Scouting the Cowboys
By: Will Vandervort
There was no doubt the Golden Eagles were going to give Clemson their best shot and that’s what they did. But in the end, this Clemson team, like it has done so many times this year, hung in there and found a way to pull it out in the end.
They got good relief pitching from Graham Stoneburner to keep things close and then Jeff Schaus came though in the clutch with a double in the bottom of the ninth inning to drive in the tying and winning-run in the 5-4 victory.
Now it is time to face Oklahoma State tonight at 7 p.m. The Cowboys beat No. 2 seed Alabama 10-6 Friday to advance into the winners’ brackets showdown with Clemson. Tom Belza, who had only two home runs also season, hit three home runs in the win, including a grand slam in the first inning.
Oklahoma State is hitting .304 with a .506 slugging percentage and .384 on-base percentage coming into the tournament. The Cowboys are averaging better than 7 runs a game as well.
Tyrone Hambly is hitting a team-high .338 with nine homers and 38 RBIs, while Neil Medchill is batting .337 with a team-high 14 home runs and 55 RBIs. Michael Dabbs is hitting .335 with 13 homers, 38 RBIs and has 11 stolen bases. Davis Duren has added a team-high 14 stolen bases in 15 attempts as well.
The pitching staff has a 4.60 ERA and .260 opponents’ batting average and has allowed 187 walks against 486 strikeouts, good for a 2.6-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Freshman righthander Randy McCurry has a team-high nine saves, 3-1 record, 2.45 ERA, and 49 strikeouts in 36.2 innings pitched over a team-high 25 relief appearances.
“Oklahoma State will be a tough opponent tomorrow. I saw 3 innings (of their game) earlier, and it’s not going to be easy. I expected a hard game (yesterday), now we can focus on (tonight),” Clemson coach Jack Leggett said.
The Tigers are expected to send left-hand pitcher Casey Harman (7-3, 3.86 ERA) to the mound tonight, while the Cowboys will counter with either junior righty Tyler Blandford (7-3, 4.83 ERA) or 6-foot-3 junior lefty Andrew Oliver (5-6, 5.58).
Clemson and Oklahoma State have met three times on the diamond, with the Tigers holding a 2-1 lead in the series dating back to 1991. The two teams last met in the 1996 College World Series. The Tigers
eliminated the Cowboys with an 8-5 victory.
Coincidentally, the Tigers’ next game was against Alabama. Both of those meetings were the last time the Tigers faced Oklahoma State and Alabama, respectively.
In 1995, the Tigers opened the season with a 5-2 loss against the Cowboys in a tournament at Arlington, Texas. The Tigers also topped Oklahoma State 6-0 in 1991 in the UNLV Desert Classic at Las Vegas. Therefore, all three meetings have been at neutral sites. The Tigers also own a 1-1 record under Leggett.
Friday night’s win over Tennessee Tech was pretty much what I expected in the first game of the Clemson Regional.
There was no doubt the Golden Eagles were going to give Clemson their best shot and that’s what they did. But in the end, this Clemson team, like it has done so many times this year, hung in there and found a way to pull it out in the end.
They got good relief pitching from Graham Stoneburner to keep things close and then Jeff Schaus came though in the clutch with a double in the bottom of the ninth inning to drive in the tying and winning-run in the 5-4 victory.
Now it is time to face Oklahoma State tonight at 7 p.m. The Cowboys beat No. 2 seed Alabama 10-6 Friday to advance into the winners’ brackets showdown with Clemson. Tom Belza, who had only two home runs also season, hit three home runs in the win, including a grand slam in the first inning.
Oklahoma State is hitting .304 with a .506 slugging percentage and .384 on-base percentage coming into the tournament. The Cowboys are averaging better than 7 runs a game as well.
Tyrone Hambly is hitting a team-high .338 with nine homers and 38 RBIs, while Neil Medchill is batting .337 with a team-high 14 home runs and 55 RBIs. Michael Dabbs is hitting .335 with 13 homers, 38 RBIs and has 11 stolen bases. Davis Duren has added a team-high 14 stolen bases in 15 attempts as well.
The pitching staff has a 4.60 ERA and .260 opponents’ batting average and has allowed 187 walks against 486 strikeouts, good for a 2.6-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Freshman righthander Randy McCurry has a team-high nine saves, 3-1 record, 2.45 ERA, and 49 strikeouts in 36.2 innings pitched over a team-high 25 relief appearances.
“Oklahoma State will be a tough opponent tomorrow. I saw 3 innings (of their game) earlier, and it’s not going to be easy. I expected a hard game (yesterday), now we can focus on (tonight),” Clemson coach Jack Leggett said.
The Tigers are expected to send left-hand pitcher Casey Harman (7-3, 3.86 ERA) to the mound tonight, while the Cowboys will counter with either junior righty Tyler Blandford (7-3, 4.83 ERA) or 6-foot-3 junior lefty Andrew Oliver (5-6, 5.58).
Clemson and Oklahoma State have met three times on the diamond, with the Tigers holding a 2-1 lead in the series dating back to 1991. The two teams last met in the 1996 College World Series. The Tigers
eliminated the Cowboys with an 8-5 victory.
Coincidentally, the Tigers’ next game was against Alabama. Both of those meetings were the last time the Tigers faced Oklahoma State and Alabama, respectively.
In 1995, the Tigers opened the season with a 5-2 loss against the Cowboys in a tournament at Arlington, Texas. The Tigers also topped Oklahoma State 6-0 in 1991 in the UNLV Desert Classic at Las Vegas. Therefore, all three meetings have been at neutral sites. The Tigers also own a 1-1 record under Leggett.
posted by Roy Philpott @ 9:27 AM
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