By Trey McCurry.

By Trey McCurry

Clemson (27-13), ranked as high as #13 in the country, takes on Western Carolina (27-16) on Wednesday evening at 6:30PM at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

The Series

Clemson and Western Carolina have met 70 times on the diamond, with the Tigers holding a 55-15 lead in the series. The teams first met in 1974 and have played at least one game every year since 1978. Earlier this season, Clemson scored three ninth-inning runs to take a 12-9 win in Cullowhee after Western Carolina swept both meetings between the squads in 2012, winning 8-4 at Western Carolina and 13-8 at Clemson.

The Tigers hold a 38-5 advantage in games at Clemson (all at Doug Kingsmore Stadium), including a 19-4 mark under Jack Leggett. Leggett is 29-10 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 27-16 on the season, including an 8-9 mark away from home (8-6 on opponents’ home fields). Western Carolina enters the game off a 2-0 home win over Kennesaw State on Tuesday night and is on an eight-game winning streak since losing to the Tigers on April 9th in Cullowhee. 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 .300 as a team in 2013 with 107 doubles, 12 triples, 40 homers, 33 stolen bases (in 49 chances), 138 walks, 40 hit-by-pitches, and 297 strikeouts while averaging 6.4 runs per game. Western Carolina’s pitching staff has a 4.31 ERA this season, allowing 410 hits (.273 opponents’ batting average) and 179 walks against 360 strikeouts in 388.2 innings. The Catamounts are fielding at a .961 clip, committing 65 errors in 1611 chances.

The Tigers

Clemson enters the game 27-13 after dropping a series at Miami (FL) this past weekend to end their 11-game win streak. The Tigers are ranked as high as #13 in the country by Collegiate Baseball and are ranked #25 by Baseball America. Clemson is 17-7 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium in 2013, including 11-4 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 .270 as a team in 2013 with 58 doubles, nine triples, 13 homers, 59 stolen bases (in 88 chances), 138 walks, 15 hit-by-pitches, and 261 strikeouts while averaging 4.9 runs per game. Clemson’s pitching staff has a 3.08 ERA this season, allowing 352 hits (.257 opponents’ batting average) and 123 walks against 248 strikeouts in 362.0 innings. The Tigers are fielding at a .972 clip, committing 45 errors in 1543 chances.

Projected Starting Lineups

Western Carolina

C        #11 Adam Martin (JR/.306 BA with 8 2B, 2 HR, & 15 RBI in 26 games in 2013)

1B      #27 Jacob Hoyle (SO/.307 BA with 12 2B, 5 HR, & 36 RBI in 42 games in 2013)

2B      #1 Bradley Strong (SO/.287 BA with 6 2B, 1 HR, & 18 RBI in 43 games in 2013)

SS      #2 Aaron Attaway (JR/.340 BA with 12 2B, 8 HR, & 38 RBI in 43 games in 2013)

3B      #20 Tyler White (SR/.354 BA with 20 2B, 9 HR, & 42 RBI in 43 games in 2013)

LF      #14 Dykota Spiess (JR/.247 BA with 8 2B, 3 HR, & 12 RBI in 32 games in 2013)

CF      #4 Julian Ridings (JR/.412 BA with 12 2B, 7 HR, & 29 RBI in 32 games in 2013)

RF      #12 Cody Jones (JR/.278 BA with 6 2B, 2 HR, & 11 RBI in 43 games in 2013)

DH     #5 Luke Gragg (JR/.274 BA with 2 2B, 1 HR, & 16 RBI in 36 games in 2013)

Clemson

C        #30 Garrett Boulware (SO/.303 BA with 6 2B, 7 HR, & 31 RBI in 39 games in 2013)

1B      #12 Jon McGibbon (JR/.230 BA with 4 2B, 22 RBI, & 20 R in 40 games in 2013)

2B      #17 Steve Wilkerson (JR/.294 BA with 10 2B, 1 HR, & 20 RBI in 37 games in 2013)

SS      #3 Tyler Krieger (FR/.261 BA with 6 2B, 1 3B, & 14 RBI in 40 games in 2013)

3B      #13 Jay Baum (SO/.214 BA with 4 2B, 6 RBI, & 14 R in 39 games in 2013)

LF      #18 Tyler Slaton (SO/.324 BA with 3 2B, 1 3B, & 9 RBI in 37 games in 2013)

CF      #4 Thomas Brittle (*SR/.259 BA with 4 2B, 1 HR, & 13 RBI in 39 games in 2013)

RF      #9 Steven Duggar (FR/.288 BA with 6 2B, 2 HR, & 22 RBI in 40 games in 2013)

DH     #11 Shane Kennedy (JR/.307 BA with 4 2B, 2 HR, & 21 RBI in 40 games in 2013)

Projected Starting Pitchers

Western Carolina will start freshman righthander Jonathan Waszak. The Wendell, NC native is 0-0 with a 4.24 ERA in 24 relief appearances for 23.1 innings pitched in 2013. He has allowed 26 hits (.280 opponents’ batting average) and six walks against eight strikeouts.

Clemson is expected to start freshman lefthander Zack Erwin. The Duluth, GA native is 2-0 with a 2.43 ERA in 15 relief appearances for a total of 33.1 innings pitched in 2013. He has allowed 21 hits (.188 opponents’ batting average) and 12 walks against 21 strikeouts.

Worth Noting

• Clemson is 33-21-2 all-time on April 2 with a 19-8-1 mark at home.
• Jack Leggett has been a part of 60 of the 70 meetings between the two schools.
• This is the third of eight meetings against SoCon opponents for the Tigers in 2013. They defeated Wofford 9-2 on March 6 and won at Western Carolina 12-9 last Tuesday. Clemson still has two games with Furman (May 7 at home and May 8 at Fluor Field) and hosts 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 491-159-6 in the previous matchups, including a 166-83-3 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 232-81 in his previous matchups against SoCon teams, including a 119-28 mark as Clemson’s head coach.

Tiger Career Stats vs. Western Carolina

Player                             AVG   G-S     AB      R        H       RBI     HR

Tyler Krieger          .667    1-1     3        1        2        2        0

Steve Wilkerson     .500    3-3     12      4        6        4        0

Jay Baum               .500    3-3     8        1        4        1        0

Thomas Brittle       .417    3-3     12      4        5        3        0

Steven Duggar        .333    1-1     3        3        1        0        0

Garrett Boulware    .300    3-3     10      3        3        0        0

Shane Kennedy       .250    1-1     4        1        1        0        0

Jon McGibbon        .222    5-4     18      3        4        5        0

Tyler Slaton           .167    1-1     6        0        1        1        0

Joe Costigan                   .000    3-0     4        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    3-0     0-0     5.2     6        0        3        4

Patrick Andrews     0.00    2-0     1-1     2.1     3        0        1        3

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

Kyle Schnell            0.00    1-0     0-0     0.1     3        0        1        0

Zack Erwin             6.23    1-0     0-0     4.1     4        3        2        2

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

Jonathan Meyer *   9.00    5-2     0-0     6.0     11      6        4        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.