It’s Clemson baseball opening weekend. Here’s how to watch, a freshman to watch for
Clemson has plenty of experience on the mound entering the 2020 season, and the Tigers are expected to rely on a veteran pitching staff to carry the load and help an offense that lost its top three hitters from a year ago.
There’s lefty Mat Clark, who served as the Tigers’ Friday-night starter down the stretch in 2019. There’s Davis Sharpe, who went 7-4 with a 3.20 ERA as a freshman last season. And there’s Sam Weatherly, who has earned the Opening Day starter role and enters the season as Clemson’s “most improved pitcher,” according to head coach Monte Lee.
Weatherly and Sharpe will be a part of Clemson’s weekend rotation as the Tigers face Liberty in a three-game series beginning Friday. And Clark is expected to see plenty of innings in relief of Spencer Strider on Sunday. Strider will be on a limited pitch count in his first outing since suffering Tommy John surgery prior to the start of last season.
But none of those four pitchers were the toughest for Clemson’s hitters to face during preseason workouts. Instead, it was redshirt freshman Carter Raffield who gave Tigers hitters the most trouble.
“Carter has been dominant. I mean, we don’t stand a chance against Carter in live (bullpens),” Lee said. “He has absolutely chewed our hitters up.”
Raffield is about 14 months removed from Tommy John surgery and is expected to make his Clemson debut this weekend during the three-game series against Liberty.
Raffield would have been able to help the Tigers as a true freshman last season had he not suffered an injury during the winter, as the Georgia native has a variety of pitches he can rely on.
“He’s about 6-foot-5. He’s 94-95, with power sink. I mean it is a heavy, heavy fastball,” Lee said. “He has command of a curveball. He throws both. He throws a curveball and a slider. I think he’s throwing more of a curveball right now. And he’s got a split and a changeup. And they’re all above-average pitches.”
Lee often asks his hitters how Clemson’s pitchers are throwing during practices. With Raffield, the feedback was unanimous.
“If you ask our hitters right now, who’s the hardest guy to hit? And that’s what I ask them. That’s all I really care about: ‘Hey, what do you got? What are you seeing? What does it look like?’” Lee explained. “‘Raffield. I can’t hit Raffield.’ Our guys are like, ‘That stuff is dominant. It’s moving all over the place.’ It’s just a very uncomfortable at bat with Carter.”
Like Strider, Clemson will limit Raffield’s innings early on as the two work their way back to full health from Tommy John surgery, but don’t be surprised if Strider and Raffield are two of the toughest pitchers for Tigers’ opponents to face off against as the season goes along.
“We’re going to have to limit their pitch count. We’re going to have to be very disciplined in how we use them. They’re going to be a little bit limited,” Lee said. “We’ve gotta give them the ball and let them do their thing. As they get more comfortable they’ll get better and better.”
When does Clemson play opening weekend?
Who: Clemson vs. Liberty
When: 4 p.m. Friday
1 p.m. Saturday
1 p.m. Sunday
Where: Doug Kingsmore Stadium
TV: Stream online on ACC Network extra Friday and Saturday
Radio: 1400 AM in Columbia area
Starting pitchers (Friday): Clemson — LHP Sam Weatherly; Liberty — LHP Mason Meyer
Starting pitchers (Saturday): Clemson — RHP Davis Sharpe; Liberty — RHP Noah Skirrow
Starting pitchers (Sunday): Clemson — RHP Spencer Strider; Liberty — LHP Joe Adametz III
This story was originally published February 14, 2020 at 7:43 AM.
