Clemson Appears Healthier, Deeper on the Mound

CLEMSON, S.C. — When Clemson opens the 2022 baseball season Friday afternoon against Indiana, the Tigers will have eight to 10 quality pitchers available for the season-opening series at Doug Kingsmore Stadium this weekend.

“I feel we are deeper, and we have more quality options in all categories,” Clemson head coach Monte Lee said earlier this week.

Quality options were not something Lee or pitching coach Andrew See had at times last season. Injuries decimated Clemson’s pitching staff in 2021, which caused the coaches and pitchers to sometimes lose their confidence about what was happening on the mound.

As a staff, the Tigers finished 10th in the ACC with a 5.00 ERA, while allowing opponents to hit .266, which was tied for 11th in the conference.

The end result was a 25-27 record, the program’s first losing season since 1957.

“Last year, we got hit a little bit with injuries,” Lee said. “(Davis) Sharpe, (Keyshawn) Askew and even (Mack) Anglin, all three of those guys experienced time off. A big part of that is just going to be luck. We have to be a little bit lucky when it comes to staying healthy.”

At the moment, the Tigers are healthy. Only veteran reliever Rob Hughes will miss this weekend’s series. Hughes is out with an arm injury.

“We are not quite sure how long he is going to be out. I think we will know more, possibly, in the next few days,” Lee said.

Anglin will get the start for the Tigers in Game 1 on Friday. The righty was just 2-6 last year with a 3.99 ERA. He allowed opponents to hit .227 in 13 appearances, including eight starts. He had 75 strikeouts and 33 walks in 56 1/3 innings of work.

Nick Clayton will get the start in Game 2. Another righty, the sophomore had a 6-2 record in 18 appearances, including one start and a 4.30 ERA. He had 40 strikeouts and 12 walks in 37 2/3 innings of work, while allowing opponents to hit .241.

Nick Hoffmann is another young righty who will get the ball on Sunday in Game 3. Last year, he appeared in 17 games and got four starts. He posted a 4-1 record and had a 3.83 ERA. He had 40 strikeouts and just five walks in 49 1/3 innings or work, while allowing opponents to hit .255.

Lefty Geoffrey Gilbert will be Clemson’s setup man out of the bullpen. The redshirt sophomore appeared in 28 games in 2021, while throwing 44 1/3 innings. He led the Tigers with a 2.23 ERA and had 52 strikeouts to 15 walks, while allowing opponents to hit .257.

“We will use Gilbert out of the bullpen because we need that strong left-handed presence out of the bullpen and Geoff is a guy that has done it,” Lee said. “We developed Geoffrey as a starter with the mindset that Geoff could go out there and throw three to four innings out of the bullpen, if needed. So, we built him to be a long reliever, sort of a piggyback option behind one of those starters or be able to use him multiple times over the weekend.”

Lee confirmed lefty Ryan Ammons will be the Tigers’ designated closer. The redshirt sophomore pitched just four innings last year, while appearing in eight games. He had a 4.50 ERA.

“He has been absolutely dominant throughout the course of the (pre)season. So, he will be the guy that gets the ball in the ninth inning in a save situation,” Lee said. “Another guy that could be in that situation, should we use Ryan for instance in the eighth and the ninth, another guy that could be available will be Alex Edmondson. Casey Tallent is a true freshman that has been awfully good. Jay Dill is another freshman that has been up to 95 and 96 as a power arm.”

Edmondson pitched in just five games last year and had just two innings of completed work.

First pitch for the season opener on Friday is scheduled for 4 p.m.