CLEMSON BASEBALL

Tigers Bats Finally Catch Fire in Win Over Tenn. Tech, Cowboys Next Up


by - Senior Writer -

CLEMSON – Clemson fans came into Doug Kingsmore Stadium on Sunday ready for a hot afternoon of baseball, and that is exactly what they got after the Tiger bats finally caught fire, pounding out two home runs and 14 hits en route to a 10-0 win over Tennessee Tech in the elimination game of the NCAA Regionals.

Starting pitcher Scott Weismann was outstanding in his eight innings of work, allowing only four hits while striking out two and walking three. Only one Tech runner reached second base during the game, and none went to third.

The win propels Clemson into Sunday evening’s Championship game against Oklahoma St. at 7p.m. If the Tigers win, the final game will be held tomorrow night at Doug Kingsmore. If Oklahoma St. wins, they advance to the Super Regionals next weekend.

”It was a good ballgame for us,” Clemson head coach Jack Leggett said. “Scotty pitched a great game for us, and we played good defense. Three double plays in the first three innings was nice. The bats were alive today, and we made some good adjustments to the left-handed pitcher, and then the right-hander. We feel good about where we are.”

The Tigers scored an early run off Tech starter Chason Choate when Chris Epps led off the bottom of the first with a walk, was sacrificed to second by Mike Freeman, and scored when Jeff Schaus lined a single into right field and the Tigers led 1-0 at the end of the first.

Clemson broke the game open in the bottom of the third, after Brad Miller led off the inning with a walk. Jason Stolz followed with a shot off the shortstop’s glove (on a diving attempt in the hole) that went into left field for a double. Epps followed that with a sacrifice fly to center that scored Miller, and Freeman hit into an RBI groundout that scored Stolz.

Schaus then doubled off the right field fence, and Ben Paulsen hit a 400-plus foot home run that went just to the right of the hitting screen in center field, his 12th of the season, for a 5-0 Tiger lead.

The Tigers broke the game open in the bottom of the fourth, with Epps hitting a solo homer to right, and Paulsen and Boyd each getting RBI singles for an 8-0 lead, and a Freeman single in the bottom of the fifth scored Miller, who led off the inning with a single.

Phil Pohl delivered an RBI single in the eighth to close out the scoring for the Tigers.

Epps finished with three hits, two runs scored and two RBI, Freeman drove in two runs, and Paulsen finished with two hits and three RBI before leaving in the sixth as Leggett rested several starters.

Leggett had mentioned that he would start Chris Dwyer (who will now start the second game) in this game, but Leggett said he changed his mind late Saturday night after taking a harder look at the match-ups.

”Initially, after the ballgame last night, I was thinking Chris,” Leggett said. “Then we went back and thought about, and we knew they [Tech] had all right-handers except for the two left-handers at the top of the order, so we thought Chris would be more effective against Oklahoma St.”

Weissman, who is Dwyer’s roommate, said he learned he would be starting after a late night call from pitching coach Kyle Bunn.

”I got a call last night after I ate from Coach Bunn,” Weismann said. “He called to let Chris know that he would be starting the second game, and then he told me I would be in the first game. We are just taking this one game at a time, though, and there is no doubt in our minds that we are going to get this done.”


Tennessee Tech 0 (31-24-1)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB

------------------------------------------------------

Alex Henry lf............ 4 0 2 0 0 1 1 0 1

Chad Oberacker cf........ 4 0 0 0 0 1 4 0 1

A.J. Kirby-Jones 1b...... 4 0 0 0 0 0 9 1 0

Ben Burgess dh/p......... 4 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0

Casanova Donaldson rf.... 1 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 0

Matthew Shepherd p...... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Evan Webb 3b............. 3 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1

Cory Wright c............ 2 0 0 0 1 0 5 0 1

Chad Hayes 2b............ 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0

Heath Cheverton ss....... 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 4 0

Chason Choate p.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0

Lee Henry p............. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Totals................... 28 0 4 0 3 4 24 8 4

Clemson 10 (42-20)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB

------------------------------------------------------

Chris Epps dh............ 3 2 3 2 1 0 0 0 0

Mike Freeman 2b.......... 3 1 1 2 0 0 3 3 0

Jeff Schaus lf........... 2 2 2 1 2 0 1 0 0

Will Lamb lf............ 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0

Ben Paulsen 1b........... 4 1 2 3 0 0 7 0 2

Richard Mounce 1b....... 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0

Wilson Boyd cf........... 3 0 2 1 0 0 3 0 0

Addison Johnson cf...... 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0

Kyle Parker rf........... 3 0 0 0 1 1 2 0 0

John Nester c............ 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 5

Phil Pohl c............. 1 0 1 1 1 0 3 1 0

Brad Miller ss........... 4 2 1 0 1 1 4 3 1

Jason Stolz 3b........... 3 1 1 0 0 1 0 2 0

Matt Sanders ph/3b...... 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2

Scott Weismann p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0

David Haselden p........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Totals................... 33 10 14 10 7 5 27 9 10

Score by Innings R H E

-------------------------------------------

Tennessee Tech...... 000 000 000 - 0 4 0

Clemson............. 104 310 01X - 10 14 0

-------------------------------------------

DP - Tenn. Tech 1; Clemson 3. LOB - Tenn. Tech 4; Clemson 10. 2B - A.

HENRY(11); FREEMAN(15); SCHAUS(14); JOHNSON(5); STOLZ(7). HR - EPPS(3);

PAULSEN(12). HBP - PARKER. SH - FREEMAN(4). SF - EPPS(3); FREEMAN(7). CS -

SCHAUS(5).

Tennessee Tech IP H R ER BB SO AB BF

-----------------------------------------------

Chason Choate....... 2.2 5 5 5 3 1 10 15

Lee Henry........... 1.1 4 3 3 1 3 8 10

Ben Burgess......... 3.0 3 1 1 3 0 10 14

Matthew Shepherd.... 1.0 2 1 1 0 1 5 5

Clemson IP H R ER BB SO AB BF

-----------------------------------------------

Scott Weismann...... 8.0 4 0 0 3 2 25 28

David Haselden...... 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 3 3

Win - WEISMANN (3-1). Loss - CHOATE (1-2). Save - None.

HBP - by L. HENRY (PARKER).

Umpires - HP: Jason Rogers 1B: Perry Costello 2B: Mike Gillis 3B: Jon Milesky

Start: 3:06 PM Time: 2:39 Attendance: 3628

Game notes:

Game 5 of Clemson Regional.

Game televised by CSS.

Ultimate Level LogoUpgrade Your Account

Unlock premium boards and exclusive features (e.g. ad-free) by upgrading your account today.

Upgrade Now
Comment on this story
Print   
Send Feedback to David Hood: Email | Comment
FIRST LOOK: Clemson Basketball Dancing in March Bobblehead unveiled
FIRST LOOK: Clemson Basketball Dancing in March Bobblehead unveiled
4-star lineman picks up Clemson offer on visit
4-star lineman picks up Clemson offer on visit
WATCH: Clemson coordinators talk spring progress, break down latest scrimmage
WATCH: Clemson coordinators talk spring progress, break down latest scrimmage
No. 2 Tigers take on Hurricanes
No. 2 Tigers take on Hurricanes
Post your comments!