Weekend Preview: Baseball Hosts Clemson

April 9, 2015

Game Notes | ACC Release
 
THE FACTS
 
MATCHUP: Boston College (15-16, 5-9 ACC) vs. Clemson (16-17, 7-8 ACC)
WHERE: Eddie Pellagrini Diamond at Commander Shea Field in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
WHEN: Friday, April 10 at 2:30 p.m. | Saturday April 11 at 1:30 p.m. | Sunday, April 12 at noon
RECORD vs. OPPONENT: Clemson leads the series, 20-7
 
HOW TO FOLLOW
 
Twitter:  @BCBirdball
Live Stats: Friday | Saturday | Sunday
 
THE MATCHUP
 
Pitching Matchups

Friday: RHP Mike King (0-1, 2.42 ERA) vs. LHP Matthew Crownover (5-1, 1.33 ERA)
Saturday: RHP John Gorman (0-1, 5.57 ERA) vs. LHP Zack Erwin (2-3, 2.70 ERA)
Sunday: TBA vs. TBA
 
Scouting the Tigers

Clemson is on a three-game losing streak, dropping both midweek games to Charleston Southern, 4-3, in 10 innings on Wednesday and falling, 3-2, to Georgia on Tuesday. After beating North Carolina in the first two games of the series over the weekend, the Tigers lost the finale, 8-7.
In conference play, the Tigers also lost two-of-three to Wake Forest, playing the games in South Carolina. They took the series at Virginia Tech, winning the first two games, the first in 10 innings and losing the series finale, 4-3, in 12 innings. CU dropped two-of-three to Notre Dame and at NC State in March.
Clemson is seventh in the ACC with a .276 batting average and ranks eighth with a 3.65 team ERA.
Infielder Tyler Krieger leads the way with a .370 batting average, which is eighth in the league. His .484 on-base percentage is fourth. Outfielder Reed Rohlman's .349 clip ranks 13^th in the ACC.
Friday night's starter, LHP Matthew Crownover leads the league with a 1.33 ERA. His five wins is tied for second in the conference.

 
THE SERIES

The Eagles return to Chestnut Hill to host their first true home games after a long and record-setting winter. The series against the Tigers will be the first true ACC home games played at Eddie Pellagrini Diamond at Commander Shea Field after the first two were moved off site due to the heavy snow fall.
Clemson leads the all-time series, 20-7, and has won the series eight of the nine times the two teams have squared off.
The Eagles only series victory came in 2008 when BC took two of three in Clemson.
Last year, the Eagles broke up the Tigers' 11-game win streak against BC with a 3-1 victory in South Carolina. LHP Andrew Chin pitched BC's first two-hitter in nine years. It also marked the first win against Clemson for head coach Mike Gambino. BC held a five-run lead in the ninth in the final game, but ended up losing, 10-9, in 13 innings to close out the 2014 season.
The Tigers are 10-2 at The Heights with BC's last win at home coming in 2009.

 
WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THE EAGLES

On Saturday, BC will host its Third Annual Wounded Warrior Project Game with local military veterans in attendance and part of the pregame and in-game ceremonies.
Boston College's outfield is tied for fourth in the nation with 12 outfield assists. Only New Orleans (14), UNLV (14) and Southeast Missouri (13) have more. No other ACC team has 10 outfield assists. Freshman Donovan Casey leads the way with three outfield assists.
BC's .976 fielding percentage is second in the league and the Eagles' 28 errors are the least in the conference. They rank 36th in the nation for fielding percentage.
Junior Chris Shaw was named USA Baseball's Golden Spikes Award midseason watch list. He is the only ACC batter to belt three home runs in a single game, doing so in the victory at Wake Forest on April 5, and tallying a league-high 14 total bases in a 4-for-5 afternoon. He also tied the ACC high with seven RBIs on the day. His 0.35 home runs per game is second in the nation while his 11 homers is second in the league.
Shaw went 0-for-12 at Louisville in the second ACC weekend, but has bounced back since,
tallying at least one hit in the 14 games. He has racked up 27 hits, including seven doubles and seven home runs, 15 runs and 22 RBIs. He has also been walked eight times. His 23 career home runs is ninth on BC's career list while his 11 homer this season is tied in the ninth spot.
Sophomore Michael Strem continues to be a doubles machine as 13 of his 39 hits are doubles, which is tied for the ACC lead. He is tied for 20th in the nation and leads the conference with 0.42 doubles per game. He has currently reached base safely in the last 15 games.
Senior RHP John Gorman has 37 strikeouts so far in 2015. His 167 career strikeouts is 10th in BC record books.
Junior RHP John Nicklas gave up his first earned runs since the season opener in the loss to Wake Forest on April 4. He went nine appearances -- 12.2 innings -- between surrendering earned runs. He earned his third save of the season and seventh in his career against Dartmouth which is sixth in BC record books.
Freshman Jake Palomaki has reached base at least once in the 14 games. He has drawn at least two walks in the last four games and leads the team with 25 walks, which is tied for sixth in the ACC. His 0.93 walks per game is third in the ACC.
Senior Blake Butera has drawn 102 career walks, which is now the Eagles' all-time record. His 691 career at bats ranks fourth all-time, while his 182 starts is third and 184 games played in seventh. He has also been hit by a pitch 23 times his career, seventh in BC record books.
Sophomore RHP Justin Dunn tied a career-high with five strikeouts in the victory against Wake Forest on April 5. He has recorded five Ks three times in 2015: at USC Upstate (2/14), at Florida
State (3/8) and at Wake Forest.
Junior LHP Jesse Adams retired 16 of the 19 Demon Deacons he faced on April 3, including eight in a row between the sixth and eighth innings in a career-high 5.1-innings relief outing.

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