By Staff Reports.
Clemson continues its road swing in Blacksburg, Va. for a three-game series at Virginia Tech this weekend. The Tigers and Hokies will begin the series at 5:30 p.m. Clemson has lost seven of their last nine games heading into the series, while the Hokies have won three of their last four games – the Hokies have swept Virginia last weekend.
SERIES SETUP
• Who – Clemson (9-10, 2-4 ACC) vs. Virginia Tech (11-10, 4-2 ACC)
• Rankings – CU – NR; VAT – NR
• When – Friday (5:30 p.m.), Saturday (2 p.m.), Sunday (1 p.m.)
• Where – Blacksburg, Va. (English Field)
• Watch – ESPN3 (Friday, Sunday)
• TV Announcers – Morgan Conklin, CJ Fiala (Friday), Danny Nokes, Sean O’Brien (Sunday)
• Listen – TigerCast, Clemson Tiger Sports Network
SERIES HISTORY
• Overall Record – Clemson leads 39-23-2 (1902-2014)
• Record at Virginia Tech – Virginia Tech leads 14-10-1 (1916-11)
STARTING PITCHERS
• Friday – LHP Matthew Crownover (CU) vs. LHP Sean Keselica (VAT)
• Saturday – RHP Brody Koerner (CU) vs. RHP Aaron McGarity (VAT)
• Sunday – LHP Zack Erwin (CU) vs. LHP Jon Woodock (VAT)
CLEMSON OVERVIEW
• Clemson fell 9-5 at Coastal Carolina on Tuesday night after losing two of three games against Notre Dame last weekend.
• The Tigers are averaging 5.4 runs per game and hitting .289 with a .368 on-base percentage and 17 steals.
• The pitching staff has a 3.95 ERA, .252 opponents’ batting average and 2.67 strikeout-to-walk ratio and Clemson is fielding .960.
VIRGINIA TECH OVERVIEW
• Virginia Tech is led by second-year Head Coach Pat Mason.
• The Hokies split a pair of midweek games versus Liberty and Radford. They are hitting .259 and have a 4.48 ERA and .965 fielding percentage.
• Alex Perez and Erik Payne are both hitting .317 with three homers, while Brendon Hayden is batting .288 with six homers and 20 RBIs.
QUICK HITS
• Clemson’s last series in Blacksburg was in 2011, when the Tigers won two of three. Clemson is 8-4 there since the Hokies joined the ACC.
• Clemson is 5-0 when it scores at least seven runs.
• Chase Pinder’s brother, Chad, played at Virginia Tech (2011-13), was a First-Team All-ACC pick and was the No. 71 pick of the 2013 draft.
KRALL TRANSFERRING SUCCESS
• Sophomore lefthander Pat Krall pitched for Temple in 2014, but the school disbanded its program and Krall is eligible in 2015 as a Tiger.
• He has an 0.79 ERA, a .195 opponents’ batting average and 12 strikeouts against three walks in 11.1 innings pitched over six relief outings.
• He gave up his only earned run in his first appearance, but has pitched 10.2 innings pitched since without allowing an earned run.
• He and lefthander Zack Erwin are the tallest Tigers at 6’5”.
• He posted similar numbers at Temple, as he had an 0.66 ERA and a .181 opponents’ batting average in 27.1 innings pitched in 2014.