Clemson will head to Columbia on Tuesday as the Tigers face off with College of Charleston at Segra Park.
This will be the second matchup between the two teams this season, as Erik Bakich’s club used a three-run rally in the eighth inning to knock off the Cougars 4-3 in Clemson back on March 14.
GAME SETUP
• Who – Clemson (15-10) vs. College of Charleston (16-7)
• Best Ranking – CU – NR; COC – NR
• When – Tuesday (6 p.m.)
• Where – Columbia, S.C. (Segra Park)
• Listen (Radio) – Clemson Athletic Network (locally on WCCP (105.5 FM))
Clemson lost two out of three at Georgia Tech last weekend, as the Tigers knocked off the Yellow Jackets 14-5 on Sunday to avoid the sweep and improve to 2-4 in ACC play.
“We’re happy to salvage the weekend with the win today, but still, there is that lingering disappointment that series wins are what what the expectation is and how close it was to that, but hey, we’ll take it,” Bakich said. “We’re happy about today. It’ll be happy bus ride home.”
The Cougars come in fresh off a sweep of Towson at home last weekend to improve to 7-2 in CAA play.
SERIES HISTORY
• Overall Record – Clemson leads 31-5 (1899-2023)
• Record at Neutral – Tied 1-1 (2019-22)
Freshman Ethan Darden gets the start for the Tigers. Last time out in last weeks 8-5 win over Winthrop, the lefty went six innings, allowing five runs while striking out five and walking just one hitter. On the season, Darden is 0-1 with a 5.87 ERA and a WHIP of 1.46.
LHP Connor Campbell takes the mound for College of Charleston, making his first start of the season. He is 1-0 with an ERA of 3.48 and a WHIP of 1.45. Campbell has struck out nine and walked five in 10.1 innings of work out of the bullpen.
CLEMSON OVERVIEW
• Clemson, who has an 0-2 neutral record, won one of three games at Georgia Tech last weekend.
• The Tigers are averaging 7.0 runs per game and hitting .291 with a .444 slugging percentage, .391 on-base percentage and 53 steals.
• The pitching staff has a 4.90 ERA, .269 opponents’ batting average and 2.43 strikeout-to-walk ratio, and Clemson is fielding .973.
COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON OVERVIEW
• College of Charleston, who has yet to play a neutral game and is averaging 5.7 runs per game, is led by sixth-year Head Coach Chad Holbrook.
• The Cougars swept Towson in three one-run games last weekend. They are hitting .266 and have a 3.67 ERA and .957 fielding percentage.
• Will Baumhofer is hitting .355 with nine steals, Joseph Mershon has 10 steals and William Privette has a team-high four saves.
QUICK HITS
• Clemson is the designated visiting team against College of Charleston and occupies the first-base dugout.
• Clemson scored three runs in the eighth inning to defeat College of Charleston 4-3 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on March 14, 2023.
• Only two Tigers (Riley Bertram, Benjamin Blackwell) have played all 25 games in 2023.
GRICE TWO-WAY PLAYER HIGHLIGHTS
• Junior Caden Grice is contributing as both a lefthander on the mound and slugger at the plate in 2023.
• He is 1-0 with a 3.21 ERA .180 opponents’ batting average and 21 strikeouts in 14.0 innings pitched over four starts on the mound in 2023.
• He is holding opponents to .087 with runners on base, .105 with runners in scoring position and .125 with two outs.
• He is hitting .309 with five homers, six doubles, 16 RBIs, 21 runs and three steals in 21 games (20 starts) at the plate in 2023.
• He has a .568 slugging percentage and .383 on-base percentage.
• He is hitting .440 with four homers, three doubles, 11 RBIs, a 1.040 slugging percentage and .464 on-base percentage in six ACC games.
• He was named one of 11 national players-of-the-week by Collegiate Baseball and ACC Co-Player-of-the-Week on March 27.
• He became the 15th Tiger to earn ACC weekly honors at least three times in a career, while it was his fourth career national weekly honor.
• In five games, he totaled four homers and 11 RBIs, and he also earned the win in a starting role on the mound at Georgia Tech on March 26.
• On March 26, he hit two homers with five RBIs, and he pitched 5.0 strong innings with six strikeouts to earn the win in a starting role.
• In his career, he is 3-1 with a 4.50 ERA, .211 opponents’ batting average and 42 strikeouts in 30.0 innings pitched over 16 appearances.
• In his career, he is hitting .283 with 32 homers, a triple, 26 doubles, 109 RBIs, 106 runs and 11 steals in 130 games (129 starts).
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