Friday Marks Opening Day for Clemson
(WOLO) — Despite the winter weather, the Clemson baseball team is still planning on opening its season Friday afternoon against Eastern Michigan at 4 p.m. Tiger coach Jack Leggett said Thursday, “The game is still on for Friday and we will re-evaluate tonight and Friday morning to see where the field is at. We’re looking forward to getting out there and playing someone other than ourselves in front of big crowds at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.” SERIES SETUP “¢ Who – Eastern Michigan (0-0) at Clemson (0-0) “¢ Rankings – EMU – NR; CU – #13 BA, #21 CB, #16 USA “¢ Where – Clemson, SC (Doug Kingsmore Stadium) “¢ When – Friday (4 PM), Saturday (2:30 PM), Sunday (1 PM) “¢ Watch – TigerCast (ClemsonTigers.com) “¢ Listen – TigerCast (ClemsonTigers.com), WCCP (104.9 FM) “¢ Live Stats – ClemsonTigers.com “¢ Social Media – Twitter/Instagram (@ClemsonBaseball) “¢ Promotion (Friday) – Free candy hearts for first 1,000 fans “¢ Promotion (Saturday) – Show Saturday‘s men‘s basketball ticket stub and receiving half-price admission. “¢ Promotion (Sunday) – Show voucher at @ClemsonBaseball on Twitter or Instagram and receive $2 bag of popcorn SERIES HISTORY “¢Overall Record – Eastern Michigan leads 3-2 (1975-11) “¢Record at Clemson – Clemson leads 2-1 (2011) THE STARTING PITCHERS “¢Friday – RHP Jake Andrews vs. RHP Daniel Gossett “¢Saturday – RHP Sterling Sharp vs. LHP Matthew Crownover “¢Sunday – LHP Paul Schaak vs. RHP Jake Long EASTERN MICHIGAN OVERVIEW “¢ Led by sixth-year Head Coach Jay Alexander. “¢ Had a 26-28 overall record and 12-15 MAC record in 2013. “¢ Outfielder Sam Ott returns after leading the 2013 team with a .327 batting average. CLEMSON OVERVIEW “¢ Had a 40-22 overall record and an 18-12 ACC mark in 2013. “¢ Returns eight of nine position starters and 77 percent of its innings pitched from 2013. “¢ Starts the season with a seven-game homestand (February 14-25). QUICK HITS “¢ Clemson is 8-1 in its last nine season-openers. Its only loss during that span came in 2012 against UAB. “¢ Junior catcher Garrett Boulware, junior righthander Daniel Gossett, and senior first-baseman Jon McGibbon were named 2014 team co-captains. “¢ The last Tiger pitcher to start on opening day in back-to-back years was Ryan Mottl (1999,00). Daniel Gossett started in the 2013 opener. LEGGETT LISTS “¢ Was inducted into the ABCA Hall of Fame on January 3, 2014 in Dallas, TX. “¢ In 34 overall seasons, he has 1,264 wins, 11th-most in Division I history (10th place has 1,267 wins) and fifth-most among active coaches. “¢ His 887 victories as head coach of the Clemson program (1994-14) are tied for sixth-most in the country during that time span. “¢ Has led Clemson to a winning ACC regular-season record 19 times in 20 seasons at Clemson. “¢ Has 231 top-25 wins, 125 top-10 wins, and 60 top-five wins as head coach at Clemson.
