Clemson Baseball Preview: Coastal Carolina

Who- #10 Clemson(16-4) at Coastal Carolina(15-7)

When- Tuesday 6pm

Where- Spring Brooks Stadium Conway, SC

Video- None

Audio- Clemson Tiger Radio Network, TigerCast

Gamecast- ClemsonTigers.com

The Tigers hit the road this week, making their first stop in Conway for a midweek matchup with Coastal Carolina. Clemson comes in losers of 3 straight, having been swept at home by NCST over the weekend. The Tigers are really struggling to score runs right now, having only scored 5 runs total in the 3 losses over the weekend. They have only played one road game so far this season, the Friday night game in Columbia vs SC, so maybe a change of scenery will do the team some good, and get some of the bats going again. Holt Jones will be making his second consecutive midweek start, after making his debut last week vs Charleston Southern. The 6’ 7” freshman was fairly impressive, striking out the first 7 batters he faced, on the way to his second win of the season. He pitched into the 6th, not allowing a run, giving up only 2 hits, and finished with 8 Ks. Maybe a better description of his debut would be “dominant.” Clemson is hitting .257 as a team, while the pitching staff has a combined ERA of 3.02 and a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.74.

Gary Gilmore’s Chanticleers will counter with RHP Anthony Simonelli, who is 3-1 but with a 7.58 ERA. He was roughed up pretty good his last time out against UConn last Tuesday. The Huskies touched the freshman up for 10 runs(9 earned runs) on 8 hits and a walk, in only 2 innings. The Chants have won 3 straight since that loss to UConn, having swept Ark St over the weekend. They scored 37 runs in the 3 game series, including 26 in the second game alone. As a team, they are hitting .300, so Tiger pitchers will have their work cut out for them. They will have to be especially careful with Zach Biermann and Kevin Woodall Jr. Bierman is hitting .342, with 6 HRs and 21 RBI, while Woodall Jr is hitting .287 along with 9 HRs and 29 RBI. The Chants pitching staff has a combined ERA of 4.28.

This will be the 54th meeting between the two schools, with the Tigers holding a significant edge in the all time series. Clemson is 44-9 overall against the Chants, in a series that dates back to 1986. The Tigers are 10-3 in the series in games that have been played in Conway.

It is a shame there is no stream for this game, or not one I have been able to confirm anyways. This one sold out very quick and they have already sold a ton of general admission/standing room only tickets from what I have been told. I am expecting an electric type atmosphere in that ballpark, and again, it is very disappointing that fans won’t be able to watch it on tv.

As always, check back with STS after the game for a complete review.