Game day is here, finally

By: Will Vandervort

Finally it’s game day.

I know it has been only five days since Clemson beat Oklahoma State to advance to the Super Regional, but for some reason the last five days have been the longest five days I can remember. I guess the time change may play a part in that.

Anyway, if you have never been to the Tempe or Phoenix, Ariz., areas, I recommend you come out and try it. It is a very clean area where a lot of things are within walking distance or at least a short drive.

We hit the downtown area of Tempe last night and there a lot of things to do. That area is called The Mill Avenue District and there were tons of restaurants and other social gathering places as well as a few night clubs. It’s pretty cool.

It seems like Clemson is having a pretty good time as well. The team went to a mall last night and Jack has given them a couple of hours here and there the last couple of days to let them enjoy the trip.

The players really enjoyed batting practice yesterday and seemed loose and ready to go. Several players and Coach Leggett commented on the way the ball carries at Packard Stadium, especially to right field.

“The ball carries to right centerfield and right field, right down to that right-field corner,” Leggett said. “If the wind is blowing (today) like it did (Friday), it dies a little bit in left field so the ballpark plays a lot bigger from left center over and a lot smaller from right center over.

“We will have to keep the ball down and keep it inside of those right-handers and keep it away from those lefties.”

As for the weather conditions tonight, it should not be a problem. By 6 p.m. local time for first pitch, the temperature is expected to be in the low 80s with a southwest wind of 10 to 20 miles per hour under partly cloudy skies. The temperature today is only expected to get in the low 90s and remember there is no humidity.

“It takes time to get used to,” centerfielder Kyle Parker said. “The biggest thing about this is that you just don’t sweat as much. You are going to be out there and it is going to be 100 degrees, but out here it is just dry and (in South Carolina) it is moist.”

And that also means you get thirsty a lot quicker.

“When we went to go hit the other day, everyone was walking around with water bottles,” Parker said. “I guess that’s why you need something to drink all the time.”

Leggett said the heat and the dry weather was part of the reasoning for getting out here on Thursday and then having a practice a few hours after touching down at the airport.

“You always want to get the bus ride and the long plane ride out of them,” Leggett said. “We had a long day (Thursday) so I wanted them to get used to the air and used to the heat a little bit and also to get their legs stretched out and take a few swings.

“I think it was good for us (Thursday). It would have been tough to play (Thursday) night or do anything very effective so we had to get that out of our system.”

And finally it is time to play baseball.

Hello from Tempe!

By: Will Vandervort

Okay, someone left the oven on out here because it is hot. You know how it feels when you open your oven door to check on your baked cookies or biscuits and the heat hits you in the face. Well, that’s what it feels like out here, but you can’t shut the oven door.

It’s not hot like the heat back in South Carolina; it’s more of a dry heat. The air is not thick or anything like that, it’s just hot.

The temperature yesterday when I arrived was 102 degrees. Today it is supposed to be the same. I’m glad I’m covering baseball instead of playing it.

The Clemson baseball team is excited about being here. I actually, by coincidence, flew on the same plane with them yesterday. Some guys appeared nervous about the trip, others not so much. Head coach Jack Leggett started the trip a few rows behind me, but because there were some empty seats he got to move up closer to first class and then when the pilot realized the Clemson team was aboard his plane and that there was an empty seat in first class, he moved Leggett up there, where the team started to give him a hard time.

As for the team, they were very well behaved young men. Leggett had them all dressed up in their best clothes, while sporting ties. Other than the occasional joking around that teammates will do, they pretty much kept to themselves and did not disturb any of the other passengers.

After getting off the plane and checked in at the team hotel, the team headed out for a short practice to get themselves acclimated to the weather conditions. They practiced at the Los Angeles Angels spring training facility.

Not much to report after that. They will practice again today at 2:45 p.m. (Pacific Time) at Packard Stadium, Arizona State’s home field. Game 1 of the Tempe Super Regional is scheduled for 9 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time) Saturday.

My hotel is about a mile away from the stadium and when I got here I went by Sun Devil Stadium and Packard Stadium. They both seem like nice facilities from the outside, and Sun Devil Stadium reminded me of what Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Fla., used to look like before the outside of it was redone about 10 years ago.

Packard Stadium has been Arizona State’s home field since 1974 and is considered one of college baseball’s most beautiful ballparks. The outfield wall is lined with palm trees and in the background Tempe Town Lake can be seen as well as the Superstition Mountains.

Dimensions of Packard are 338 feet down the lines, 368 feet in the power alleys and 395 to straightaway center. The fence is 10 feet high. Located five feet beyond the center-field wall is the “Green Monster,” a 30-foot-high batting eye.

Only 18 players have ever hit a home run over the Monster.

With a capacity of over 4,000, Packard has more than 3,000 permanent seats in the main grandstand. Field-level box seats are also available behind home plate. The remaining seats are located on popular grass berms, which run down the first-base and third-base line.


The Sun Devils have won two national titles since calling Packard their home park and have won more than 77 percent of their games there. This year Arizona State is 34-4 there and has won better than 80 percent of their games at home in the last six seasons.

