By Will Vandervort.

By Will Vandervort

Matthew Crownover says he is only 65 percent healthy right now after having Tommy John surgery in his left arm on March 9, 2012. Imagine what he would be like if he was 100 percent?

The Clemson lefty improved his record to 7-1 this season and now has a 1.90 ERA after Saturday’s 7-0 victory over Georgia Southern.

“I don’t pay too much attention to velocity, but you kind of see it go up and down all night,” the freshman said. “I throw strikes and hit a location. Tommy Glavine threw his whole career below 90 miles per hour and won 300 games. If it worked for him, I guess it can work for me here.”

It’s working so far. Against the Eagles (25-25), Crownover scattered just three hits in a career-high 7.1 innings or work. And though his velocity isn’t where he wants it to be, he still blew the ball past seven Georgia Southern batters, which is a new career high for strikeouts.

“I do feel (like the velocity is coming back). When I really need it, and the guys make fun of me, but sometimes I will rear back and throw it about 90. They give me a hard time in the dugout,” Crownover said. “But, whatever is getting outs right now works. I think it will be a lot better next year.”

This was the second game Crownover has pitched this week and in each outing he has gotten more efficient than the previous start. Saturday’s start came on four days rest.

“I came off the mound after the third inning and the first three lead-off guys got on. I hit a guy, walked a guy and gave up a hit, and I was still pretty efficient,” he said. “You figure when you allow the lead-off guy to get on three straight innings, you are going to have a pretty high pitch count, but I pitched to contact and got some ground balls and that helped me out.”

In his last six starts, Crownover has failed to give up a run in four of them and has allowed only four runs overall during that stretch. He has a 4-1 record in those starts, with one no decision.

“He is throwing strikes,” Clemson head coach Jack Leggett said. “He changes speed and competes. He holds runners on base and those are all important qualities to managing a game. He is a great competitor.”

Clemson (36-15) has now won six straight games and has outscored its opponents 52-12 during that stretch.

“It makes it a whole lot easier on us,” said right fielder Steven Duggar.

In Saturday’s win, the Tigers manufactured runs by using bunts and its speed on the base pads. In all, four of the Tigers’ seven runs were not credited as RBIs, including the game’s first three.

“We are well into the season now and we hold ourselves to a standard of just getting it done,” Duggar said. “It is unacceptable if we don’t get it done, that’s just the way we treat it. I think it has paid off for us. We are getting the bunts down when we need them, moving guys over when we have to, getting guys in when we have to and all of those runs add up to being six or seven runs.

“It has been better for us lately.”

It’s not like Clemson was not hitting the ball. For the fourth time this week the Tigers collected at least 12 hits in a game. Duggar lead Clemson with three hits Saturday, while Garrett Boulware, Shane Kennedy and Tyler Krieger each had two hits and an RBI.

“We are seeing the ball great and are being patient and getting the pitches we want. We are finding ways to get hits,” Duggar said.

Clemson will try to continue those ways Sunday when it host the Eagles in Game 3 of the series at 1 p.m. The Tigers, who clinched the series with Saturday’s win, will be going for their seventh series sweep of the season.