Monte Lee names Clemson’s starter for NCAA opener. Why Tigers are mixing things up
Mat Clark emerged as Clemson’s ace this season and enters the NCAA tournament coming off the best outing of his career after nearly tossing a perfect game against Louisville in the ACC tournament.
But the lefty won’t get the start in Clemson’s NCAA tournament opener against Illinois on Friday. Instead, the Tigers will go with fellow lefty Jacob Hennessy against the Illini.
Tigers coach Monte Lee is hopeful Hennessy can lead No. 3 seed Clemson to a victory over No. 2 seed Illinois in the first game of the Oxford Regional, leaving Clark to start Game 2 in a potential matchup against No. 1 seed Ole Miss.
“We feel like Jacob is the right call to go in Game 1,” Lee said Tuesday afternoon. “Had lengthy discussions about it yesterday, lengthy meeting about it this morning. And we feel very good as a staff going with Jacob in Game 1.”
Hennessy started 14 games for the Tigers last season but was moved out of the starting rotation and into the bullpen at the start of 2019.
The junior has been used as a starter and out of the bullpen the second half of this season, and he held Wake Forest to two runs in 7 1/3 innings in his last start on May 17. Hennessy also tossed a scoreless inning out of the bullpen against Boston College and Louisville in the ACC tournament.
“We’re trying to win this regional. And we feel like to set our pitching up the way that we want to set our pitching up, that going with Jacob in Game 1 was the right move for us and for our team,” Lee said. “It wasn’t all about the matchup with Illinois as much as it was just trying to set our pitching up with the goal in mind of winning the regional. We all know how important Game 1 is, how critical winning Game 1 is, but we also understand how critical winning Game 2 is.”
Freshman Davis Sharpe, who was also in consideration to start Game 1, could pitch Game 3 for the Tigers, or he could come out of the bullpen in one of the first two games.
Oxford NCAA regional TV schedule
Clemson (34-24) vs. Illinois (36-19) 4 pm Friday, ESPNU
Ole Miss (37-25) vs. Jacksonville State (37-21) 8 pm Friday, ESPN3
This story was originally published May 28, 2019 at 3:33 PM.
