CLEMSON BASEBALL

Tigers take another step towards division title in win over Noles
Wilson Boyd went 2-for-3 with a homer, two RBIs, and a walk. (Photos: fotoman)

Tigers take another step towards division title in win over Noles


by - Senior Writer -

CLEMSON – Two down, one to go.

The 22nd-ranked Clemson Tigers took another step closer to clinching the ACC’s Atlantic Division title, turning a decisive six-run third inning into an 8-4 victory over the 7th-ranked Florida St. Seminoles at Doug Kingsmore Stadium Friday night, ensuring that a win on Saturday over the Noles would give them a series sweep, the division title, and the 2nd seed in the ACC Tournament that starts next week.

With the win, the Tigers improved to 36-19 overall and 17-12 in the ACC. The Seminoles, who lost back-to-back games for just the third time all season, fell to 39-15 overall and 18-11. If the Tigers win on Saturday, the Tigers and Noles would have identical 18-12 records in the ACC, but Clemson would win the division tiebreaker based on winning the head-to-head matchup. Saturday’s loser will be the No. 5 seed in the tournament.

“I thought we played a pretty good game,” Clemson head coach Jack Leggett said. “Scotty [Weismann] did a good job of keeping us in the game. We played good defense and had some timely hits, especially in the third inning. We played really well.”

Weismann (6-2) picked up the win by allowing just three hits, three runs, and four walks with five strikeouts in 6.1 innings pitched. David Haselden pitched the final 2.2 innings, allowing two hits and one run.

The teams were scoreless through the first two innings, but the Tigers broke the game wide open with six runs on five hits and three walks in the third inning. John Nester led off with a walk and Jason Stolz singled to right field. Brad Miller reached on a bunt single to load the bases, and two batters later Jeff Schaus walked to score Nester with the game’s first run.

Kyle Parker singled through the right side to score Stolz and Miller, and John Hinson reloaded the bases with a single through the left side. Richie Shaffer then scorched a double to left-center to score Schaus, Parker, and Hinson.

The Seminoles scored two in the fourth off of Weismann, but the Tigers stretch the lead back to six in the fifth inning. Shaffer reached with one out on an infield single and Wilson Boyd belted a two-run homer to center, his fifth of the season, to give the Tigers an 8-2 lead. The long ball also extended Clemson's home run streak to 11 games.

The Noles picked up two more runs in the seventh to chase Weismann, but were held scoreless the rest of the way.

Shaffer went 3-for-4 with a double, three RBIs, and a run to pace Clemson, who outhit Florida State 11-5. Boyd went 2-for-3 with a homer, two RBIs, and a walk, while Stolz added two hits and a run.

The win was Jack Leggett's 200th over a top-25 ranked team in his 17 years as Clemson's head coach.

Leggett said Weismann took his good stuff to the mound on Friday night.

“He was aggressive and his fastball was really good,” Leggett said. “He also had a little bit of a slider. I think we played good defense behind him, and we made several nice plays in the outfield, especially early in the game.”

Weismann said the key to his win was simple – just staying aggressive.

“A couple of weeks, I kind of struggled a little bit and fell into some bad habits,” Weismann said. “Then against Wake Forest last weekend I felt like I turned the corner. Tonight I was just pounding the ball inside and challenging the hitters with the fastball. That mixing the off-speed stuff, but it was just being aggressive all night. It’s huge to get the series win, and hopefully we can win tomorrow and take the Atlantic. “


Florida State 4 (39-15,18-11 ACC)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB

------------------------------------------------------

Tyler Holt cf............ 3 1 0 0 1 0 2 0 0

Sherman Johnson 3b/2b.... 3 1 1 0 1 0 1 2 0

Mike McGee lf............ 3 0 0 0 0 2 4 0 0

Ohmed Danesh ph/lf...... 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

James Ramsey rf.......... 3 1 2 2 1 1 2 0 0

Sean Gilmartin 1b........ 3 1 1 1 0 2 6 0 0

Stephen Cardullo ss...... 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1

Justin Gonzalez ss...... 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0

Jayce Boyd dh............ 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0

Mike Meschke ph......... 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Rafael Lopez c........... 2 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0

Parker Brunelle c....... 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2

Devon Travis 2b.......... 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0

Stuart Tapley 3b........ 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0

Brian Busch p............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0

Hunter Scantling p...... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Robby Scott p........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Robert Benincasa p...... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0

Tye Buckley p........... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Totals................... 29 4 5 4 5 6 24 7 4

Clemson 8 (36-19,17-12 ACC)

Player AB R H RBI BB SO PO A LOB

------------------------------------------------------

Brad Miller dh........... 5 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1

Mike Freeman 2b.......... 4 0 1 0 0 1 4 2 0

Jeff Schaus lf........... 3 1 0 1 1 1 2 0 0

Kyle Parker rf........... 4 1 1 2 0 1 5 0 1

John Hinson 3b........... 4 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 0

Richie Shaffer 1b........ 4 1 3 3 0 1 6 0 0

Wilson Boyd cf........... 3 1 2 2 1 0 3 0 1

John Nester c............ 3 1 0 0 1 1 6 0 0

Jason Stolz ss........... 4 1 2 0 0 1 0 4 2

Scott Weismann p......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

David Haselden p........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Totals................... 34 8 11 8 3 7 27 7 5

Score by Innings R H E

-------------------------------------------

Florida State....... 000 200 101 - 4 5 0

Clemson............. 006 020 00X - 8 11 0

-------------------------------------------

DP - Clemson 2. LOB - Florida St. 4; Clemson 5. 2B - RAMSEY(13);

GILMARTIN(6); GONZALEZ(4); FREEMAN(19); SHAFFER(6). HR - RAMSEY(8); BOYD(5).

SF - GILMARTIN(1). SB - FREEMAN(11). CS - BOYD(3).

Florida State IP H R ER BB SO AB BF

-----------------------------------------------

Brian Busch......... 2.1 6 6 6 3 2 13 16

Hunter Scantling.... 2.2 3 2 2 0 4 11 11

Robby Scott......... 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3

Robert Benincasa.... 1.1 2 0 0 0 1 6 6

Tye Buckley......... 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 1 1

Clemson IP H R ER BB SO AB BF

-----------------------------------------------

Scott Weismann...... 6.1 3 3 3 4 5 20 25

David Haselden...... 2.2 2 1 1 1 1 9 10

Win - WEISMANN (6-2). Loss - BUSCH (4-1). Save - None.

Umpires - HP: Scott Kennedy 1B: Scott Graham 3B: Randy Harvey

Start: 6:32 PM Time: 2:43 Attendance: 4495

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