Tigers face G-W, needing a sweep

Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs (28-14-1) vs. #17 Clemson Tigers (29-15, 13-11)

Clemson will have a doubleheader on Saturday at Tiger Field at 2 and 6pm. The Sunday game is at G-W in Rock Hill at 2pm.

With 3 weeks and 15 reg. season games left this year, and key series with VT and FSU looming ahead, we need to continue the winning trend and get a sweep here against a weaker opponent. While this series will not affect our ACC standings, it is critical to take care of business and knock these guys out. It is also possible, however unlikely, that we can still get a hosting for the first round of the NCAA Tournament. As of now we rank #10 in the RPI for college baseball by virtue of our tough early schedule and the wins against Georgia Tech last weekend.

The Tigers are in second place in the ACC Atlantic Division standings behind first-place Florida State, which improved to 16-8 in the ACC with two wins in three games at Miami over the weekend.

SEBaseball's regional projections have us as a #2 seed going to Southern Miss, who we thumped at Auburn's Regional last year. We would realistically need at least 40 wins to get a hosting, and for another local team to fall back somewhat.

Last week:

Clemson took 2 of 3 from #7 GT at home. We did not have a midweek game because of finals.

GW lost to UNC this week 4-1, they swept Radford last weekend.

 

Weekend Starters:

Saturday, 2pm:

	Player	Rec	ERA	IP	H	R	ER	BB	Ks
	Dominic Leone	3-1	3.38	40	28	16	15	18	45
	Erik Heiligenstadt	3-3	5.01	50.1	61	35	28	14	31

Saturday, 6pm:

	Player	Rec	ERA	IP	H	R	ER	BB	Ks
	Jonathan Meyer	4-1	3.06	47.0	34	17	16	15	48
	Kyle Paeplow	3-1	5.63	46.1	65	30	29	11	26

Sunday, 2pm:

	Player	Rec	ERA	IP	H	R	ER	BB	Ks
	Justin Sarratt	5-1	1.89	52.1	43	16	11	6	41
	Emilio Pagan	3-1	2.93	43.0	28	14	14	22	26

Hitting Comparison

Team Batting Statistics

	BA		H	R	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	HBP	SB-ATT
Clemson	.308		457	301	89	13	26	268	211	35	80/101
GW	.320		498	336	101	8	21	303	182	30	56/74

It is worth noting that Clemson will be using a new Easton Power bat this weekend.

Brad Miller leads the ACC in batting average (.437) by 37 points and on-base percentage (.535) by 53 points. He has eight doubles, three triples, two homers, 32 RBIs, 37 runs, 28 walks, and a team-tying-high 18 stolen bases in 37 games (35 starts). In the last 19 games, he is 39-for-73 (.534) with 13 steals. Miller won ACC PoW honors this week after he batted .588 with an .882 slugging percentage and a .650 on-base percentage this past week.

Phil Pohl is second on the team with a .360 batting average, along with a team-high 15 doubles, four homers, and 29 RBIs. Will Lamb’s batting average has climbed to .307 thanks to his 19-game hitting streak. He has also hit safely in 30 of the last 32 games.

Despite an ACC record of just two games over .500, the Tigers have outhit their ACC opponents .292 to .237, a margin of 55 points.

GW Prospective Lineup

	Player	BA	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	BB
	Benji Jackson	.307	32	35	5	2	16	25
	Daniel Merck	.339	46	57	9	4	29	34
	Jake Watts	.337	35	59	12	3	44	19
	Dusty Quattlebaum	.366	33	60	23	4	41	6
	Scott Coleman	.299	28	40	10	0	29	16
	Adam McFarland	.348	26	49	14	4	43	4
	Zeke Blanton	.303	22	33	4	0	20	23
	John Harris	.333	27	44	11	0	30	6
	Aaron Miller	.317	44	53	4	1	22	22

Clemson Prospective Lineup

Pos	Player	BA	R	H	2B	HR	RBI	BB
3B	John Hinson	.289	41	46	8	5	25	19
DH	Phil Pohl	.360	29	54	15	4	29	11
SS	Brad Miller	.437	37	55	8	2	32	28
1B	Richie Shaffer	.307	46	47	11	5	32	31
LF	Jeff Schaus	.298	27	48	14	0	31	29
CF	Will Lamb	.307	25	46	7	1	23	13
C	Spencer Kieboom	.316	16	37	8	1	24	16
RF	Chris Epps	.256	28	34	3	5	22	24
2B	Jason Stolz	.269	20	36	7	1	20	20

 

Team Pitching

Team Pitching Statistics

		ERA	W-L	SHO/CBO	Saves	IP	H	R	ER	BB	Ks
	Clemson	3.37	29-15	4/4	10	389.2	337	178	146	133	339
	GW	5.41	28-14	1/1	15	384.0	426	265	231	189	270

 Aside from Jeff Howell (3-1, 2.76 ERA in 24 app) and Emilio Pagan (3-1, 2.93 in 43IP) this pitching staff blows. They suck major balls. They are shitty even against shitty competition.

Scott Weismann has continued his stellar performances since moving to the bullpen. In Clemson’s last 13 games (11-2 record), he has made seven relief appearances for a total of 7.2 innings pitched. He has four saves and has allowed just three hits (all singles), a .115 opponents’ batting average, no runs, and no walks with 14 strikeouts during that stretch.

Justin Sarratt won ACC Pitcher of the Week honors as well. He earned two wins in two starts and did not allow an earned run in 14.1 innings pitched. He picked up wins over Furman and No. 9 Georgia Tech by combining to allow just seven hits (all singles), a .140 opponents' batting average, one unearned run and two walks with 11 strikeouts. Remarkably, in the 14.1 innings pitched during the week, Sarratt allowed only one runner to advance past second base - and that runner was safe at second base due to a fielding error on what could have been an inning-ending double play.