Opening weekend was a success for Clemson Baseball as they were able to sweep the Xavier Musketeers with great performances up and down the lineup. Even the pitching, which we had heard about in the off-season, was as advertised, as there were some nice outings by nearly all of the guys on the mound.
It is always nice to start the season with a sweep regardless of opponent, but this Xavier team (I know, there was attrition from a year ago) beat Vanderbilt at the Nashville regional to knock off the perennial power in college baseball.
If you read the preview of the weekend, most of the predictions for the lineup were correct, with a few exceptions. Notably, on Saturday the bottom 6 hitters in the Tigers lineup were making their first starts of their Clemson careers this weekend.
Now we start to look at mid-week games and this week’s opponent, the Presbyterian College Blue Hose are fresh off of a 4-game sweep of the Saint Peter’s Peacocks. A series that saw the Blue Hose outscored the Peacocks 58-12 over the four games or an average of 14.5 – 3. Eye-opening scoring for the Tigers next opponent.
Clemson had a great weekend at the plate with no holes in any part of the lineup. The Tigers likely starters in the field are as follows:
| Name (Jersey #) | Position | Class | ‘24 Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cam Canarella (10) | Centerfield | Sophomore | .538; 2B, 5 RBI |
| Will Taylor (16) | Left Field | Junior | .125 |
| Blake Wright (8) | 2nd Base | Senior | .429; 3B, HR, 4 RBI |
| Alden Mathes (17) | Right Field | Graduate (Richmond) | .500; HR, 6 RBI |
| Jimmy Obertop (11) | Catcher/DH | Graduate (Michigan) | .250 |
| Andrew Ciufo (5) | Shortstop | Junior (Georgetown) | .333; HR, 3 RBI |
| Cooper Blauser (4) | 1st Base | RS Freshman | .182; 2B, HR, RBI |
| Jacob Hinderleider (6) | 3rd Base | Graduate (Davidson) | .375; 2 2B, 3 RBI |
| Nolan Nawrocki (2) | DH/ 3rd Base | RS Freshman | .417; 2B, HR, 5 RBI |
The Tigers came off the sweep against Xavier hitting .376 as a team, with 6 doubles, 5 home runs and 29 total runs.
Here’s a look at the opponents, the Presbyterian Blue Hose:
Presbyterian College Blue Hose
Head Coach – Elton Pollock – 20th Season
Location – Clinton, South Carolina
Record: 4-0; 4 wins over St. Peter’s (NJ)
The Blue Hose amassed 58 runs across 50 hits over the weekend. They hit 6 doubles, 3 triples and 8 home runs as a team. They come into the mid-week game against the Tigers hitting .424 as a team. Eye-opening statistics as a team, albeit early in the season. Three players collected double-digit RBIs over the weekend led by Junior Center fielder Joel Dragoo who had 4 HRs and 14 RBIs. Here’s a look at the projected starters for the Hose:
| Name (Jersey #) | Position | Class | ‘24 Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Noah Lebron (9) | 3rd Base | Senior | .500; 2 2B, 4 RBI |
| Brody Fahr (2) | Shortstop | Senior | .733; 2 2B, 3B, 10 RBI |
| Joel Dragoo (5) | Center Field | Junior | .583; 2B, 4 HR, 14 RBI |
| Ryan Ouzts (22) | Left Field | Senior | .500; 2 HR, 11 RBI, 3-4 SB |
| Jack Gorman (1) | 2nd Base | Senior (Hartford) | .385; 3B, HR, 4 RBI |
| Rhogue Wallace (18) | Right Field | Junior (Spartanburg Methodist) | .273; 2B, HR, RBI |
| Ryan Becker (26) | Catcher | Sophomore | .364; 4 RBI |
| Jackson Hugus (8) | Catcher/DH | Junior | .625; RBI |
| Eli Lazio (10) | 1st Base | Junior | .000 |
PITCHING MATCHUP
On the mound for Presbyterian will be Junior RHP Sean Hollister. Hollister did pitch over the weekend (2 IP, 2 Ks, .222 OppBA). The Blue Hose threw 14 different pitchers over the weekend and performed very well with a Batting Average Against at .197 while giving up 5 doubles and 3 home runs to the Peacocks.
Clemson will counter with Junior RHP Austin Gordon. Gordon was expected to be one of the weekend starters for the Tigers, but was held out of the weekend series as Coach Erik Bakich said he was not all the way “stretched out.” Big things are expected for the “ace” of the staff.
The Clemson pitching staff had a nice three game set over the weekend, with a team ERA of 3.33, while allowing an opponent batting average against of .179 and a 2.23 strikeout to walk ratio.
The name of the team immediately suggests that Clemson should take care of business in this game, but baseball is a funny game and Presbyterian is coming in red hot at the plate. This should be a fun, early-season mid-week tilt between these two in-state foes.
