Countdown to First Pitch – Wofford
By: rmacrae@bellsouth.net March 5, 2013

By Trey McCurry.

By Trey McCurry

Clemson (6-4) hosts Wofford (7-5) on Wednesday afternoon at 4:00PM at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

 

 

 

The Series

Clemson and Wofford have met 100 times on the diamond with the Tigers holding a 76-23-1 in the series. The teams first met in 1898 and last met in 2011, a 5-1 Clemson win at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. The Tigers hold a 39-8 lead in games at Clemson, including a 9-0 mark at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Jack Leggett is 18-2 all-time against the Terriers (11-0 at Clemson, 7-2 at Western Carolina). 

The Terriers

Wofford, led by sixth-year Head Coach Todd Interdonato, is a member of the Southern Conference. The Terriers are 7-5 on the season, including a 0-2 mark away from home (0-1 road, 0-1 neutral). Wofford enters the game off a 3-1 weekend where they split two games with Dayton and swept a doubleheader against Marshall. The Terriers were picked by both SoCon coaches and the media to finish 10th in the league and are coming off a 22-32 (9-21 SoCon) season in 2012. 

The Terriers are hitting .291 as a team in 2013 with 25 doubles, three triples, four homers, 44 stolen bases (in 56 chances), 52 walks, 13 hit-by-pitches, and 75 strikeouts while averaging 6.0 runs per game. Wofford’s pitching staff has a 4.72 ERA this season, allowing 111 hits (.275 opponents’ batting average) and 57 walks against 92 strikeouts in 101.0 innings. The Terriers are fielding at a .948 clip, committing 22 errors in 404 chances. 

The Tigers

Clemson enters the game 6-4 after dropping two of three games to South Carolina this past weekend. The Tigers are 5-3 at home this season and have lost two consecutive games at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Clemson was picked to finish third in the Atlantic Division in 2013 by ACC coaches and is coming off a 35-28 (16-14) season in 2012 that included an appearance in the Columbia Regional. 

The Tigers are hitting .243 as a team in 2013 with 18 doubles, two homers, 10 stolen bases (in 14 chances), 25 walks, five hit-by-pitches, and 66 strikeouts while averaging 4.2 runs per game. Clemson’s pitching staff has a 2.27 ERA this season, allowing 77 hits (.233 opponents’ batting average) and 34 walks against 73 strikeouts in 91.0 innings. The Tigers are fielding at a .978 clip, committing nine errors in 399 chances. 

Projected Starting Lineups

Wofford

C        #2 Luke Feisal (JR/.222 BA with 1 RBI, 1 R, & 3 SB in 8 games in 2013)

1B      #8 Seth Neely (JR/.326 BA with 1 2B, 7 RBI, & 5 R in 12 games in 2013)

2B      #1 Demetrius Jennings (FR/.182 BA with 2 RBI, 3 R, & 2 SB in 6 games in 2013)

SS      #15 Alec Paradowski (FR/.343 BA with 3 2Bs, 6 RBI, & 9 R in 10 games in 2013)

3B      #33 Eric Brenk (JR/.366 BA with 3 2Bs, 1 HR, & 14 RBI in 12 games in 2013)

LF      #6 Matthew Pelt (SO/.133 BA with 1 2B, 2 RBI, & 2 R in 8 games in 2013)

CF      #18 Matthew Kaskow (SO/.256 BA with 3 2Bs, 1 HR, & 5 RBI in 12 games in 2013)

RF      #22 Josh Hyman (JR/.435 BA with 6 2Bs, 1 HR, & 10 RBI in 12 games in 2013)

DH     #19 Matthew Ramsay (SO/.227 BA with 2 2Bs, 8 RBI, & 10 RBI in 12 games in 2013)

 

Clemson

C        #30 Garrett Boulware (SO/.360 BA with 3 2Bs, 6 RBI, & 4 R in 9 games in 2013)

1B      #12 Jon McGibbon (JR/.139 BA with 1 2B, 4 RBI, & 3 R in 10 games in 2013)

2B      #17 Steve Wilkerson (JR/.350 BA with 3 2Bs, 1 HR, & 8 RBI in 10 games in 2013)

SS      #3 Tyler Krieger (FR/.188 BA with 1 2B, 2 RBI, & 3 R in 10 games in 2013)

3B      #13 Jay Baum (SO/.222 BA with 2 2Bs, 3 RBI, & 2 R in 10 games in 2013)

LF      #1 Maleeke Gibson (FR/.200 BA with 1 R, 1 SB, & 2 BBs in 8 games in 2013)

CF      #4 Thomas Brittle (*SR/.243 BA with 1 2B, 1 RBI, & 7 R in 10 games in 2013)

RF      #9 Steven Duggar (FR/.306 BA with 3 2Bs, 3 RBI, & 8 R in 10 games in 2013)

DH     #11 Shane Kennedy (JR/.182 BA with 1 HR, 9 RBI, & 5 R in 10 games in 2013)

 

Projected Starting Pitchers

Wofford will start sophomore lefthander Dominick Del Monte. The Clearwater, FL native is 0-1 with a 21.60 ERA in three appearances (one start) for a total of 3.1 innings pitched in 2013. He has allowed nine hits (.474 opponents’ batting average) and four walks against three strikeouts.

 

Clemson will counter with freshman lefthander Matthew Crownover. The Ringgold, GA native is 0-0 with a 7.36 ERA in two appearances (one start) for a total of 3.2 innings pitched in 2013. He has allowed three hits (.231 opponents’ batting average) and two walks against four strikeouts.

 

Worth Noting

  • Clemson is 21-6 all-time on March 6 with an 18-3 mark at home.
  • Wofford has a couple of Clemson connections as starting first baseman Seth Neely spent a redshirt season at Clemson in 2010 and Wednesday starter Dominick Del Monte was a pitcher on the Clemson Club Baseball team in 2011.
  • This is the first of eight meetings against SoCon opponents for the Tigers in 2013. The Tigers travel to Western Carolina on April 9, host Furman on April 17, host Western Carolina on April 24, face Furman at Fluor Field on May 8, and host Georgia Southern for a three-game series May 10-12.
  • Clemson has faced 10 of the 11 baseball-playing members of the SoCon (Chattanooga does not have a team). The Tigers are 489-159-6 in the previous matchups, including a 295-71-1 mark at home.
  • Jack Leggett has also faced 10 of the current 11 baseball-playing members of the SoCon and spent nine seasons in the SoCon as the head coach at Western Carolina. He is 230-81 in his previous matchups against SoCon teams, including a 117-28 mark as Clemson’s head coach.

 

Tiger Career Stats vs. Wofford

Player                             AVG   G-S     AB      R        H       RBI     HR

Jon McGibbon        .500    1-1     2        0        1        1        0

 

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

Kevin Pohle            0.00    1-0     1-0     2.2     3        0        2        0

Jonathan Meyer     0.00    1-0     0-0     1.2     2        0        1        3

Joseph Moorefield  0.00    1-0     0-0     0.2     0        0        0        0