The Clemson Insider

By Trey McCurry.

By Trey McCurry

Clemson (15-8) plays Georgia (8-16) in their annual two-game, midweek series on Tuesday and Wednesday. Tuesday’s matchup at Foley Field in Athens is slated for a 7:00PM start and will be televised by CSS while Wednesday’s meeting at Doug Kingsmore Stadium will also be on CSS at 7:00PM.

The Series

Clemson and Georgia have met 222 times on the diamond, with the Bulldogs holding a 118-102-2 lead in the series. Georgia is the Tigers second-most played opponent with the first meeting between the squads coming in 1900 and the teams have met at least once every season since 1959. The Bulldogs hold a 68-44 lead in games in Athens while the Tigers hold a 55-47-2 advantage in games at Clemson (35-12 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium). Jack Leggett is 27-29 all-time against Georgia (24-17 at Clemson, 3-12 at Western Carolina).

The Eagles

Georgia, led by 12th-year Head Coach David Perno, is a member of the Southeastern Conference. The Bulldogs are 8-16 on the season with a 7-10 mark at home and 1-6 mark on the road. Georgia enters the series off a sweep at the hands of Alabama and has lost eight straight contests. The Bulldogs were picked by SEC coaches to finish fifth in the East Division and are coming off a 31-26 (14-15 SEC) season in 2012.

The Bulldogs are hitting .287 as a team in 2013 with 36 doubles, nine triples, 13 homers, six stolen bases (in 15 chances), 85 walks, 13 hit-by-pitches, and 163 strikeouts while averaging 5.3 runs per game. Georgia’s pitching staff has a 4.79 ERA this season, allowing 225 hits (.278 opponents’ batting average) and 94 walks against 155 strikeouts in 214.1 innings. The Bulldogs are fielding at a .976 clip, committing 22 errors in 905 chances.

The Tigers

Clemson enters the game 15-8 after taking two of three games from Duke at Doug Kingsmore Stadium last weekend. The Tigers are 3-2 away from home this season (2-2 on opponents’ home fields) and 12-6 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium (9-3 against non-conference opponents). 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 .272 as a team in 2013 with 37 doubles, three triples, eight homers, 33 stolen bases (in 51 chances), 67 walks, 13 hit-by-pitches, and 156 strikeouts while averaging 5.2 runs per game. Clemson’s pitching staff has a 3.27 ERA this season, allowing 207 hits (.259 opponents’ batting average) and 70 walks against 153 strikeouts in 209.0 innings. The Tigers are fielding at a .970 clip, committing 28 errors in 893 chances.

Projected Starting Lineups

Georgia

C #16 Zack Bowers (FR/.250 BA with 2 2B, 4 HR, & 9 RBI in 14 games in 2013)

1B #33 Daniel Nichols (FR/.225 BA with 1 2B, 1 HR, & 7 RBI in 23 games in 2013)

2B #2 Nelson Ward (SO/.359 BA with 4 2B, 2 3B, & 10 RBI in 24 games in 2013)

SS #17 Kyle Farmer (SR/.358 BA with 10 2B, 1 3B, & 26 RBI 23 games in 2013)

3B #8 Curt Powell (SR/.400 BA with 6 2B, 1 3B, & 11 RBI in 24 games in 2013)

LF #6 Hunter Cole (SO/.269 BA with 2 2B, 2 HR, & 16 RBI in 24 games in 2013)

CF #12 Cody Sheedy (FR/.231 BA with 1 2B, 1 RBI, & 4 R in 11 games in 2013)

RF #21 Jared Walsh (SO/.320 BA with 5 2B, 1 HR, & 11 RBI in 20 games in 2013)

DH #22 Brett DeLoach (SR/.241 BA with 3 2B, 3 HR, & 15 RBI in 24 games in 2013)

Clemson

C #30 Garrett Boulware (SO/.370 BA with 4 2B, 4 HR, & 23 RBI in 2 games in 2013)

1B #12 Jon McGibbon (JR/.244 BA with 3 2B, 10 RBI, & 10 R in 23 games in 2013)

2B #17 Steve Wilkerson (JR/.304 BA with 8 2B, 1 HR, & 15 RBI in 23 games in 2013)

SS #3 Tyler Krieger (FR/.221 BA with 4 2B, 8 RBI, & 9 R in 23 games in 2013)

3B #13 Jay Baum (SO/.244 BA with 4 2B, 5 RBI, & 7 SB in 23 games in 2013)

LF #18 Tyler Slaton (SO/.231 BA with 2 2B, 5 RBI, & 3 R in 20 games in 2013)

CF #4 Thomas Brittle (*SR/.321 BA with 2 2B, 1 HR, & 9 RBI in 23 games in 2013)

RF #9 Steven Duggar (FR/.281 BA with 4 2Bs, 12 RBI, & 15 R in 23 games in 2013)

DH #11 Shane Kennedy (JR/.274 BA with 2 3B, 2 HR, & 16 RBI in 23 games in 2013)

Projected Starting Pitchers

In game one, Clemson will start freshman lefthander Matthew Crownover. The Ringgold, GA native is 2-0 with a 3.57 ERA in five appearances (four starts) for a total of 17.2 innings pitched in 2013. He has allowed 14 hits (.222 opponents’ batting average) and two walks against nine strikeouts.

Georgia will counter with sophomore righthander Luke Crumley. The Cleveland, GA native is 1-3 with a 7.85 ERA in six appearances (five starts) for a total of 18.1 innings pitched in 2013. He has allowed 29 hits (.367 opponents’ batting average) and two walks against 10 strikeouts.

Both teams’ starting pitchers for Wednesday’s game two have yet to be determined.

Worth Noting

Clemson is 30-16-1 all-time on March 26 with a 3-7 mark on the road. The Tigers are 30-10 all-time on March 27 with a 22-5 mark at home.
Clemson has faced 12 of the current 14 SEC members on the diamond, missing only LSU and league newcomer Missouri, and the Tigers sporting a 389-361-7 in those contests.
Jack Leggett has 10 of the 14 current members (missing LSU, Missouri, Ole Miss, & Vanderbilt). Leggett is 109-124 against SEC competition, going 91-75 at Clemson and 18-49 at Western Carolina.

Tiger Career Stats vs. Georgia

Player AVG G-S AB R H RBI HR

Thomas Brittle .600 1-1 5 2 3 3 1

Tyler Slaton .500 1-1 4 1 2 1 0

Steve Wilkerson .333 3-3 12 4 4 2 0

Jay Baum .250 2-2 8 0 2 0 0

Jon McGibbon .167 3-2 6 0 1 4 0

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

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

Scott Firth 0.00 2-0 0-0 2.0 2 0 1 1

Kevin Pohle 0.00 1-0 1-0 0.1 0 0 0 0

Jonathan Meyer 2.84 4-0 1-0 6.1 6 2 0 8

Clay Bates 3.38 2-0 0-0 2.2 2 1 0 3

Matt Campbell 3.86 2-0 0-0 2.1 1 1 0 1

Patrick Andrews 9.00 2-0 0-1 2.0 2 2 2 4

Daniel Gossett 9.64 2-2 1-0 9.1 11 10 8 8

Joseph Moorefiedl 11.57 5-0 0-0 2.1 5 3 1 1

Mike Kent 12.00 1-1 0-0 3.0 4 4 3 0