April 1, 2003

Final Stats

Clemson, S.C. - Clemson used 10 singles to score four of its five runs with two outs in a 5-3 victory over Western Carolina in front of 3,083 fans at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on Tuesday. The 15th-ranked Tigers (20-6) improved to 15-0 at home this season, while the Catamounts to 20-10 overall.

Steven Jackson (3-1) earned the win for the Tigers after pitching 7.0 innings, giving up only two earned runs off of seven hits. Paul Harrelson came on in the ninth with the winning run at the plate to earn his fourth save of the season. Joe Camac (1-2) was credited with the loss for the Catamounts.

The Catamounts scored first in the second inning. Rod Goldston singled up the middle, stole second, and scored on a single by Brandon McDowell, who went 2-for-3 with a walk.

Western Carolina took a 2-0 lead in the fourth when Todd Buchanan hit his ninth home run of the season. It was his second homer against Clemson this year and third in his career against the Tigers. Last season, the senior first baseman was 4-for-4 with a homer and six RBI's in a 13-9 loss to the Tigers at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

The Tigers took the lead in the fifth inning. After the first two batters were retired, Herman Demmink and Zane Green both singled, followed by Russell Triplett's walk. With the bases loaded, Michael Johnson drew a walk. Then Brad McCann hit a two-run single through the left side to give the Tigers a 3-2 advantage. McCann increased his team-leading RBI total to 31.

Western Carolina tied the score in the sixth inning. Goldston reached on a fielding error by Triplett, stole second, and scored on Denver Edick's double to left field.

Pinch hitter David Slevin put the Tigers back on top in the sixth with a single to center driving in Ryan Hub. Hub reached on a base on balls and advanced to second on a single by Brady Everett.

Clemson added another run in the seventh when Johnson, moved to second on a wild pitch, and scored on Kyle Frank's single to center.

In the eighth, Wayne Kilmer, who was 2-for-4, had a leadoff single, but was stranded on third. In the ninth, Edick and McDowell had back-to-back walks to start the inning. However, Harrelson, who came in with one out, was able to register a strikeout and a foul out to end the threat and get the save.

Western returns to league play when it hosts Georgia Southern, who is one game behind first-place WCU in the SoCon, for a three-game series this weekend. Game times are set for 7 pm Friday, 4 pm Saturday and 1 pm Sunday.