Countdown to First Pitch – Western Carolina
By: rmacrae@bellsouth.net April 9, 2013

By Trey McCurry.

By Trey McCurry

Clemson (21-11) travels to Cullowhee, NC to take on Western Carolina (19-15) on Tuesday evening at 6:00PM at Childress Field/Hennon Stadium.

 

 

 

The Series

Clemson and Western Carolina have met 69 times on the diamond, with the Tigers holding a 54-15 lead in the series. The teams first met in 1974 and have played at least two games against each other in 17 of the previous 20 seasons. Last season, Western Carolina won both meetings between the squads, taking an 8-4 decision in Cullowhee and picking up a 13-8 win in Clemson. 

The Tigers hold a 15-10 lead in games at Western Carolina, including an 8-6 mark under Jack Leggett. Leggett is 28-10 all-time against Western Carolina with all games taking place since he became Clemson’s head coach in 1994. Leggett spent nine seasons as the head coach at Western Carolina, compiling a 302-229 record and 3-15 mark against the Tigers. 

The Catamounts

Western Carolina, led by sixth-year Head Coach Bobby Moranda, is a member of the Southern Conference. The Catamounts are 19-15 on the season, including an 11-6 mark at home. Western Carolina enters the game off a series win at Furman after splitting a midweek home-and-home with UNC Asheville last week. The Catamounts were picked to finish second in the SoCon by league coaches and sixth by the media after coming off a 33-24 (16-14 SoCon) season in 2012. 

The Catamounts are hitting .284 as a team in 2013 with 75 doubles, 11 triples, 29 homers, 28 stolen bases (in 40 chances), 96 walks, 28 hit-by-pitches, and 240 strikeouts while averaging 5.8 runs per game. Western Carolina’s pitching staff has a 4.30 ERA this season, allowing 321 hits (.271 opponents’ batting average) and 146 walks against 280 strikeouts in 307.2 innings. The Catamounts are fielding at a .963 clip, committing 49 errors in 1271 chances. 

The Tigers

Clemson enters the game 21-11 after sweeping three games at Boston College this past weekend and is on a five-game winning streak. The Tigers are 8-4 away from home this season, including a 7-4 mark on opponents’ home fields. 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 55 doubles, four triples, 10 homers, 44 stolen bases (in 67 chances), 98 walks, 14 hit-by-pitches, and 213 strikeouts while averaging 5.1 runs per game. Clemson’s pitching staff has a 3.32 ERA this season, allowing 284 hits (.256 opponents’ batting average) and 100 walks against 201 strikeouts in 290.0 innings. The Tigers are fielding at a .973 clip, committing 34 errors in 1231 chances. 

Projected Starting Lineups

Clemson

C        #30 Garrett Boulware (SO/.327 BA with 6 2B, 5 HR, & 29 RBI in 31 games in 2013)

1B      #12 Jon McGibbon (JR/.228 BA with 4 2B, 17 RBI, & 14 R in 32 games in 2013)

2B      #17 Steve Wilkerson (JR/.278 BA with 9 2B, 1 HR, & 16 RBI in 29 games in 2013)

SS      #3 Tyler Krieger (FR/.232 BA with 6 2B, 10 RBI, & 12 R in 32 games in 2013)

3B      #13 Jay Baum (SO/.216 BA with 4 2B, 6 RBI, & 14 R in 32 games in 2013)

LF      #18 Tyler Slaton (SO/.351 BA with 3 2B, 1 3B, & 6 RBI in 29 games in 2013)

CF      #4 Thomas Brittle (*SR/.295 BA with 4 2B, 1 HR, & 11 RBI in 31 games in 2013)

RF      #9 Steven Duggar (FR/.281 BA with 5 2B, 1 HR, & 17 RBI in 32 games in 2013)

DH     #11 Shane Kennedy (JR/.318 BA with 3 2B, 2 HR, & 19 RBI in 32 games in 2013)

 

Western Carolina

C        #21 Danny Bermudez (FR/.205 BA with 4 2B, 1 3B, & 6 RBI in 28 games in 2013)

1B      #33 Austin Neary (*FR/.295 BA with 8 2B, 2 HR, & 14 RBI in 29 games in 2013)

2B      #1 Bradley Strong (SO/.254 BA with 3 2B, 1 HR, & 11 RBI in 34 games in 2013)

SS      #2 Aaron Attaway (JR/.323 BA with 10 2B, 6 HR, & 30 RBI in 34 games in 2013)

3B      #20 Tyler White (SR/.329 BA with 13 2B, 8 HR, & 31 RBI in 34 games in 2013)

LF      #14 Dakota Spiess (JR/.237 BA with 5 2B, 2 HR, & 7 RBI in 23 games in 2013)

CF      #4 Julian Ridings (JR/.385 BA with 7 2B, 2 HR, & 16 RBI in 23 games in 2013)

RF      #12 Cody Jones (JR/.286 BA with 6 2B, 2 HR, & 10 RBI in 34 games in 2013)

DH     #27 Jacob Hoyle (SO/.304 BA with 8 2B, 5 HR, & 28 RBI in 33 games in 2013)

 

Projected Starting Pitchers

Clemson will start senior righthander Jonathan Meyer. The San Diego, CA native is 2-0 with a 3.68 ERA in nine appearances (one start) for a total of 22.0 innings pitched in 2013. He has allowed 27 hits (.307 opponents’ batting average) and two walks against 20 strikeouts.

 

Western Carolina will counter with senior lefthander Adam Curtis. The Arden, NC native is 1-1 with a 3.05 ERA in four starts for a total of 20.2 innings pitched in 2013. He has allowed 24 hits (.282 opponents’ batting average) and five walks against 17 strikeouts.

 

Worth Noting

  • Clemson is 35-19 all-time on April 9 with a 9-12 mark on the road.
  • Jack Leggett has been a part of 59 of the 69 meetings between the two schools.
  • This is the second of eight meetings against SoCon opponents for the Tigers in 2013. They defeated Wofford 9-2 on March 6 before hosting Furman (April 17), Western Carolina (April 24), facing Furman at Fluor Field on May 8, and hosting 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 490-159-6 in the previous matchups, including a 165-83-3 mark on the road.
  • 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 231-81 in his previous matchups against SoCon teams, including a 118-28 mark as Clemson’s head coach.

 

Tiger Career Stats vs. Western Carolina

Player                             AVG   G-S     AB      R        H       RBI     HR

Steve Wilkerson     .556    2-2     9        2        5        2        0

Thomas Brittle       .500    2-2     6        3        3        3        0

Jay Baum               .400    2-2     5        1        2        1        0

Garrett Boulware    .400    2-2     5        2        2        0        0

Jon McGibbon        .071    4-3     14      0        1        1        0

Joe Costigan                   .000    2-0     3        0        0        0        0

Mike Dunster                   .000    2-0     1        1        0        0        0

 

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

Scott Firth             0.00    2-0     0-0     4.2     5        0        3        3

Patrick Andrews     0.00    1-0     0-1     1.0     3        0        1        1

Matt Campbell        0.00    1-0     0-0     0.1     0        0        1        1

Joseph Moorefield  6.75    2-0     0-0     1.1     4        1        0        1

Jonathan Meyer *   9.00    4-1     0-0     4.0     7        4        3        5

Daniel Gossett       10.80  1-1     0-0     3.1     6        4        1        4

Mike Kent              18.90  3-0     0-1     3.1     7        7        6        0

Clay Bates              40.50  1-0     0-0     0.2     4        3        0        0

* – has one save.