By Will Vandervort.
By Will Vandervort
Jack Leggett really likes his Clemson baseball team. Though his Tigers lost the first two games of their weekend series against top-ranked North Carolina, they never faltered in the third game and gave into the pressures of playing the No.1 team on the road.
Instead it was about one ballgame and what winning it might mean for the rest of the 2013 baseball season.
“We are going to be fine,” Leggett said afterwards. “We have to keep battling and keep on playing.”
Everyone on Clemson’s team battled on Monday night in Chapel Hill, NC, especially his pitchers. Getting his first weekend and ACC start, Matthew Crownover pitched well. He went 4.2 innings, allowing three runs on seven hits. He struck out two and walked two as well. Not great numbers, but not bad numbers either, especially considering the situation, his age and the environment he was pitching in.
North Carolina, who is now 16-2 at home this year, had a packed house and consistently put runners in scoring position, but the Tar Heels only crossed home plate three times against the freshman.
“Matt Crownover really set the tone for us,” senior righty Scott Firth said. “He pitched really well to start the game off.”
It was interesting that it was Firth that was signing Crownover’s praises after losing his regular weekend rotation to the freshman. But the senior did not take it personally. He understands things like that come with the territory, especially when one is not performing.
In his last four starts, Firth and the Tigers were 0-4 and in his last two—against Virginia and Duke—he was run off by the fifth inning. Duke scored six runs on eight hits in 3.1 innings.
“If I have to give up the start to Matt, then I’m cool with that,” he said. “I’m comfortable with coming in and doing my thing as a reliever.”
Firth appeared comfortable against North Carolina. The senior looked like his old self again. He was having fun. Pumping his fist and screaming at his dugout after getting out of jams in the bottom of the eighth and 10th innings, preventing the Tar Heels from winning the game.
He inherited runners on second and third with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning from Kyle Schnell, who relieved Crownover in the bottom of the fifth. Only one run crossed home plate on a grounder hit sharply at Firth. He was still able to field the ball and get over to first to record the second out. He then ended the inning by inducing a fly ball on the next at-bat.
Firth struck out the side in the bottom of the eighth inning with runners in scoring position to keep the game tied at 4-4.
“It definitely felt good to come in during a pressure situation. That is what I thrive on,” he said. “I was excited about it.”
The Buffalo Grove, IL native pitched the last 4.2 innings against the Tar Heels and allowed no runs to score and only three hits as he picked up his third win of the season. North Carolina had runners on second and third when he ended the game by getting a ball hit to second base.
“Scotty Firth competed for us and battled for us,” Leggett said.
Battling and not giving into pressure is the best way to describe Clemson’s pitching staff as a whole through the first half of the 2013 season. It is primarily a young group that has now started two freshmen and a sophomore on the weekend. The three—Daniel Gossett, Clate Schmidt and Crownover—have held their own, combining for an 8-3 record in 19 starts thus far.
Other youngsters like Zack Erwin (2-0, 2.25 ERA), Brody Koerner (0-1, 3.46 ERA) and Schnell (1-0, 2.08 ERA) have also pitched well in pressure situations. As a staff, the Tigers have a combined 3.58 ERA, which is down from last year’s 3.90 ERA. They are also a little bit ahead of last year’s strikeouts-to-walks ratio which is up from 1.8 to 2.1.
“I like what this team is made of,” Leggett said.