Clemson baseball: On deck – Coastal Carolina Chanticleers

It is not often that you come out on the losing end of a series and feel good about the results.  I guess I would get labeled a “sunshine pumper” in the Clemson baseball fan base for these thoughts, but I thought the boys fought the entirety of the three game series versus UVA and took 1 of 3 from the #9 team in the country.  That’s not terrible.  Of course I would have loved to take two of three or even sweep the dang thing, but that’s just not what this team does.

This isn’t a column that discusses the intricacies of each game, it’s existence is really to tell you about the upcoming opponent.  However, I will tell you that I thought the umpires and even Monte Lee should have stopped that Friday night game well before they did.  Mack Anglin was having a really nice day on the hill early in that game, and it was obvious to any observer that once the deluge of rain came down his grip was not the same.  Yes, Anglin has walked his fair-share of hitters on the season, but the way he was going early should have been an indication that there were grip issues.  It looked like he went from Cy Young to Rick Ankiel in the matter of moments and we, as fans, know better than that.

So 1 of 3 games won in the series and they battled the rest of the games.  Was impressed with the fight this team has put up throughout the latter part of the season regardless of results.

Up next is Coastal Carolina.  The Chants came into Clemson in the 20th game of the season and put a 10-spot up in the first inning.  Take that inning out and Clemson would have won 7-6, however, that’s not how it works and the Chants won 16-7 on that night.   Arguably the roughest stretch of the season for the Tigers pretty much culminated with that frustrating effort.

Coastal has gone on and had a pretty good season from that point, and I would say that the Tigers have somewhat righted the ship and are in contention(at least) for some post-season play.  Coastal is currently 3rd in the Sun Belt Conference and 33-16-1 on the season.

Led by Skipper Gary Gilmore, who has been the skipper of the Chanticleers for 26 years (1034-547-3; updated through 5/16/22), and won the College World Series in 2016.  He’s been solid nearly every year of his tenure

This Coastal team has already proven that it can beat the Tigers, and beat them handily.  Not a ton has changed from their lineup, although they have replaced their every day 1st and 3rd basemen.  Still an upper-class heavy squad and multi-faceted.

Offensively, the Chants are led by Senior Center fielder and leadoff hitter Austin White.  White is hitting .296 with 9 doubles 1 triple and 1 homerun.  But what gets him as the leader of the squad is his 31 stolen bases in 35 attempts.  Currently ranked 15th in the country in that category, he is the straw that gets this team going.  Senior Designated Hitter Tyler Johnson is the leader in average with .360 with 14 home runs, 10 doubles and 48 RBIs.

The rest of the lineup is as follows, Batting Average/OPS: (with notable stats in parentheses):

Junior Shortstop Eric Brown – .318 BA/.947 OPS (17 2bs, 2 3bs, 4 HRs, 11-16 SBs)

Junior Right Fielder Graham Brown – .311/.966 (13 2bs, 6 HRs, 34 RBIs)

Senior 1st Baseman Chris Rowan Jr. – .256/.920 (7 2bs, 6 HRs)

Senior Left Fielder Nick Lucky – .284/.808 (8 2bs, 4 HRs, 5-8 SBs)

Junior 3rd Baseman Dale Thomas – .286/.961 (13 2bs, 2 3bs, 12 HRs, 41 RBIs)

Junior Catcher – Kameron Guangorena – .284/.795 (6 2bs, 1 HR)

Senior 2nd Baseman – Matt McDermott – .260/.734 (6 2bs, 3 3bs, 5 HRs, 15-19 SBs)

The Chanticleers have scored 384 runs over 50 games for an average of 7.68 runs per game.  In comparison to the Tigers, who’ve scored 404 runs over 52 games for an average of 7.76.  Edge to the Tigers, albeit, ever so slight.

Thanks to the Sports Information Departments of both schools for doing my homework for me for this mid-week game and have published the starters for this game.

For Coastal, Freshman Right Hander Matthew Potok will get the start.  The young freshman from South Jersey has a 5.60 ERA on the season over 13 appearances and no starts to date.  He has a 3-0 record over 17.2 innings with 12 Ks and 4 BBs and opponents are hitting .303 against him.

For the Tigers, Monte Lee has tabbed Sophomore Right Hander Nick Hoffmann.  He is 3-5 on the season with a 5.90 ERA.  The former weekend rotation guy has 37 Ks and 12 BBs across 50.1 innings pitched and 17 appearances on the season.  Opponents are hitting .329 against Hoffman on the season.

The Chanticleers have given up 278 runs over those 50 games for an average of 5.56 runs per game, while the Tigers have given up 273 runs over 52 games for an average of 5.25.  Slight edge again to the Tigers.

If the last game between the two in-state foes is any indication, the Tigers are in trouble when they travel down to Springs Brooks Stadium in Conway.  However, this “pumper” thinks that Max Wagner (2nd in the NCAA in HRs!) and the boys are going to tee off on Chants pitching en route to a rout.

Prediction – Clemson 12 – Coastal Carolina 5