Clemson baseball: On deck – Boston College Eagles

Clemson baseball has had a season full of ups and downs.

Ugh.  As I sit at my computer, looking at my notes,  writing down stats and watching some YouTube clips of Boston College, this weekend’s opponent, I cannot stop thinking about the Clemson baseball season and the ups and downs of it.  There are a lot of sighs as I think back to each segment of the year.  And here we are, towards the end of the ride.  The last series of the year against Boston College.

Usually in this space I will give a brief overview of the last series or game and find a glimmer of hope and optimism, but after Tuesday night’s game in Conway, SC, it’s hard, and I don’t want to do it.  But…

If we were in the excuse-making game, we could say that the team was exhausted mentally and physically from spending all day and night Monday on a bus traveling down from Charlottesville, Virginia to the Myrtle Beach area.  But as much as I would love to use that, it doesn’t excuse the effort the team gave against Coastal.  Now Coastal is a good team, a team that will battle for its conference title next weekend.  They may beat a fully rested Clemson team, as seen earlier in the year.  But 17-2 after the great effort the Tigers gave in Charlottesville over the 3 game series doesn’t sit well with me.

Thankfully, that game is in the rear-view mirror and the final home series is upon us.  As Monte Lee said in a post-game interview with JP Priester from allclemson.com on Tuesday night, “We gotta let it go…bottom line is, we gotta be ready to go.  We gotta earn the right to keep playing baseball, but you have to earn it.”

The Tigers currently hold a 1/2 game lead on Duke for the 12th and final spot in the standings.  Only the top 12 (of 14) teams get into the ACC Tournament.  In this “writers” estimation, that’s the absolute floor for this team.  They must make the ACC Tournament!

Boston College Eagles come to Doug Kingsmore Stadium for a series starting on Thursday evening and going through Saturday.  Lots of traffic this weekend around the respective ballparks.  If you’re going to the games, get there early!

Boston College comes into the weekend at 19-31 on the season and 5-22 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.  Led by Head Coach Mike Gambino in his 11th season in Chestnut Hill (233-315 record overall).  He has seemingly had a serviceable team each and every season at the helm, however usually at the bottom half of the conference standings.  His teams have given Clemson fits in the past and I am always leary of these northern, aka scrappy, teams coming to town.

Boston College has struggled, but has wins over FSU, Pitt, Wake and Miami

As stated, BC is 19-31 on the season.  Their wins are against: Austin Peay, Presbyterian, North Florida (x2), South Florida, Miami, Holy Cross, Northeastern (x2), Sacred Heart, UConn, Merrimack, Wake Forest, Pitt, UMass, Rhode Island, Notre Dame, Bryant and Florida State.

Their 31 losses have come by way of: Austin Peay (x2), George Mason, USC Upstate, North Florida, South Florida, Miami (x2), Virginia (x3), Louisville (x3), Wake Forest (x2), Pitt (x2), NC State (x3), UConn, Virginia Tech (x3), UMass-Lowell, Notre Dame (x2), Florida State (x2), and Maine.

As you can see, the Eagles were swept only by 3 of the top 5 teams in the ACC.  They were able to salvage wins in series against Wake, Miami, Notre Dame, Pitt and Florida State.  This will not be an automatic sweep for the Tigers.  This, I fear, will be a true battle for all three games.

The Eagles probable lineup is a good mix of each grade level minus the seniors.  2 Freshman, Three Sophomores, 3 Juniors and a Graduate round out the starters.

Offensively, the boys that represent “BirdBall” are led by Sophomore Designated Hitter, and leadoff batter Travis Honeyman.  Honeyman leads the team in batting average (.353), has an OPS of .966 and 6 home runs.  He’s also not been caught in stolen bases, a perfect 5-5.  The Eagles have two guys with double-digits in the home run department, and one is Sophomore 1st Baseman Joe Vetrano with 13.  He’s second on the team in average (.328) and adds 8 doubles and 50 RBIs to the stat line.  Vetrano hits right behind Honeyman and it’s obvious that Coach Gambino is trying to get his best hitters up early to get the rest of the squad going offensively.

