Only once in his career has Matthew Crownover given up more than five runs in a game. And that came at the worst possible time.
\nAfter pitching for at least seven innings in eight straight games, Crownover did not even make it out of the fourth inning in Clemson\u2019s 18-1 loss to Oregon in the first game of the Nashville Regional last year in the NCAA Tournament. The lefty, who had been so good for so long in 2014, had nothing against the Ducks, giving up a career-high eight earned runs off a career-high 10 hits.
\n\u201cI have never really got hit like that in my life. It has happened like one other time that I can remember. I kind of pride myself on that,\u201d Crownover said. \u201cGive Oregon a lot of credit, they were on that day. When I made bad pitches, they hit them.\u201d
\nCrownover said the Oregon game lingered in his mind in the off-season. But instead of pouting about the experience or failing to move on from it, he decided to learn from it instead. It served as motivation and led to his recognition as the 2015 Atlantic Coast Conference Pitcher of the Year.
\n\u201cI said, you know, \u2018I\u2019m coming back to school. Let\u2019s get off to a good start this year and do what you can in the off-season to get yourself ready.\u2019 I think it has worked out so far this year.\u201d
\nIt has worked out great.
\nCrownover enters Friday\u2019s game against No. 2 Arizona State in the Fullerton Regional with a 10-2 record in 15 starts, which includes a 1.59 ERA. He has a career-high 99 strikeouts and opponents are batting just .183 against him.
\nCrownover has not allowed more than four runs in a game and that came in a victory over South Carolina. Before the loss to Florida State in last week\u2019s ACC Tournament, a game in which he allowed just three hits in seven innings of work, he had won six straight decisions.
\n\u201cHe\u2019s had a great season. We wouldn\u2019t be in the position we are without him,\u201d Clemson head coach Jack Leggett said. \u201cAnd he\u2019s given us some great efforts, every Friday night, every first game of the series, this whole year.
\n\u201cHe\u2019s been a huge, valuable piece of our puzzle and the way he played especially in the last month and a half or two months. He\u2019s one of those guys that\u2019s been consistent from the beginning of the season to now. So he\u2019s got a great deal of respect amongst his teammates. He goes about his business. He\u2019s disciplined, focused and locked into what he needs to do. He goes about his business in a business-like fashion. And the results are indicative of how hard he works.\u201d
\nWhen he had Tommy John surgery on his left arm prior to his freshman year at Clemson, Crownover had to teach himself how to throw a breaking ball again. He said he never fully got it back until last summer when he concentrated on getting that pitch back in his arsenal.
\n\u201cIt was really hard to throw my breaking ball the way I wanted to with a lot of a sharp angle to it,\u201d he said. \u201cThis past off-season I went back to the drawing board and really learned how to throw it better. I kind of had a flip curveball the last two years, I guess. It kind of had a little hump in it. This past off-season I really worked on having a third pitch when I need it. I don\u2019t throw it much but when I need it, I can throw it for a strike and get a swing and a miss.\u201d
\nWhen he gets the baseball on Friday in the Fullerton Regional, Crownover is not going to think about his All-American season, his ACC Pitcher of the Year Award or how hard he worked to get back on top after last year\u2019s performance against Oregon in the NCAA Tournament. Instead, he is going to focus on the Sun Devils and what he can do to help assure this will not be the last time he pitches in a Clemson uniform.
\n\u201cI\u2019m not going to make any bigger deal about the playoffs,\u201d he said. \u201cOnce I get there, I\u2019m going to do my same routine. It has been good enough to beat Louisville and Florida State this year so I think it should be good enough to have a chance against another good team in ASU.\u201d<\/p>\n