University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Travel To Challenge Clemson
April 22, 2010 | Baseball
April 22, 2010
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - North Carolina (23-16, 6-12 ACC) continues conference play on the road this weekend against No. 20 Clemson (24-14, 10-8 ACC) at Doug Kingsmore Stadium in Clemson, S.C. Game times are slated for 6:30 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday. Saturday's game time was changed from 6:30 p.m. to 11 a.m. due to the threat of inclement weather.
The Tar Heel Sports Network will broadcast every game this weekend. You can listen via TarHeelBlue.com, or on AM 1360-WCHL, Sports Radio 99.9 The Fan in the Triangle (99.9 FM) and WBAG in Burlington (1150 AM).
Carolina posts a 6-2 record against Clemson over the last four seasons and most recently split four contests with the Tigers a year ago. The Tar Heels won two of three games in Chapel Hill last season, including a 9-8 thriller in the series finale. Clemson defeated Carolina 4-3 in 11 innings in the ACC Tournament last season.
In the last four meetings between the two teams, each have been decided by three runs or less with two extra inning contests. Head coach Mike Fox is 16-17 in his career against Clemson, including a 7-8 mark away from Boshamer Stadium. Clemson owns a 96-76-1 advantage in the all-time series, which dates to 1901.
Carolina features a balanced attack with a .313 team batting average, 4.51 staff ERA and a .965 fielding percentage. Tar Heel ace Matt Harvey ranks fifth in the league in ERA with a 3.00 clip against ACC opponents. The junior's 8.54 strikeouts per nine innings also rank fifth in the league.
Offensively junior Jesse Wierzbicki ranks in the top half of the league in batting, with .361 batting average in ACC play. Freshman Brian Goodwin posts 22 RBI in 18 league games, which is good for fourth in the ACC.
No. 20 Clemson is 24-14 overall and 10-8 in ACC play this season. The Tigers rank second in the Atlantic Division and are fresh off a 22-4 victory over USC Upstate this past Wednesday. Clemson features a balanced attack with a .303 batting average, 4.71 staff ERA and .959 fielding percentage.
Offensively the Tigers are led by Kyle Parker's .372 batting average and 15 home runs, which is the most by any player in the ACC. Sophomore John Hinson posts a .376 batting average and is coming off a school record three home run performance Wednesday. Left-hander Casey Harman anchors the weekend staff with a perfect 5-0 record this season.
