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Associated Press

Clemson’s Kyle Parker hits an RBI sacrifice fly in the third inning of the Tigers’ 17-2 win over UNC Asheville on Wednesday at Doug Kingsmore Stadium in Clemson.

CLEMSON — The 19th-ranked Clemson Tigers were in need of anything to end the slump their batters had been in through the first six games of the season. UNC Asheville was obviously the remedy.

The Tigers got a season-high 15 hits and scored in the game’s first four innings as they rolled to a 17-2 victory at Doug Kingsmore Stadium in Clemson.

“We needed that,” Clemson coach Jack Leggett said. “We needed to see some line drives and aggressiveness at the plate. They had a little trouble finding the strike zone, but when they did we were ready to hit and we were more aggressive.”

Clemson (5-2) was definitely more aggressive than it was in back-to-back losses to South Carolina and Furman. The Tigers totaled just eight hits in 23 innings combined. They surpassed that total by the end of the third inning when they took a 12-0 lead.

“This was huge,” Leggett said. “(Tuesday) night was another lousy night so we could not do that. We had to break the chain a little bit and hopefully we will be ready to go by this weekend.”

This weekend the Tigers visit No. 4 North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C. As for Wednesday night, however, Clemson finally took care of business at the plate.

Ben Paulsen led the way with three hits and three RBIs. Kyle Parker also has three RBIs, while Mike Freeman had two RBIs, as did Will Lamb, Matt Sanders and Jeff Schaus.

The Tigers’ success might have been due to the fact Leggett changed the lineup somewhat. Brad Miller, who drew four walks and was 1-for-2 officially, replaced Addison Johnson at leadoff and scored three runs. Wilson Boyd replaced Parker in the clean-up spot and had a hit, two drawn walks and scored twice.

“Mike Freeman swung the bat pretty good tonight and I might move him up again,” Leggett said. “I’m just trying to find the right combination and get some rhythm going. We are facing some really tough pitching this weekend so it might be different.

“Miller has some aggressiveness with him and has a good eye at the plate so we might leave him there for a little while and see how things work out.”

Clemson scored 12 runs in the first three innings, including seven in the first two innings, all with two outs. The Tigers scored in six of the eight innings in which they batted.

It was the Tigers’ largest margin of victory since 2006 when they beat Wake Forest 26-1. It was also the first time Clemson scored 10 or more runs this season and the first time since a 12-6 win over the College of Charleston on May 13 of last year.

Reliever Justin Sarratt earned the win as he pitched one inning and gave up one hit and one unearned run. UNC Asheville starter Taylor Wohlwend took the loss for the Bulldogs (2-7) as he gave up four runs on four hits with three walks in one inning.

Widmann leaves team. Clemson senior shortstop Stan Widmann, who has missed the first six games of the season due to a shoulder injury, has left the Clemson baseball program and does not plan on resuming his baseball career.

Last year, Widmann returned to play after suffering a severe neck injury that caused him to miss most of the 2007 season, and this year he was expected to challenge Miller at short for the starting job, but he never fully got back to full strength because of the shoulder injury and felt it was in the best interest of him and the team that they go their separate ways.