Parker's big hit lifts Clemson past OSU to NCAA regional title

CLEMSON — Friday night, Kyle Parker came home, in his words, “frustrated.”

Clemson’s sophomore slugger was mired in the throes of a nasty slump, one that had seen him get just 14 hits in his last 79 at-bats, dropping his average into the .260 range. By Sunday, he’d be benched for the first time this season, in favor of defense-first center fielder Addison Johnson.

“Leaving guys on base then (and last week) had been biting at me,” he said. “Not getting the clutch hit, it was tearing me apart.”

Clemson coach Jack Leggett loves to tell his players to keep their heads in the game, because, as he says, “it will come around to you.”

Parker heeded the advice, and his turn came Monday night. He delivered in the Tigers’ biggest at-bat of the season, sending a curveball from Oklahoma State closer Randy McCurry screaming down the third-base line for a two-run double. That hit capped Clemson’s rally from a four-run seventh-inning hole, giving the Tigers a 6-5 NCAA Clemson Regional title game win over the Cowboys before 6,217 exhilarated fans at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

Top-seeded Clemson (44-20) advanced to this weekend’s NCAA super regional at Arizona State, while third-seeded Oklahoma State saw its season come to a disappointing end at 35-24.

The Tigers and Sun Devils - the No.5 national seed - will begin their best-of-three super regional series at 9 p.m. Saturday, with a second game at 10 p.m. Sunday and potential third game at 7 p.m. Monday. Game 1 will be televised by ESPNU, with Games 2 and 3 televised by ESPN2.

“Those are the things you dream about, getting up in that situation with all those people in the stands, all those people counting on you, that’s what I wanted,” Parker said. “I wanted to be that guy, wanted to be in there.”

After Clemson rallied from a 5-1 seventh-inning deficit, Leggett praised his team’s effort, comparing the three wins in 28 hours to a 1999 squad which lost its first NCAA regional game and rebounded for four wins in two days and the regional title.

“We just battled,” Leggett said. “I’m really proud of our attitude, how tough we are. We deserved to win, deserved to come back, deserved another weekend of baseball.”

Tyler Lyons, the Cowboys’ starter, threw over 100 pitches in OSU’s regional-opening win over Alabama Friday and was a surprise starter on two days’ rest Monday night, although he said afterward that he’d prepared for the situation since stepping off the mound Friday.

The left-hander’s effectiveness through six-plus innings was even more shocking, but his stamina clearly waned as his pitch count rose over 100 again.

In the eighth, first baseman Ben Paulsen reached on a walk, and after Wilson Boyd struck out and Brad Miller flew out, catcher John Nester stepped to the plate. He whacked a double to left-center, leaving runners at second and third for Parker, who had entered the game earlier as a pinch-hitter.

Oklahoma State coach Frank Anderson finally pulled Lyons, opting for closer Randy McCurry.

Parker is one of the Tigers’ best hitters, with 12 homers and 50 RBI. But Leggett finally benched him in favor of Johnson Sunday night.

He only needed one pitch from McCurry, slamming a laser down the left-field line that scored both runners for a 6-5 lead.

Parker said sitting was “disappointing,” but he used a team-oriented mindset to focus.

“I knew I had to keep my head in it, knew I was going to get another opportunity,” he said. “I knew it from the get-go of the game, if we came up, needed a run, I was going to be the guy in that situation.”

Senior Matt Vaughn – who pitched 3.2 innings with no earned runs – shut down Oklahoma State in the ninth, striking out DH Mark Ginther with the tying run at second to touch off a wild celebration near home plate.

Vaughn has struggled with velocity following a pair of shoulder surgeries, but said he has felt like himself the last month, at long last.

“(Leggett) and I talked about, when we get to that situation, I want to be the guy on the mound, the last game I play at home, do or die,” he said. “I didn’t want to go out with a bad memory.”

OSU led 3-1 after six innings, but poor defense built the Tigers a major hole in the seventh. With a runner at first, Tyrone Hambly chopped a grounder to third baseman Matt Sanders, who had entered the game earlier as a pinch-hitter. He threw well over Paulsen’s head at first base, putting runners at second and third.

The next hitter, Neil Medchill, popped up to left, but Jeff Schaus appeared to lose the ball in the lights, dropping it for another error and loading the bases.

Catcher Kevin David’s line-out sacrifice fly to center plated Michael Dabbs with the inning’s first run. And when shortstop Tom Belza – the Cowboys’ hottest hitter – grounded into a potential 3-6-3 double play, Paulsen fired the ball past Brad Miller and into center field, scoring another run for a 5-1 OSU lead.

Clemson hit right back in the seventh, thanks to some OSU generosity. With two out, Sanders topped a grounder to Hambly, who threw wildly to first for an error.

DH Chris Epps, the regional MVP, was up next, and he continued his red-hot regional effort with a two-run homer to left.

Second baseman Mike Freeman followed with a double to right, and Jeff Schaus scored him with a single, cutting the lead to 5-4 with two innings to go.

“We were never out of it,” Freeman said. “After yesterday (scoring 25 runs in two games) we knew we could put up as many runs as we needed to. We stayed aggressive and Epps’ two-run homer was huge. From then on we had confidence and the ball was rolling.”

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