Clemson Regional Notes: Firth up first in pitching plan

Posted: Friday, June 3, 2011 12:01 a.m.
UPDATED: Friday, March 23, 2012 5:20 p.m.

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/Mark Crammer/APClemson's Brad Miller waits to take cuts Thursday before tonight's game against Sacred Heart.

CLEMSON -- A significant strategic decision in NCAA regional play is deciding when to throw an ace.

Is a coach prudent to open with his top pitcher, allowing his team the best chance at avoiding a difficult climb from the losers' bracket? Or is it better to save an ace for the second game, gambling to take a commanding position in the double-elimination format?

This dilemma is especially pertinent to the ace-heavy Clemson Regional, which begins to today with No. 2 seed Connecticut opening against No. 3 seed Coastal Carolina at 3 p.m. at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

Clemson will not throw its ace in the opening game, instead starting Scott Firth (4-1, 3.27 ERA) against No. 4 seed Sacred Heart at 7 p.m.

Starting Firth against Sacred Heart's Troy Scribner (9-2, 3.69 ERA) carries some considerable risk as the sophomore has not started a game since April 23, when Firth allowed three runs in two innings against Wake Forest.

Clemson coach Jack Leggett said a swollen knee took Jonathan Meyer out of the equation for today.

"(Firth) has been in some of these battles," Leggett said. "To win is this tournament you are going to use three or four starters."

Baseball America's Aaron Fitt called the UConn-Coastal pitching matchup the most intriguing of all NCAA regional play.

Connecticut ace Matt Barnes (11-3, 1.77 ERA) is one of the most dominant arms in the tournament projected to go 10th overall in the June Draft, according to Baseball America. Barnes will match up against another potential first rounder in Coastal's Anthony Meo, who threw a no-hitter last week in the Big South tournament.

Both Meo and Barnes throw in the low- to mid-90s.

Time does not heal Chanticleer wounds

Coastal is not over its super regional loss to South Carolina last spring, when the Chants were painfully close to advancing to their first College World Series.

"I'll never get over it," Coastal coach Gary Gilmore said. "It's part of what we are, who we are. You work all your life to get in that position."

Heat wave

Clemson announced it will set up a cooling station on the Doug Kingsmore concourse to help fans deal with temperatures expected to reach the mid 90s each day of the Clemson Regional. Because of the heat, Leggett said getting six or seven innings out of a starting pitcher will be considered a positive.