Clemson Baseball – On Deck: Winthrop Eagles

Once 14-0, the Clemson Baseball team takes on instate rival Winthrop Eagles after getting pasted by Coastal Carolina Tuesday.

The Winthrop Eagles (5-13)  will come into Doug Kingsmore Stadium on Wednesday night to face the Tigers (15-5) at 6PM.

Winthrop is led by Head Coach Tom Riginos, notable for Clemson fans out there as a former assistant coach for the Tigers under Jack Leggett.  Riginos is in his 12th season guiding the Eagles and they look to be off to a rather rough start having won only 5 of their opening 18 games.

Offensively, the Eagles are led by Sophomore Joseph Szvetitz. The everyday third basement leads the team in average (.368) and is second in slugging (.474).  His OPS is .884 which is also 2nd on the team.

Freshman 1B/Catcher Jack Spyke, wins the best name award for Wednesday’s game is second on the team in hits and also touts a .333 average with an OPS of .829

Other notable Eagle players and likely to be in the lineup for Wednesday’s game with the Tigers are:

Junior RF Hunter Christopher (.313 avg., .666 OPS)

Sophomore Catcher Ty Hooks (.258, .678)

Sophomore Shortstop Robby Taul (.239, .688)

Senior Second Baseman Joey Tepper  (.229, .613)

Senior Outfielder CJ Conrad (.216, .665)

Sophomore Outfielder Khyree Miller (.178, .737) – leads team with 3 Homeruns

Junior DH Jonathan Strauss (.161, .450)

This Eagles team does not seem to have a lot of pop at the plate with just 9 long balls through the first 18 games, while giving up 25 to their opponents.

Another notable stat for those that hear me talk ad nauseum about stolen bases for the Tigers is the lack of running from the Eagles as well.  Just 9-15 in the stolen base category, and opponents are 32-40.

On the mound, it will be anyone’s guess as to who the Eagles will throw at the Tigers on Wednesday night.

Based on purely assumption, the guess would be that Redshirt Sophomore right-hander Carter Sutton will get the nod.  He has worked in two mid-week games already this season and leads the team in appearances with 8 and starting 2 of those previously mentioned games.

The stat about the pitching staff from Winthrop that jumps off the page is the amount of strikeouts that they get.  Sutton is better than one an inning with 26 Ks in 19.0 innings pitched.  Pitchers that can throw strikes have been the Achilles’ heel of the Tigers this season.  Sutton has given up 2 long balls and opponents are batting .329 against him.

Based on what we have seen in the past six or so games from the Tigers, save the Sunday Miami game, the Tigers are having trouble manufacturing runs.  They managed five home runs in the last ballgame versus Coastal Carolina in a 16-7 loss at home.

Prediction: Clemson 9 – Winthrop 3