Brooks Crawford looks to start NCAA Regional play on the right track
CLEMSON -- It was a light practice on Thursday afternoon in Doug Kingsmore Stadium for Clemson as it prepares for its NCAA Regional opener against four seed Morehead State.
Members of the team took part in batting practice with country music blaring in the background. In the batter's box you had Logan Davidson smacking routine practice balls to the warning track, but behind him, you had catcher Kyle Wilkie, who sang along to every song that was played.
Regional baseball is back in Clemson for the third consecutive year, and you could feel the buzz around Monte Lee's club during their short, one-hour practice on Thursday.
"We definitely keep it loose, but we also get after it," Davidson said of his team's personality. "We know when it's time to go to work."
After not winning a regional since 2010 (have we mentioned that?) Clemson is looking to start this weekend off on the right track. To do that, Lee has decided to throw Saturday starter Brooks Crawford on Friday night for its opener against Morehead State.
Lee said it's always tough to decide on a weekend rotation for NCAA Regional play and this time around was no different. But he believes Crawford gives Clemson the best chance to win against a Morehead State team that ranks fourth in the nation in home runs and batting average.
"We felt like Brooks gave us the best matchup," head coach Monte Lee said. "We also felt like just from a rest standpoint that he was the most ready to start. It was a combination of the matchup with Morehead State along with adequate rest. Coming off the ACC Tournament, we felt like Brooks was the right matchup to go with."
Lee's decision to start Crawford on Friday night makes sense. The Eagles are a powerful team full of right-handed hitters highlighted by Trevor Snyder, who has hit 18 home runs this season. Right-handed hitters are batting .220 against Crawford this season with only two home runs on 192 plate appearances.
Crawford has 56 strikeouts this season in 75 innings of pitching and sports a 3.35 earned run average.
The Tigers are 13-2 in games Crawford has started this season.
Crawford missed a lot of time last season due to his time under the illness of mononucleosis. He only pitched 22 innings which is half as many innings as he pitched his first year on campus.
While he was sick, Crawford refound his love for baseball and was able to refocus himself mentally heading into the offseason. In the fall, his head coach didn't think Crawford was going to be a guy who would fit into Clemson's weekend rotation.
His only start prior to this season was in Clemson's ACC championship game against Florida State Crawford's freshman year.
"The big question mark for us was always going to be, 'will we be able to get him through a lineup twice? Is he ever going to break that threshold and take that next step?'" Lee said.
So, Lee and his staff approached Crawford with a challenge during the offseason: four starters and over 400 innings of starting pitching were gone and it was time for Crawford to step up.
"If you want to be a weekend guy, now is the time. We need to see you take that next step," Lee told Crawford in the fall. "If we're going to be good this year, you are going to have to be a big part of what we do."
Lee told Crawford he wasn't on the radar as a starter once fall practice was over and was going to need to improve dramatically. The rising junior did just that and was Clemson's best starter in the spring.
"He got better and better and better," Lee added. "He was way better in the spring when we came back. It really solidified to me that he should be a weekend starter."
Crawford's year thus far has put him in a reliable position to hold the keys in Clemson's first game in its regional.
The Tigers take on Morehead State on tonight at 6:00 PM.