The Clemson Tigers baseball team is coming off a great opening week of the season, sweeping reigning Big East Champions Xavier University Musketeers.
They followed up that performance with a thrilling come-from-behind victory against a sneaky Presbyterian College Blue Hose team in the first mid-week game.
Clemson has had some good performances on the mound with most of the pitching staff. Cam Canarella continues dominating college pitchers as he’s out to a gaudy start to the 2024 season. Notably he tweaked his shoulder sliding into third base on Tuesday night. He remained in the game, but that is something to keep an eye on going forward.
Also on the early injury list would be Sophomore Catcher Jacob Jarrell. Hearing from the staff that there are multiple fractures in Jarrell’s face after taking a fastball directly on the cheek in Tuesday night’s win. Just something to keep an eye on going forward, no pun intended.
This weekend, the Tigers will host mid-major Kennesaw State Owls out of the Atlantic Sun Conference. Below is the preview of the Tiger’s upcoming opponent.
Kennesaw State University Owls
Head Coach – Ryan Coe – 4th Season
Record – 2-3
Wins against: UAB, Wofford
Losses against: UAB x2, Mercer
Pitching Match Ups:
Friday: RHP Billy Barlow (Clemson) vs. RHP Braden Osbolt (KSU)
Saturday: LHP Tristan Smith (Clemson) vs. RHP Blake Aita (KSU)
Sunday: RHP Aidan Knaak (Clemson) vs. RHP Smith Pinson (KSU)
Same starters for Clemson from last weekend’s series against Xavier. We would expect, should they perform well, to go a little longer than the extreme pitch counts we saw last weekend.
Here is the projected starters for the Kennesaw State Owls positionally, with their early season stats as well:
Position Players:
| NAME (Jersey #) | GRADE | POSITION | ‘24 STATISTICS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nate Anderson (5) | RS Junior | Centerfield | .100; HR, 3 RBI |
| Jamarie Brooks (2) | Sophomore | Left Field | .118; RBI |
| Spencer Hanson (1) | Graduate | DH | .333; 3B, HR, 4 RBI |
| Isaac Bouton (18) | Senior | 3rd Base | .150; 2 HR, 4 RBI |
| Donovan Cash (25) | RS Junior | 1st Base | .308; HR, 2 RBI |
| Jackson Chirello (24) | Sophomore | Right Field | .231; 2B, RBI |
| Zac Corbin (10) | RS Junior | 2nd Base | .200; 2B, RBI |
| Aaron Posey (28) | Sophomore | Catcher | .111 |
| Shamaar McDuffie (3) | Freshman | Shortstop | .000; RBI |
Offensively, Kennesaw State has seemingly struggled in the early going, however were still able to win some close games through the first full week slate of games. The team is hitting .184 as a team with 3 2Bs, 3B, 5 HRs, and 21 RBIs. Through the early going, the Owls do not seem to be a team that runs a lot, however have not been thrown out in their 2 attempts.
PITCHING
| NAME (Jersey #) | Year/Hand | ‘24 Statistics |
|---|---|---|
| Braden Osbott (17) | Sophomore/RHP | 7.71 ERA; 4.2 IP, 4 K, 1 BB, OppBA: .364 |
| Blake Aita (26) | Sophomore/RHP | 6.00 ERA; 3 IP, 2 K, 5 BB, OppBA: .250 |
| Smith Pinson (37) | Junior/RHP | 3.00 ERA; 6 IP, 4 K, 1 BB, OppBA: .208 |
Two sophomores and a junior take the bump for the Owls this weekend. The sample sizes are small to offer a full scouting report on the three starters, however Sunday starter Smith Pinson is 6’8” and has a funky motion to go with it. Based on what has been seen from the Owls, Pinson was by far the most dominant of the three starters, albeit one start each.
Kennesaw State has a team ERA of 5.86 across 43 innings with 41 Ks as a staff and 27 walks. Opponents are hitting .257 against the Owls pitching staff.
Clemson should be favored in all three matchups this weekend, but we all know that baseball can happen at any time. Clemson has been the comeback kids through the early going, coming back in each of the 4 wins. If the trend of getting on base continues, these games could end up in the blowout column.
The weather looks pleasant this weekend at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. Hopefully the forecast includes a Tigers sweep.