There is some hope for the Tigers though. Last year, Fresno State came into Tempe and won the Super Regional series to advance to the College World Series and then, as we all know, went on to win the National Championship. And remember, the Bulldogs did that as a No. 4 seed.

I guess a team just has to be playing hot when they come here. I know there is plenty of heat out here for them if they are not.

What a game, more Clemson notes

By: Will Vandervort

Wow!

That’s the best way I can sum up last night’s thrilling come-from-behind, 6-5, victory by the Clemson Tigers to win the Clemson Regional and advance to Saturday’s Super Regional against Arizona State in Tempe, Ariz.

Trailing much of the night, it looked bleak for the Tigers (44-20) especially after throwing the ball around the infield and allowing Oklahoma State to get two unearned runs to take a 5-1 lead in the top of the seventh. But like this entire year, this Clemson team did not yield to self-doubt and pity and instead came back in what will truly be one of the greatest wins in Clemson history.

“The other day I was telling these guys about some of the great wins we have had here and how people still remember and talk about those teams now,” Clemson coach Jack Leggett said. “I told them about the 1999 regional and how we lost that first game to Arkansas, but we came back and won the regional.

“People still talk about that and what they did tonight; people will talk about when they remember this team.”

What Clemson did was win three straight games to fight off elimination and come from a 4-run deficit in the seventh and eighth innings to advance to yet another super regional — the Tigers fourth in the last five years and their eighth in the last 11 years.

What was even more remarkable, Clemson scored all six of its runs Monday night with two outs.

“It was a huge, huge thing for us,” Leggett said. “We had to break the ice. The first run was huge just to get to 3-1, then when we got down in the seventh inning and didn’t play very well on defense, it was huge to get back to 5-3 real quick. We got some huge hits from all these guys, and the guys who were in the lineups from top to bottom got some big hits with two strikes, big hits with two outs, and big hits with men on base tonight.

“It was a little frustrating at the beginning, but we came alive towards the end.”

Want some more news from the thrilling win Monday? Here are some quick notes.

Clemson is now 11-0 under Leggett in home NCAA tournament games that could clinch a regional or super regional championship.

In Jack Leggett’s 11 home NCAA regional or super regional titles, Clemson had suffered a loss earlier in the tournament just once. That was in the 2002 Super Regional when the Tigers lost the opener of the three-game series, then won the last two games.

Clemson is now 25-2 in home NCAA Tournament games in the 21st century. The only losses have been to Arkansas in a Super Regional game in 2002 and then Saturday in this tournament to Oklahoma State.

Leggett is now 56-31 in NCAA tournament play, including 36-6 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. With the 56 NCAA tournament wins he is Clemson’s winningest coach in post season play. Bill Wilhelm had 42 NCAA tournament wins.

This is the first NCAA regional or super region clinching victory for the Tigers at Kingsmore Stadium since the 2006 Super Regional when Tyler Colvin hit a walk-off grand slam to send the Tigers to the College World Series with a win over Oral Roberts. The score of that game was also 6-5.

Kyle Parker had the biggest hit of the game with a two-run single with two out in the bottom of the eighth inning. Clemson trailed 5-4 before that hit, which put the Tigers in the lead 6-5, the eventual final score. Parker had been just 1-9 at the plate in the NCAA tournament prior to that hit and was 5 for his last 30 at the plate.

Clemson trailed 5-4 entering the bottom of the eighth inning this evening. Clemson had been just 1-13 when trailing after seven innings entering tonight’s game. The lone win before Monday came last Friday night in Game 2 of the Clemson Regional when Jeff Schaus’ hit in the bottom of the ninth scored two runs in the 5-4 victory over Tennessee Tech.

Chris Epps was the most valuable player of the Clemson Regional. He entered the regional with just two home runs all year, then hit two in this regional, including one tonight that brought Clemson to within two runs at 5-3.

Clemson advances to the Super Regional and will face Arizona State. This will be just the second meeting on the baseball diamond between the two schools. Arizona State defeated Clemson at the 1977 College World Series, 10-7. That was the first game of the 1977 College World Series for both teams.

2009 Clemson Regional All-Tournament Team

First Base: Ben Paulsen, Clemson
Second Base: Mike Freeman, Clemson
Third Base: Tyrone Hambly, Oklahoma State
Shortstop: Tom Belza, Oklahoma State
Outfield: Wilson Boyd, Clemson
Outfield: Alex Henry, Tennessee Tech
Outfield: Michael Dabbs, Oklahoma State
Catcher: Vin DiFazio, Alabama
DH: Chris Epps, Clemson
Pitcher: Chris Dwyer, Clemson
Pitcher Tyler Lyons, Oklahoma State

Most Valuable Player: Chris Epps, Clemson

Winner to Arizona State, more Clemson notes

By: Will Vandervort

Well, we now know where the winner of tonight’s Clemson and Oklahoma State baseball game is going for next week’s super regional.

