Baseball Preview: Hartford at Clemson

UPDATE: Due to inclement weather on Sunday, Clemson and Hartford will play a double header on Saturday. The World Series Trophy will not be in Doug Kingsmore this weekend, but will be on display March 6th at the Clemson vs South Carolina game at Doug Kingsmore.

Hartford Hawks (0-0) at Clemson (4-0). Friday 4:00 PM, Saturday Game 1 1:00 PM, Game 2 30 minutes after Game 1.

After sweeping the Indiana Hoosiers, Clemson also picked up a solid Tuesday night win over in-state foe Charleston. Offense didn’t show much (outside of a Caden Grice 2 run bomb), but pitching was absolutely filthy and held on for a 2-1 win over Monte Lee’s alma mater. The Tigers now roll in at 4-0 against a Hartford team who is playing their first game of the year.

So, who is Hartford? Well, first, expect to have to explain to multiple people that we are playing HART-FORD, not HAR-VARD. These aren’t Ivy League lads in Cambridge, they’re just run of the mill private school fellas from Connecticut. The Hartford Hawks play most of their games at Fiondella Field, which holds 1,000 fans, but do play some games at Dunkin’ Donuts Park, home of the Hartford Yard Goats. The Hawks made their one trip to the D1 NCAA tourney in 2018, when they also won the American East, and that may be their only trip, as their athletic department is set to drop to D3 by 2025.

Last year, the Hawks went 18-20 in an American East only schedule. Their best returning hitter is Tremayne Cobb Jr, who went .306 on the year. Derek Tenney led the squad in homers with 9.

Friday night the Hawks will send out righty Tim Blaisdell against Mac Anglin. On Saturday we’ll see James Judenis against Nick Clayton, and then on Sunday we get Will Nowack against Nick Hartmann.

Friday looks like a beautiful day for baseball, with a high of 73 in Clemson. Saturday may be a bit chillier with a high of 54 but looks clear.