The Clemson Insider

By Trey McCurry.

By Trey McCurry

Clemson (9-5) hosts Charleston Southern (8-9) on Wednesday afternoon at 4:00PM at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

The Series

Clemson and Charleston Southern have met 16 times on the diamond; with the Tigers holding a 16-0 lead in the series. The teams first met in 1976 and the last 10 meetings in the series have taken place at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. In the last meeting between the squads on April 17, 2012, Clemson won 3-2 at Doug Kingsmore on Thomas Brittle’s two-out, walk off single. The Tigers hold a 13-0 lead in games at Clemson, all of which have been held at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Jack Leggett is 10-0 all-time against the Buccaneers (10-0 at Clemson).

The Buccaneers

Charleston Southern, led by fifth-year Head Coach Stuart Lake, is a member of the Big South Conference. The Buccaneers are 8-9 on the season, including a 0-4 mark away from home (0-3 road, 0-1 neutral). Charleston Southern enters the game off a 6-3 home loss to Ohio State on Tuesday after winning two of three home games against Siena last weekend. The Buccaneers were picked to finish third in the six-team South Division of the Big South by league coaches and are coming off a 20-36 (11-13 Big South) season in 2012.

The Buccaneers are hitting .299 as a team in 2013 with 26 doubles, a triple, six homers, 12 stolen bases (in 15 chances), 45 walks, 10 hit-by-pitches, and 100 strikeouts while averaging 5.9 runs per game. Charleston Southern’s pitching staff has a 5.22 ERA this season, allowing 169 hits (.289 opponents’ batting average) and 76 walks against 127 strikeouts in 143.0 innings. The Buccaneers are fielding at a .957 clip, committing 27 errors in 606 chances.

The Tigers

Clemson enters the game 9-5 after winning two of three games at #8 NC State last weekend. The Tigers are 6-3 at home this season, including 0-1 against Big South teams (Winthrop). 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 .254 as a team in 2013 with 23 doubles, one triple, five homers, 20 stolen bases (in 29 chances), 44 walks, 11 hit-by-pitches, and 98 strikeouts while averaging 4.9 runs per game. Clemson’s pitching staff has a 2.36 ERA this season, allowing 115 hits (.243 opponents’ batting average) and 45 walks against 100 strikeouts in 126.0 innings. The Tigers are fielding at a .972 clip, committing 16 errors in 548 chances.

Projected Starting Lineups

Charleston Southern

C #26 Drew Woodall (SR/.273 BA with 3 2B, 8 RBI, & 6 R in 16 games in 2013)

1B #17 Robbie Streett (SO/.222 BA with 3 2B, 1 HR, & 10 RBI in 14 games in 2013)

2B #11 Kevin Hickey (FR/.357 BA with 4 RBI, 4 R, & 1 HBP in 12 games in 2013)

SS #9 Alex Tomasovich (JR/.328 BA with 4 2B, 1 HR, & 9 RBI in 17 games in 2013)

3B #32 Jaren Sustar (SR/.362 BA with 3 2B, 1 3B, & 9 RBI in 16 games in 2013)

LF #2 John Faircloth (SR/.319 BA with 5 2B, 9 RBI, & 12 R in 17 games in 2013)

CF #1 Bobby Ison (SO/.364 BA with 4 2B, 1 HR, & 12 RBI in 17 games in 2013)

RF #13 Chase Shelton (SO/.311 BA with 2 2B, 9 RBI, & 10 R in 16 games in 2013)

DH #3 Brian Welch (JR/.333 BA with 1 2B, 1 HR, & 4 RBI in 13 games in 2013)

Clemson

C #30 Garrett Boulware (SO/.359 BA with 4 2Bs, 2 HR, & 11 RBI in 13 games in 2013)

1B #12 Jon McGibbon (JR/.173 BA with 1 2B, 6 RBI, & 5 R in 14 games in 2013)

2B #17 Steve Wilkerson (JR/.309 BA with 3 2Bs, 1 HR, & 10 RBI in 14 games in 2013)

SS #3 Tyler Krieger (FR/.174 BA with 1 2B, 2 RBI, & 4 R in 14 games in 2013)

3B #13 Jay Baum (SO/.288 BA with 3 2Bs, 3 RBI, & 5 R in 14 games in 2013)

LF #1 Maleeke Gibson (FR/.219 BA with 1 2B, 2 RBI, & 4 R in 12 games in 2013)

CF #4 Thomas Brittle (*SR/.265 BA with 1 2B, 1 HR, & 5 RBI in 14 games in 2013)

RF #9 Steven Duggar (FR/.294 BA with 4 2Bs, 8 RBI, & 11 R in 14 games in 2013)

DH #11 Shane Kennedy (JR/.244 BA with 1 3B, 1 HR, & 12 RBI in 14 games in 2013)

Projected Starting Pitchers

Charleston Southern will start freshman lefthander Andrew Tomasovich. The Tega Clay, SC native is 0-2 with a 13.50 ERA in three starts for a total of 10.0 innings pitched in 2013. He has allowed 20 hits (.426 opponents’ batting average) and seven walks against 11 strikeouts.

Clemson will counter with freshman lefthander Matthew Crownover. The Ringgold, GA native is 1-0 with a 4.15 ERA in three appearances (two starts) for a total of 8.2 innings pitched in 2013. He has allowed six hits (.194 opponents’ batting average) and two walks against seven strikeouts.

Worth Noting

Clemson is 21-6 all-time on March 6 with an 16-4 mark at home.
This is the second of four meetings against Big South opponents for the Tigers in 2013. The Tigers lost 3-2 (11 innings) to Winthrop on February 27 and will host 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 163-39 in those matchups, including a 116-21 mark at home.
Jack Leggett has faced 11 of the current 12 members of the Big South. He is 130-41 in those matchups, including a 64-15 mark as Clemson’s head coach.

Tiger Career Stats vs. Charleston Southern

Player AVG G-S AB R H RBI HR

Jon McGibbon 1.000 1-0 1 0 1 1 0

Jay Baum .667 1-1 3 0 2 0 0

Mike Dunster .667 1-1 3 0 2 0 0

Joe Costigan .500 1-0 2 0 1 1 0

Steve Wilkerson .333 2-1 6 1 2 1 0

Thomas Brittle .200 1-1 5 0 1 1 0

Garrett Boulware .000 1-1 2 0 0 0 0

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

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

Jonathan Meyer 0.00 2-0 0-0 3.0 1 0 2 2

Matt Campbell 0.00 1-0 0-0 2.0 0 0 1 2

Mike Kent 0.00 1-0 0-0 1.1 2 0 0 1

Patrick Andrews 0.00 1-0 0-0 0.2 1 0 0 0

Daniel Gossett 3.60 1-1 1-0 5.0 4 2 2 4

Joseph Moorefield —– 1-0 0-0 0.0 1 0 0 0