high 10 steals.
| POS | PLAYER | BA | R | H | 2B | HR | RBI | BB |
| DH | David Perkins | .365 | 12 | 19 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 5 |
| RF | Chris Marconcini | .324 | 17 | 24 | 4 | 1 | 20 | 10 |
| 3B | Jordan Betts | .392 | 12 | 29 | 8 | 0 | 14 | 8 |
| C | Jeff Kremer | .362 | 16 | 21 | 8 | 1 | 11 | 18 |
| 1B | Dennis O’Grady | .302 | 13 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 7 |
| LF | Anthony D’Alessandro | .403 | 11 | 25 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 7 |
| CF | Will Piwnica-Worms | .214 | 14 | 15 | 5 | 0 | 9 | 7 |
| 2B | Marcus Stroman | .178 | 11 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 7 |
| SS | Angelo LaBruna | .295 | 7 | 18 | 5 | 0 | 15 | 4 |
Team Pitching
| ERA | W-L | SHO/CBO | Saves | IP | H | R | ER | BB | Ks | ||
| Clemson | 3.48 | 7-7 | 1/1 | 1 | 124 | 111 | 57 | 48 | 30 | 100 | |
| Duke | 2.79 | 15-4 | 3/3 | 3 | 170 | 160 | 64 | 51 | 68 | 144 |
Duke’s starting pitching has been among of the best in the ACC this season as those three starters and junior southpaw Eric Pfisterer have combined for a 7-0 record and a 1.62 ERA on the weekends. Bebout, a 6-6 sophomore, has been one of the ACC’s best and most consistent starters early in the season and boasts a 2-0 record, a 1.09 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 24.2 innings. O’Grady, meanwhile, has thrown four straight quality starts on the way to a 4-0 record and a 1.80 ERA, while Stroman has allowed just one run all season and is holding the opposition to a .190 average.
Clemon's pen has been pretty bad so far. As of now, only Kevin Pohle, Jon Meyer and JoMo have ERAs under 5.00. Those 3 guys are all 3.00 or better. We expected Freddy to be lights out this year, and he's been shaky. We expected Firth to be better, and he's been hit or miss so far. Same story with Leone. I really don't know what to expect now.
As far as a prediction, we're not making one. Duke's throwing RH's against us this weekend, which is good news for a LH dominated lineup. Maybe we'll get back on the horse.