April 22, 2008

Box Score

Cullowhee, N.C. - A trio of Tiger pitchers combined for a three-hit shutout win as Western Carolina fell to Clemson, 6-0, Tuesday night in front of 1,864 fans at Childress Field / Hennon Stadium. In what turned out to be a pitcher's game, the two sides combined for 19 strikeouts with Catamount hurlers fanning 10 combined.

The loss prevented Western - who downed Clemson, 6-2, at Doug Kingsmore Stadium one week ago - from completing the first-ever seasonal sweep of the Tigers in the 62-game series history. WCU dropped to 18-21 overall while Clemson moved back to the .500 mark on the season at 20-20-1.

Western was shutout for the first-time since the 2006 season when the College of Charleston behind ace hurler Nick Chigges blanked the Catamounts, 1-0, in the Southern Conference tournament (5/25/06) - a span of 102 games played.

Sophomore Daniel Ottone was saddled with the loss despite tossing five solid innings, surrendering four runs - only three of which were earned - on six hits with a walk and five strikeouts. Junior Garrett Ozar tossed 3.1 innings in relief, allowing a pair of earned runs on three hits with three K's, while sophomore Chris Masters worked two thirds of an inning allowing one hit and one inherited runner to score with a two strikeouts.

Offensively, the Catamounts only mustered three hits on the night. Sophomore Nick Liles extended his current hitting streak to 12 games with a single to center in the bottom of the eighth inning after being robbed of extra bases two innings earlier. Sophomore Reid Rollison continued his recent hitting tear with a double down the left field line to represent Western's lone extra base hit, while senior Barrett Shaft singled to comprise all of WCU's offense.

Sophomore Tyler Kirkpatrick reached base the most for WCU, finishing 0-for-1 with a pair of walks in the loss.

Clemson jumped on top in the first inning with back-to-back singles by Mike Freeman and Jeff Schaus, putting two on with no outs. A fielder's choice split the runners between the corners with what proved to be the game-winning run coming home on a wild pitch, 1-0.

In the second, the Tigers posted a two-out rally to plate three runs for a 4-0 advantage. Ottone struck out the first two batters of the frame before third baseman Matt Sanders doubled down the left field line. A single to left by shortstop Stan Widmann pushed the lead to two, with Widmann advancing to third on the first of four Catamount errors. Schaus then delivered an RBI single through the right side and a second error of the frame allowing the game's fourth run to be plated.

The four-run advantage stood until the top of the ninth when the Tigers rapped out back-to-back doubles, followed by a third two-bagger two batters later to push the lead to six where it would remain.

Schaus led Clemson with a 3-for-5 showing including a double with a game-high two RBI. Freeman and centerfielder Wilson Boyd each produced two hits in the game, with the previous scoring three of the six runs.

Junior starter Trey Delk threw seven two-hit, shutout innings to secure his first win of the season, fanning seven and only walking two. Justin Surratt and Matt Vaughn each pitched one shutout inning in relief, with Surratt allowing one hit and a walk between the four batters he faced.

Western Carolina returns to the diamond in non-conference action on Wednesday as it travels to Macon, Ga., to face the Mercer Bears (18-25), who fell in a 16-9 slugfest Tuesday night at home to No. 27 Georgia Tech. First pitch is set for 6:00 pm. The game will be broadcast by the Catamount Sports Network with an air time of 5:45 pm and can be heard locally on WWCU-FM, Power 90dot5 in Cullowhee or online at www.WWCUFM.com.