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Clemson Regional Week
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Tigers take advantage of
key error, fortunate HR
<<< Box Score >>>
By PETE IACOBELLI
AP SPORTS WRITER CLEMSON, SC (AP) — Matt Henrie showed
that Clemson has pitching to go with all that hitting, holding East Carolina
to seven hits over eight innings in the Tigers 4-2 victory Saturday in the
NCAA regional.
Turns out the Tigers (49-14) needed Henrie's performance.
After hitting six homers in Friday night's 15-1 rout of Georgia Southern,
Clemson struggled to find its offense against Pirates starter Davey Penny.
It took Jarrod Schmidt's two-run homer in the sixth inning
off Penny (8-4) to break a 2-all tie and send Clemson to its ninth-straight
NCAA victory at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. The Tigers will again face East
Carolina,
which recovered enough to defeat Georgia Southern in a
nightcap elimination game, in the regional championship Sunday.
The Pirates put runners on first and second in the ninth,
but freshman Jeff Hahn struck out pinch-hitter Brian Cavanaugh to end the
game. It was Hahn's third save.
The Tigers had to scrape together runs to defeat East
Carolina (42-19-1), Conference USA tournament champions. Big guns Khalil
Greene and Jeff Baker — who each had two homers against Georgia Southern —
were a combined 2-of-7 with no RBIs.
Clemson's first rally came off a walk and two easy singles
to load the bases in the fourth. Catcher Steve Pyzik hit a grounder to short
that looked like a standard double play to bail out the Pirates.
But Jedd Sorenson's relay throw from second sailed past
first and into the East Carolina dugout, scoring Michael Johnson and Zane
Green and putting the Tigers up 2-1.
Tied at 2, Gaspar looked like he had a chance to catch
Schmidt's decisive homer. But the lined shot went through Gaspar's glove and
off the green backing in center to give Clemson the lead for good.
Henrie made the lead stand up. He gave up two singles in the
eighth, but got Bryant Ward to fly out to center to end the threat.
The Pirates
extended their season — and that of their
stricken coach Keith LeClair — by shaking off the loss to the Tigers and
returning to the field to knock Georgia Southern out of the regional 7-3.
The Eagles eliminated Elon 6-2 in Saturday's first game.
LeClair, who played ball at Western Carolina for current
Clemson coach Jack Leggett, is fighting amyotrophic lateral sclerosis — Lou
Gehrig's disease. LeClair watched the game from a white van in the
first-base bullpen.
<<< Box Score >>>
Copyright 2002
Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Bonesville.net
contributed to this report.
02/23/2007 10:45 AM |
