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Clemson coach Jack Leggett enters his 18th season at the helm of the Tigers baseball program expecting to have a team that can hit and score with the best of them despite the new bats this year, and if the Tigers want to return to Omaha and realistically contend for the national title, they will have to hang their hats on their offense as the defense is expected to struggle a bit with some key losses in the pitching department. The Tigers return 20 lettermen from a team that went 45-25 and advanced into the College World Series Final Four. The schedule features 24 games against teams that participated in the NCAA tournament a year ago.

As previously mentioned, the pitching is expected to be an area of concern for the Tigers. The bullpen is not strong going in to the season. Furthermore, they also lose their Friday ace in Casey Harman. In comes Scott Weismann to lead the weekend rotation with a 9-2 record and a 4.90 ERA. Dominic Leone is expected to be the Saturday starter. He appeared in 22 games with an ERA of 4.78. Kevin Brady (4.58 ERA) and Will Lamb (5.02 ERA) will also be in the mix as weekend starters. Junior David Haselden is an experience starter and reliever with a 4.61 ERA in 29 appearances. With a record of 7-2 and 3.75 ERA in 33 appearances, the Tigers hope senior Alex Frederick can add depth to the bullpen. Also graduate righthander Justin Sarratt return from elbow injury.

The Tigers will have experience at the catcher position with Phil Pohl returning for his junior season and backed up by Spencer Kieboom. Pohl started 17 games and is the co-captain. Kieboom returns after starting 11 games during the NCAA tournament. Marcus Curry and Jake Fletcher are two freshmen who will be vying some playing time at this position.

The other positions could look like this for the Tigers: Richie Shaffer at first base, Jason Stolz at second base, John Hinson at third base, Brad Miller at shortstop, Jeff Schaus at left field, Chris Epps at right field and Addison Johnson at centerfield. Shaffer batted .323, and he will receive some competition from freshman Jon McGibbon. Hinson was a steals leader a year ago and was batting .351. Miller returns with a team high .357 batting average, and the Tigers hope he has corrected some of those costly errors he made a year ago at crucial moments. Schaus had 87 RBIs last year, which was the best in the ACC and fourth best in the country. Epps brings in a .402 on-base percentage to help Clemson’s cause.

The Tigers have plenty of talent coming back this year again, and they will have experience on their side to make a strong run at the national title. Pitching needs to be stellar, and the ball has to bounce the Tigers’ way if they hope to finally get that elusive title. The sky is the limit for this team once again.

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Go CLEMSON Tigers!!

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