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

Junior – Centerfield – Barry Walsh – .225/.670 (7 2bs, 5 HRs, 7-9 SBs)

Sophomore – Right Field – Cameron Leary – .241/.952 (10 2bs, 15 HRs, 41 RBIs)

Junior – Catcher – Parker Landwehr – .292/.917 (10 2bs, 9 HRs)

Freshman – Shortstop – Sam McNulty – .194/.556 (5 2bs, 2 HRs)

Junior – 2nd Base – Luke Gold – .311/.957 (20 2bs, 8 HRs)

Graduate – Left Field – Rafe Chaumette – .261/.725 (7 2bs, 3 HRs)

Freshman – 3rd Base – Aidan Harrington – .238/.542

The Eagles have scored 309 runs across 50 games for an average of 6.2 runs per game.  For comparison sake, the Tigers have scored 406 runs through 53 games for an average of 7.7 runs per game.

Clemson, for the first time in quite some time, has announced all three pitching starters for the weekend, but BC has only announced their first two.

Game 1 on Thursday evening will pit Clemson ace Mack Anglin versus Senior Right Hander Joe Mancini.  Mancini is 4-3 on the season with a 4.33 ERA across 12 starts and 70.2 innings pitched.  56 strikeouts and 21 walks on the season while opponents are hitting .247 against the elder-statesman.

Anglin, the steadying force for the Tigers is 5-5 with a 4.41 ERA across 13 starts and 65.1 innings pitched.  67 strikeouts and 45 walks on the season while opponents are hitting .218 against him.

Game 2 will pit Graduate Right Hander Henry Leake versus Sophomore* Left Hander Geoffrey Gilbert.  Leake is 2-2 on the season with a 6.50 ERA across 17 appearances, 5 starts and 45.2 innings pitched. 49 strikeouts and 13 walks on the season with opponents hitting .303 against him.

Gilbert has been a solid #2 for the Tigers as of late giving the team chances to win each game he pitches.  He is 4-2 on the season with a 5.40 ERA across 17 appearances, 4 starts and 36.2 innings pitched.  46 strikeouts and 15 walks with opponents hitting .254 against him.

Game 3 on the weekend with be TBA for the Eagles versus Freshman Right Hander Billy Barlow.  Possible starters for the Eagles are:

Freshman RHP – Luke Delongchamp – 2-2; 6.83 ERA; 9 apps., 6 starts; 27.2 Innings

Freshman RHP – Sean Hard – 0-5; 11.65 ERA; 14 apps., 9 starts; 31.2 Innings

Freshman RHP – Eric Schroeder – 0-5; 8.54 ERA; 18 apps., 3 starts; 32.2 Innings

Barlow will get the nod for the Tigers.  He’s been thrown to the fire in his first year, but has great poise.  His future is extremely bright for the Tigers, I feel.  He is 1-3 on the season with a 5.14 ERA across 15 appearances, 13 starts and 49 innings pitched.  50 strikeouts to 19 walks and opponents are hitting .260 against him.

This is obviously a huge series for the Tigers.  At last check (before the Coastal game), the Tigers slotted into the NCAA Tournament projections (albeit in the Tennessee regional, YIKES).  But you have to be in the dance in order to have a chance.  The Tigers can pretty much stamp their ticket to the postseason with a series sweep or even two wins this weekend.  I have a feeling this BC pitching staff is worse than Georgia Tech and the Tigers feasted on that staff.  Therefore…

…get those brooms out, I think they will get the sweep this weekend.

(Note: Clemson will honor its seniors on Saturday.  Chad Fairey, Geoffrey Gilbert, Bryan Hawkins, Jackson Lindley, and Mac Starbuck will be honored before the game.)

PREDICTION:

Game 1

Game 2

Game 3