Thanks to Zack MacPhee’s two-run, go-ahead single in the sixth inning Arizona State (47-12) got an 8-3 victory over Oral Roberts on Sunday night to advance to its third straight super regional, which it will host next weekend.

Jared McDonald added a two-run, inside-the-park home run in the eighth inning for Arizona State. Pitcher Seth Blair held Oral Roberts (33-15) to four hits over six innings, settling down after surrendering three runs in the first on Johnny Roberts’ RBI single and Colby Price’s two-run double.

Mitchell Lambson pitched three perfect innings for his fourth save. Oral Roberts starter Drew Bowen took the loss.

As for the Clemson Regional, here are some notes from today involving the Tigers.

Clemson starting pitcher Chris Dwyer struck out 13 batters in Sunday’s win over Oklahoma State. That is the most strikeouts by a Clemson pitcher in an NCAA Tournament game since Kris Benson struck out 15 against Miami in the College World Series on May 31, 1996, exactly 13 years ago Sunday.

Also, the 13 strikeouts are the most by any Clemson pitcher in any game since March 20, 1998 when Ryan Mottl struck out 13 in a win over Maryland.

The Tigers (43-20) defeated Tennessee Tech and Oklahoma State Sunday. It marked the first time in school history that Clemson won two NCAA Tournament elimination games at home on the same day. The last time Clemson accomplished the feat anywhere was May 30, 1999. That day Clemson defeated Missouri State twice in the NCAA regional at Fayetteville, AR to advance to the Super Regional.

Overall, Clemson has won two elimination games in the same day in the NCAA Tournament seven times.

The Tigers won both games Sunday by at least 10 runs. It is the first time Clemson has won two consecutive NCAA tournament games by 10 runs or more, never mind on the same day.

Sunday marked the fourth time this year Clemson won two games in the same day. The Tigers had doubleheader sweeps in the regular season on March 13 (Wake Forest), March 24 (Elon), and March 28 (Boston College).

This is the first time since the 1992 season that Clemson has won two games in the same day four times.

Prior to this year Clemson had a combined four dates in the last seven years in which the Tigers won two games in the same day.

Clemson scored in double figures in both games today, just the third time in school history Clemson has done that in two NCAA Tournament games in the same day. It also happened in 1999 at Fayetteville, Ark., in a 17-3 win over Delaware and a 12-4 win over host Arkansas, and in 1989, in Tallahassee, Fla., in a 13-5 win over Stetson and an 11-1 win over Auburn.

The Tigers are now 24-2 in home NCAA Tournament games in the 21st century. The only losses have been to Arkansas in a Super Regional game in 2002 and Saturday in this tournament to Oklahoma State.
The win over Oklahoma State was the 100th in Clemson history in NCAA Tournament play. It was also the 1,100th career victory for Clemson coach Jack Leggett. He has 723 wins at Clemson.

Leggett is now 55-31 in NCAA tournament play, including 35-6 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

Clemson enters Monday’s night’s game with the chance to clinch the Clemson regional championships. The Tigers are 10-0 under Leggett in NCAA tournament home games in which it can clinch a regional or super regional championship.

Don’t count the Tigers out just yet

By: Will Vandervort

Today we will find out a lot about the Clemson baseball team. It’s either win, or watch the season end.

The Tigers, the top seed in its own regional, will have to win two games — first against Tennessee Tech at 3 p.m., and then against Oklahoma State at 7 p.m. — to keep their season alive.

If they can survive today, then they have to beat the Cowboys again on Monday to advance to the NCAA Super Regional round.

All year, we have seen this group of Tigers overcome several odds to get where they are today.

At the beginning of the season, few outside of the team felt the Tigers (41-20) would even host a regional. With a questionable pitching staff that is full of potential, but is young and inexperienced, and a lineup that has few hitters that can hit for power, no one expected much out of Jack Leggett’s team other than Jack Leggett.

Early in the season, Clemson lost two of three games at North Carolina and at Florida State. They lost two heartbreakers to South Carolina and Georgia outside the ACC, while somehow blowing a no-hit effort against Furman in the ninth inning and ultimately losing the game in the 14th.

But when everyone thought they were through, they persevered. The finally ended a long losing streak to South Carolina and beat the Gamecocks twice to close out the season-series. They beat Miami two of three and then Georgia Tech two out of three at The Doug.

They finished the regular season winning 14 of their last 17 games and finished third in the ACC standings and tied FSU and UNC for the most conference wins with 19.

When Clemson opened the ACC Tournament with losses to Virginia and Duke, no one gave the Tigers a chance to beat No. 5 national seed North Carolina in the final game, but they did. It earned Clemson its regional site, where the Tigers now face the possibility of seeing their season end after Saturday’s 3-2 loss to Oklahoma State.

But if we have learned anything about this Clemson baseball team this year, we have learned this — don’t count them out.

“I hope (the fans) will come out tomorrow and get behind our kids,” Leggett said. “Our kids have been battling hard and we have our backs against the wall so what better time to support your team than tomorrow.”

It sounds like the Tigers have Tennessee Tech and Oklahoma State right where they want them.