By Trey McCurry.
In this edition of Countdown to First Pitch we preview Clemson’s game with Michigan State Wednesday night at Fluor Field.
Clemson (8-6) vs. Michigan State (6-7)
Wednesday, 7:00PM v Flour Field v Greenville, SC
The Series
Meetings: 17 (first met in 1935)
Series Record: Michigan State leads 9-7-1
Record at neutral: Clemson leads 3-0 (Clemson leads 3-0 at Fluor Field)
Last Meeting(s): Clemson won 8-0 at Fluor Field in 2011
vs. Leggett: Leggett leads 4-0 (4-0 at Clemson)
The Tigers
2014 Record: 36-25 (15-14; T2nd in ACC Atlantic) – Nashville Regional – NR
Preseason: 3rd in ACC Atlantic Division (7 teams)
Home Record: 3-1 (2014: 3-4)
Last week: Lost 5-4 to Winthrop at home on Tuesday before dropping 2 of three games last weekend at NC State (6-4, 3-8, 6-14)
2015 Batting Stats: .291 (5.6 RPG) with 24 2B, 4 3B, 8 HR, 60 BB, 9 HBP, 105 K, 13-23 SB
2015 Pitching Stats: 3.59 ERA, .236 OBA (114 hits), 38 BB, 115 K in 128.0 innings
2015 Fielding Stats: .968 (17 errors in 532 chances)
The Spartans
Head Coach: Jake Boss Jr. (7th season at MSU)
2014 Record: 31-26 (11-13; 6th in Big Ten) – no postseason – NR
Preseason: NR (Big Ten only ranks top 6 teams)
Neutral Record: 5-3 (2014: 9-7)
Last week: Won 3 of 4 games at Coastal Carolina Invitational last weekend (beat Toledo 5-1, lost to Akron 3-1, beat UMBC 5-0, and beat Coastal Carolina 6-5)
2015 Batting Stats: .236 (3.5 RPG) with 14 2B, 2 3B, 5 HR, 35 BB, 6 HBP, 56 K, 19-27 SB
2015 Pitching Stats: 3.56 ERA, .241 OBA (97 hits), 40 BB, 83 K in 108.2 innings
2015 Fielding Stats: .974 (12 errors in 464 chances)
Projected Starting Lineups
Clemson
C #25 Chris Okey (SO/.269 BA with 3 2B, 2 HR, & 9 RBI in 14 games in 2015)
1B #6 Andrew Cox (*SO/.255 BA with 3 2B, 1 RBI, & 5 R in 14 games in 2015)
2B #5 Chase Pinder (FR/.286 BA with 1 2B, 1 3B, & 5 RBI in 14 games in 2015)
SS #4 Eli White (SO/.314 BA with 3 2B, 6 RBI, & 6 R in 14 games in 2015)
3B #8 Weston Wilson (SO/.250 BA with 1 2B, 4 HR, & 11 RBI in 13 games in 2015)
LF #26 Reed Rohlman (*FR/.400 BA with 4 2B, 2 HR, & 8 RBI in 14 games in 2015)
CF #18 Tyler Slaton (SR/.163 BA with 2 2B, 1 3B, & 2 RBI in 14 games in 2015)
RF #9 Steven Duggar (JR/.255 BA with 2 2B, 10 RBI, & 7 R in 14 games in 2015)
DH #3 Tyler Krieger (JR/.434 BA with 3 2B, 1 3B, & 8 RBI in 14 games in 2015)
Michigan State
C #24 Chad Roskelly (*FR/.355 BA with 2 HR, 7 RBI, & 6 R in 9 games in 2015)
1B #22 Ryan Krill (SR/.216 BA with 1 2B, 5 RBI, & 3 R in 13 games in 2015)
2B #14 Johnny Nate (SO/.167 BA with 1 2B, 1 RBI, & 2 R in 12 games in 2015)
SS #10 Ryan Richardson (*SR/.261 BA with 2 2B, 5 RBI, & 3 R in 13 games in 2015)
3B #4 Mark Weist (*SR/.333 BA with 3 2B, 3 RBI, & 7 R in 13 games in 2015)
LF #30 Cam Gibson (JR/.265 BA with 1 2B, 1 HR, & 4 RBI in 13 games in 2015)
CF #15 Anthony Cheky (SR/.138 BA with 1 2B, 4 RBI, & 4 R in 11 games in 2015)
RF #33 Brandon Hughes (FR/.176 BA with 1 2B, 5 RBI, & 4 R in 12 games in 2015)
DH #11 Blaise Salter (SR/.233 BA with 3 2B, 1 HR, & 5 RBI in 13 games in 2015)
Projected Starting Pitchers
FR LHP #23 Charlie Barnes (1-1/3 app (1 start)/2.84 ERA (6.1 IP)/.280 OBA (7 hits)/2 BB/4 K)
vs.
FR RHP #34 Andrew Gonzalez (0-0/3 app (0 starts)/0.00 ERA (4.0 IP)/.154 OBA (2 hits)/1 BB/1 K)
Worth Noting
- Clemson is 17-9 all-time on March 11 with a 1-0 mark at neutral sites, a 6-1 win over Michigan State at Fluor Field in 2009.
- The Tigers are 16-5 all-time at Fluor Field while the Spartans are 15-11 all-time at Fluor Field.
- Clemson is 150-65-1 all-time against current Big Ten teams (including a 123-41 record against former ACC member Maryland), including a 19-10 mark (including 11-4 vs. Maryland) mark at neutral sites.
- Jack Leggett is 68-14 all-time against current Big Ten members (54-10 against Maryland in ACC play), including a 65-11 mark as Clemson’s head coach.