Tigers Head To Western Carolina
CLEMSON, S.C. (CU SID) — The Tigers wrap up their five-game road swing at Western Carolina on Tuesday. GAME SETUP “¢ Who – Clemson (11-11) vs. Western Carolina (9-11) “¢ Rankings – CU – NR; WCU – NR “¢ When – Tuesday (5 p.m.) “¢ Where – Cullowhee, N.C. (Hennon Stadium) “¢ Watch – SoCon Digital Network “¢ Listen – TigerCast, WCCP (105.5 FM) “¢ Live Stats – ClemsonTigers.com “¢ Social Media – Twitter/Instagram (@ClemsonBaseball) SERIES HISTORY “¢ Overall Record – Clemson leads 57-16 (1974-14) “¢ Record at Western Carolina – Clemson leads 16-11 (1979-14) STARTING PITCHERS “¢ RHP Taylor Vetzel (CU) vs. LHP Corey Sikes (WCU) CLEMSON OVERVIEW “¢ Clemson won two of three games at Virginia Tech last weekend. “¢ The Tigers are averaging 5.7 runs per game and hitting .286 with a .368 on-base percentage and 24 stolen bases. “¢ The pitching staff has a 3.89 ERA, .252 opponents‘ batting average and 2.64 strikeout-to-walk ratio and Clemson is fielding .965. WESTERN CAROLINA OVERVIEW “¢ Western Carolina is led by eighth-year Head Coach Bobby Moranda. “¢ The Catamounts won one of three games at UNC Greensboro. They are hitting .286 and have a 6.10 ERA and .954 fielding percentage. “¢ Bradley Strong is hitting .357 with nine doubles, two triples, one homer, 23 RBIs and 16 stolen bases. QUICK HITS “¢ Clemson‘s 4-0 win in 10 innings at Virginia Tech on Friday was the first time since 1972 the Tigers pitched a double-digit-inning shutout. “¢ Clemson committed just one error in the Virginia Tech series, and that one was by a Tiger outfielder. “¢ Clemson Head Coach Jack Leggett served as the head coach at Western Carolina for nine seasons from 1983-91. OKEY PRODUCING RUNS “¢ Sophomore catcher Chris Okey is following up his first year, which saw him among the team leaders in RBIs, with a team-high 18 RBIs in 2015. “¢ He was named to the Johnny Bench Award Watch List in the first half of the season. The award goes to the nation‘s best catcher. “¢ He is hitting .277 with seven doubles, one triple, three homers, 18 RBIs, 15 runs and one steal in 22 games. “¢ In ACC games, he is hitting .343 with six doubles, one homer, nine RBIs and seven runs in nine games. “¢ With two outs in the 10th inning at Virginia Tech on March 20, he blasted a grand slam to give Clemson a 4-0 win. “¢ In his career, he is hitting .256 with 16 doubles, two triples, seven homers, 59 RBIs, 42 runs and four steals in starting all 83 games.
