The Clemson Insider

By Trey McCurry.

By Trey McCurry

Clemson (5-1) hosts Winthrop (2-5) on Tuesday afternoon at 4:00PM at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

The Series

Clemson and Winthrop have met 22 times on the diamond with the Tigers holding a 18-4 lead in the series. The teams first met in 1981 and last met least season in an 11-0 Clemson win. Each of the last 10 games, and 17 of the 22 overall, have been played at Doug Kingsmore Stadium where the Tigers hold a 14-3 lead. The teams have met once in the NCAA Tournament; a 9-5 Tiger win in the 1995 East Regional at Clemson. Jack Leggett is 10-3 all-time against the Eagles (6-3 at Clemson and 3-0 at Western Carolina).

The Eagles

Winthrop, led by third-year Head Coach Tom Riginos, is a member of the Big South Conference. The Eagles are 2-5 on the season, including 0-1 on the road (a 6-4 setback to The Citadel last Wednesday). Winthrop enters the game off an 0-3 showing at the Coca-Cola Classic in Rock Hill, with two losses to Delaware State sandwiched around a loss to Eastern Kentucky. The Eagles were picked by Big South coaches to finish fourth in the six-team South Division of the Big South and are coming off a 17-35 (9-14 Big South) season in 2012.

The Eagles are hitting .248 as a team in 2013 with 13 doubles, a homer, 2 stolen bases (in three chances), 28 walks, four hit-by-pitches, and 45 strikeouts while averaging 3.4 runs per game. Winthrop’s pitching staff has a 3.45 ERA this season, allowing 57 hits (.248 opponents’ batting average) and 24 walks against 68 strikeouts in 60.0 innings. The Eagles are fielding at a .961 clip, committing 10 errors in 246 chances.

The Tigers

Clemson enters the game 5-1 after sweeping three games from Wright State last weekend by a combined score of 18-3. The Tigers were picked to finish third in the Atlantic Division in 2013 by ACC coaches and are coming off a 35-28 (16-14) season in 2012 that included an appearance in the Columbia Regional.

The Tigers are hitting .292 as a team in 2013 with 15 doubles, two homers, nine stolen bases (in 13 chances), 20 walks, three hit-by-pitches, and 26 strikeouts while averaging 5.7 runs per game. Clemson’s pitching staff has a 2.50 ERA this season, allowing 50 hits (.253 opponents’ batting average) and 18 walks against 40 strikeouts in 54.0 innings. The Tigers are fielding at a .984 clip, committing four errors in 242 chances.

Projected Starting Lineups

Winthrop

C #24 Reid Langdale (JR/.125 BA with 1 RBI, 1 R, & 2 BBs in 6 games in 2013)

1B #22 Matt Lobacz (SR/.400 BA with 3 2Bs, 4 RBI, & 3 R in 7 games in 2013)

2B #6 Kyle Edwards (FR/.091 BA with 2 RBI, 3 R, & 4 BBs in 7 games in 2013)

SS #18 Jason Driver (SR/.000 BA with 1 SH in 4 games in 2013)

3B #2 Leighton Daniels (JR/.407 BA with 1 2B, 2 RBI, & 4 R in 7 games in 2013)

LF #20 Cody Dolan (JR/.407 BA with 3 2Bs, 1 HR, & 3 RBI in 7 games in 2013)

CF #19 TJ Olesczuk (JR/.211 BA with 1 2B, 3 RBI, & 2 R in 5 games in 2013)

RF #42 Nick Bateman (FR/.222 BA with 1 2B, 2 RBI, & 3 R in 6 games in 2013)

DH #7 Clay Altman (SO/.333 BA with 1 2B, 3 RBI, & 2 BBs in 7 games in 2013)

Clemson

C #30 Garrett Boulware (SO/.333 BA with 1 2B, 4 RBI, & 3 R in 5 games in 2013)

1B #12 Jon McGibbon (JR/.190 BA with 1 2B, 4 RBI, & 3 R in 6 games in 2013)

2B #17 Steve Wilkerson (JR/.478 BA with 2 2Bs, 1 HR, & 7 RBI in 6 games in 2013)

SS #3 Tyler Krieger (FR/.150 BA with 1 2B, 1 RBI, & 1 R in 6 games in 2013)

3B #13 Jay Baum (SO/.286 BA with 2 2Bs, 3 RBI, & 1 R in 6 games in 2013)

LF #1 Maleeke Gibson (FR/.22 BA with 1 R, 1 SB, & 2 BBs in 5 games in 2013)

CF #4 Thomas Brittle (*SR/.300 BA with 1 2B, 6 R, & 2 SB in 6 games in 2013)

RF #9 Steven Duggar (FR/.350 BA with 3 2Bs, 1 RBI, & 6 R in 6 games in 2013)

DH #11 Shane Kennedy (JR/.350 BA 1 HR, 8 RBI, & 5 R in 6 games in 2013)

Projected Starting Pitchers

Winthrop will start freshman lefthander Sam Kmiec. The Middletown, DE native is 0-1 with a 2.08 ERA in five relief appearances for a total of 4.1 innings pitched in 2013. He has allowed six hits (.353 opponents’ batting average) and no walks against two strikeouts.

Clemson will counter with freshman lefthander Matthew Crownover. The Ringgold, GA native is 0-0 with a 27.00 ERA in one relief apperance for a total of 0.2 innings pitched in 2013. He has allowed two hits (.500 opponents’ batting average) and one walk against no strikeouts.

Worth Noting

Clemson is 16-8 all-time on February 26 with a 9-2 mark at home.
Three Winthrop coaches have Tiger connections: Head Coach Tom Riginos (assistant coach at Clemson from 2003-10), assistant coach Ben Hall (utility player in 2005-06, and volunteer assistant Wilson Boyd (outfielder from 2007-10).
This is the first of four meetings against Big South opponents for the Tigers in 2013. The Tigers host Charleston Southern on March 13, Gardner-Webb on April 3, & Presbyterian College on April 10.
Clemson has faced 10 of the current 12 members of the Big South. The Tigers are 163-38 in those matchups, including a 116-20 mark at home.
Jack Leggett has faced 11 of the current 12 members of the Big South. He is 130-40 in those matchups, including a 64-14 mark as Clemson’s head coach.

Tiger Career Stats vs. Winthrop

Player AVG G-S AB R H RBI HR

Garrett Boulware .667 1-1 3 1 2 0 0

Jay Baum .500 1-1 4 1 2 1 0

Thomas Brittle .500 1-1 2 1 1 1 0

Jon McGibbon .400 1-1 5 1 2 0 0

Steve Wilkerson .250 1-1 4 1 1 0 0

Tyler Slaton .000 1-0 2 0 0 0 0

Joe Costigan .000 1-0 1 0 0 0 0

Mike Dunster .000 1-0 1 0 0 0 0

Player ERA G-S W-L IP H ER BB SO

Daniel Gossett 0.00 1-1 1-0 7.0 3 0 0 13

Joseph Moorefield 0.00 1-0 0-0 1.0 0 0 1 1