Fresh off a series win over South Carolina No. 9 Clemson returns to Fluor Field for a battle with Michigan State. The Clemson Insider previews the game against the 9-1 Spartans.
No. 9 Clemson (8-3) vs. Michigan State (9-1)
Fluor Field, Greenville, S.C., today, 7 p.m.
Rankings: Clemson – No. 9 BA, No. 11 USA, No. 14 D1, No. 15 CB; MSU – NR
The Series
Meetings: 18 (first met in 1935)
Series Record: Michigan State leads 10-7-1
Record at neutral: Clemson leads 3-1 (Clemson leads 3-1 at Fluor Field)
Last Meeting(s): Michigan State won 8-6 at Fluor Field in 2015
- Lee: N/A
The Tigers
2016 Record: 44-20 (16-14; 4th Atlantic) – Clemson Regional – #15 USA, 17 BA, #18 CB/D1
Preseason: 3rd in ACC Atlantic Division (7 teams); 1 vote for Overall Champion
Neutral Record: 1-0 (5-0 in 2016)
Last Week: Beat Wofford 9-2 at home last Tuesday before taking two of three games from #4 South Carolina over the weekend (0-2 at CU, 8-7 at Fluor, 5-3 in 11 at SC)
2017 Batting Stats: .280 (5.6 RPG) with 16 2B, 2 3B, 9 HR, 66 BB, 12 HBP, 79 K, 12-19 SB
2017 Pitching Stats: 2.83 ERA, .240 OBA (93 hits), 28 BB & 121 K in 105.0 innings
2017 Fielding Stats: .968 (14 errors in 432 chances)
The Spartans
Head Coach: Jake Bass, Jr. (6th season at MSU)
2016 Record: 36-20 (13-11; T-6th Big Ten) – N/A – NR
Preseason: 5th in Big Ten (out of 13 teams)
Neutral Record: 3-0 (17-3 in 2016)
Last Week: Swept three games in the First Pitch Invitational (3-2 vs. Furman, 10-2 vs. Presbyterian College, and 6-1 vs. UT-Martin) last weekend
2017 Batting Stats: .340 (9.8 RPG) with 32 2B, 2 3B, 12 HR, 58 BB, 16 HBP, 74 K, 28-35 SB
2017 Pitching Stats: 3.54 ERA, .269 OBA (94 hits), 23 BB & 81 K in 89.0 innings
2017 Fielding Stats: .957 (17 errors in 399 chances)
Projected Starting Lineups
Clemson
C #27 Chris Williams (JR/.286 BA with 1 RBI in 4 games in 2017)
1B #6 Andrew Cox (*GR/.333 BA with 2 2B, 1 HR, & 6 RBI in 10 games in 2017)
2B #4 Grayson Byrd (*SO/.275 BA with 2 2B, 7 RBI, & 1 R in 11 games in 2017)
SS #8 Logan Davidson (FR/.295 BA with 2 2B, 1 HR, & 7 RBI in 11 games in 2017)
3B #25 Patrick Cromwell (JR/.200 BA with 2 HR, 2 RBI, & 3 R in 11 games in 2017)
LF #28 Seth Beer (SO/.265 BA with 1 2B, 4 HR, & 9 RBI in 11 games in 2017)
CF #5 Chase Pinder (JR/.4357 BA with 2 2B, 12 RBI, & 7 R in 10 games in 2017)
RF #15 Weston Jackson (*GR/.188 BA with 1 HR, 6 RBI, & 3 R in 10 games in 2017)
DH #26 Reed Rohlman (*JR/.359 BA with 2 2B, 1 3B, & 2 RBI in 11 games in 2017)
Michigan State
C #28 Matt Byars (SR/.263 BA with 3 2B, 1 HR, & 6 RBI in 10 games in 2017)
1B #55 Zack McGuire (JR/.395 BA with 6 2B, 2 HR, & 12 RBI in 10 games in 2017)
2B #9 Dan Durkin (SR/.381 BA with 5 2B, 2 HR, & 15 RBI in 10 games in 2017)
SS #13 Ando Royce (SO/.310 BA with 4 2B, 1 HR, & 6 RBI in 9 games in 2017)
3B #2 Marty Bechina (SO/.400 BA with 3 2B, 4 HR, & 9 RBI in 10 games in 2017)
LF #1 Danny Gleaves (FR/.396 BA with 4 2B, 1 HR, & 12 RBI in 10 games in 2017)
CF #33 Brandon Hughes (JR/.262 BA with 1 2B, 1 3B, & 6 RBI in 10 games in 2017)
RF #21 Dan Chmielewski (*SO/.333 BA with 4 2B, 3 RBI, & 9 R in 9 games in 2017)
DH #24 Chad Roskelly (*JR/.360 BA with 1 2B, 1 HR, & 10 RBI in 9 games in 2017)
Projected Starting Pitchers
*GR RHP #22 Tyler Jackson (1-1/3 app/2 GS/4.91 ERA (11.0 IP)/.256 OBA (11 hits)/3 BB/12 K)
SR LHP #31 Joe Mockbee (3-0/3 app/7.00 ERA (9.0 IP)/.308 OBA (12 hits)/3 BB/17 K)
Worth Noting
- Clemson is 22-10 all-time on March 8 with a 0-1 mark at neutral sites.
- The Tigers are 20-6 all-time at Fluor Field (1-0 in 2017) while Michigan State is 22-13 all-time at Fluor Field (2-0 In 2017).
- Clemson is 150-66-1 all-time against current Big Ten teams (including a 123-41 record against former ACC member Maryland), including a 19-11 mark (including 11-4 vs. Maryland) mark at neutral sites.
- Monte Lee is 3-1 all-time against current Big Ten members with all games taking place during his time at College of Charleston (1-1 vs. Indiana, 2-0 vs. Michigan).
Tiger Career Stats vs. Michigan State
Player AVG G-S AB R H RBI BB K HR Other
Andrew Cox .333 1-1 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 2B
Weston Jackson .250 1-1 4 1 1 1 1 1 0 2B
Reed Rohlman .250 1-1 4 0 1 1 1 1 0
Chase Pinder .000 1-1 4 0 0 0 0 1 0
Player ERA G-S W-L IP H R ER BB SO OBA
Charlie Barnes 8.31 1-1 0-1 4.1 6 4 4 2 5 .273
** Weston Jackson played at Presbyterian College from 2013-2016.