Countdown to First Pitch: Tigers host William & Mary on Opening Day
By: trey-mccurry February 16, 2018

The Road to Omaha starts today for No. 12 Clemson as it opens the 2018 season.

In this edition of Countdown to First Pitch The Clemson Insider previews this weekend’s three-game series with William & Mary.

Clemson opens the season today at Doug Kingsmore Stadium in Clemson at 4 p.m.

William & Mary at No. 12 Clemson

Friday, 4 p.m.; Saturday, 2 p.m. and Sunday, 3 p.m.

Rankings:      W&M – NR     Clemson – No. 12 BA, No. 15 CB/USA, No. 21 USA

The Series

Meetings:                     6 (first met in 2000)

Series Record:              Clemson leads 5-1

Record at Clemson:      Clemson leads 5-1 (Clemson leads 5-1 at DKS)

Last Meeting(s):           Clemson won 2 of 3 games at Clemson in 2013 (2-0, 2-11, 12-2)

Lee: Lee leads 7-1 (7-1 at CofC)

Worth Noting

  • Clemson is 7-4 all-time on February 16 with a 6-2 mark at home.
  • The Tigers are 7-5 all-time on February 17 with a 4-4 mark at home.
  • Clemson is 12-1 all-time on February 18 with a 8-1 mark at home.
  • The Tigers have faced six of the nine programs in the CAA (missing Hofstra, Northeastern, and Towson). Clemson is 105-20 all-time against those schools, including a 81-13 mark at home.
  • Coach Lee spent two years in the CAA while at College of Charleston so he has faced every member of the conference, including CofC the past two seasons. Lee is 62-28 against the programs, including a 9-1 mark at Clemson.

The Tribe

Head Coach:                Brian Murphy (5th season at W&M)

2017 Record:               32-25 (15-8; 3rd CAA) – N/A – NR

2017 Road Record:       14-18 (10-17 on road, 4-1 at neutral sites)

2018 Preseason:           T-5th place in Colonial Athletic Association (out of 9 teams)

2017 Batting Stats:      .283 (6.1 RPG) with 102 2B, 11 3B, 46 HR, 202 BB, 59 HBP, 465 K, 38-54 SB

2017 Pitching Stats:     5.08 ERA, .264 OBA (518 hits), 202 BB & 446 K in 502.2 innings

2017 Fielding Stats:     .972 (59 errors in 2075 chances)

The Tigers

2017 Record:               42-21 (17-13; 3rd Atlantic) – Clemson Regional – No. 22 USA, No. 23 BA, No. 24 D1, No. 25 CB

2017 Home Record:     29-11

2018 Preseason:           3rd in ACC Atlantic Division (7 teams)

2017 Batting Stats:      .282 (6.1 RPG) with 119 2B, 7 3B, 73 HR, 302 BB, 60 HBP, 440 K, 50-70 SB

2017 Pitching Stats:     3.59 ERA, .257 OBA (563 hits), 143 BB & 562 K in 569.2 innings

2017 Fielding Stats:     .970 (71 errors in 2399 chances)

Projected Starting Lineups

William & Mary

C        No. 21 Hunter Smith (JR/.269 BA with 5 2B, 6 HR, & 32 RBI in 48 games in 2017)

1B      No. 15 Matthew Trehub (SO/.237 BA with 4 2B, 2 HR, & 21 RBI in 48 games in 2017)

2B      No. 26 Matt McDermott (FR/first season at William & Mary)

SS       No. 18 Zach Pearson (JR/.190 BA with 2 2B & 9 RBI in 38 games in 2017)

3B      No. 3 Patrick Ryan (SO/.264 BA with 1 HR & 14 RBI in 42 games in 2017)

LF       No. 1 Brandon Raquet (SO/.337 BA with 13 2B, 3 HR, & 25 RBI in 51 games in 2017)

CF      No. 9 Owen Socher (JR/.323 BA with 4 2B, 1 HR, & 7 RBI in 39 games in 2017)

RF      No. 5 Ryan Hall (SR/.308 BA with 17 2B, 6 HR, & 41 RBI in 55 games in 2017)

DH      No. 7 Colin Lipke (JR/first season at William & Mary)

Clemson

C        No. 10 Kyle Wilkie (SO/.235 BA with 1 2B, 1 3B, & 5 RBI in 24 games in 2017)

1B      No. 25 Patrick Cromwell (SR/.203 BA with 2 HR & 5 RBI in 33 games in 2017)

2B      No. 9 Jordan Greene (JR/.263 BA with 9 2B & 18 RBI in 59 games in 2017)

SS       No. 8 Logan Davidson (SO/.286 BA with 9 2B, 12 HR, & 41 RBI in 63 games in 2017)

3B      No. 4 Grayson Byrd (*JR/.284 BA with 6 2B, 1 HR, & 20 RBI in 57 games in 2017)

LF       No. 12 Robert Jolly (SR/.280 BA with 9 2B, 1 HR, & 15 RBI in 40 games in 2017)

CF      No. 13 Drew Wharton (SR/.214 BA with 1 2B & 6 RBI in 25 games in 2017)

RF      No. 28 Seth Beer (JR/.298 BA with 17 2B, 16 HR, & 53 RBI in 63 games in 2017)

DH      No. 27 Chris Williams (SR/.261 BA with 14 2B, 14 HR, & 51 RBI in 49 games in 2017)

Projected Starting Pitchers (2017 stats listed; 2016 for Higginbotham)

Game One

JR LHP No. 34 Bodie Sheehan (6-5/15 app/15 GS/4.58 ERA (90.1 IP)/.235 OBA (81 hits)/20 BB/78 K)

SO LHP No. 32 Jacob Hennessy (2-1/26 app/0 GS/3.82 ERA (30.2 IP)/.274 OBA (32 hits)/11 BB/37 K)

Game Two

SO RHP No. 23 Jamie Sara (1-1/12 app/3 GS/4.58 ERA (19.2 IP)/.297 OBA (22 hits)/14 BB/12 K)

JR RHP No. 19 Brooks Crawford (4-0/17 app/0 GS/1.23 ERA (22.0 IP)/.238 OBA (20 hits)/7 BB/22 K)

Game Three

RF RHP No. 14 Jacob Haney (first season at William & Mary)

No. 24 *SO LHP Jake Higginbotham (3-0/8 app/7 GS/4.59 ERA (33.1 IP)/.300 OBA (39 hits)/21 BB/28 K)