April 4, 2008

Clemson, SC (UWIRE) -- Coming off their second consecutive conference series win against Maryland this past weekend, the Tigers (18-8, 6-6) prepare for a pivotal road trip to Coral Gables, Fla. to take on the Miami Hurricanes this weekend.

The Tigers took two of three games from the struggling Terrapins (14-13, 3-9) over the weekend. Stellar pitching led to Clemson's second conference series win in as many weeks. As a unit, the Tigers' pitching staff dominated Maryland batters posting a 1.38 ERA allowing a mere four earned runs while striking out 19 Terps.

Starters D.J. Mitchell, Graham Stoneburner and Ryan Hinson continued to impress over the weekend. The trio combined for 20 innings pitched allowing just two earned runs (both by Hinson in Clemson's 6-2 victory on Sunday) and striking out 18 compared to just four walks.

The Clemson bullpen came through in the clutch over the weekend as well.

With no outs and the tying run on third in the bottom of the ninth inning on Friday, Clemson's Casey Harman and Matt Vaughn combined to retire three straight batters and preserved the Tigers' 2-1 win.

Clemson's offense outhit the Terps .272 to .189 in the series and outscored Maryland 11-8. Mike Freeman and Jeff Schaus led the Tigers offensively, combining to go 10 of 23 at the plate.

The Tigers hope to bring home a third straight conference series win against Miami this weekend. The Hurricanes (21-2, 9-1) sit atop the Coastal division of the ACC standings and are powered by one of the conference's most potent offenses - not to mention a pitching staff that allows a league-leading .220 opponent batting average.

Miami leads the overall series with the Tigers 23-22 and are 11-8 against Clemson at home. However, the past three seasons have been all Clemson with the Tigers owning a 9-2 record against the Hurricanes including series sweeps in the 2005 and 2006 seasons.

The junior has put up impressive offensive numbers for the Hurricanes this season: .400 batting average, six homers and 27 RBIs to lead the 'Canes offense. Anchored by four other players whose batting averages are above .360, Miami is second in the ACC with a team average of .337. The Hurricanes know how to get runners on base.

Pitching has been nothing short of impressive for the Hurricanes this season. The pitching staff has a 3.45 ERA through the first third of the season. Pitcher Chris Hernandez has been a force this season. Hernandez (4-0), in six starts, has an astounding 2.08 ERA along with 38 strikeouts and just six walks. That's not a bad resume for a freshman.

This weekend will be a crucial series for both teams as they compete for conference standing.

It promises to be a competitive series with both dominant pitching and potent offenses, comparable to any other Clemson-Miami baseball series. Friday and Saturday's games will begin at 7 p.m. while Sunday's contest will start at 1 p.m. in Coral Gables, Fla.

(C) 2008 The Tiger via UWIRE