Furman: Tall, strong righthander who heads into the 2007 campaign as Furman's top starting pitcher...has a chance to rank among the SoCon's best hurlers this spring...continued improvement on mound presence could contribute to a fine senior campaign...fastball and slider rank as his top pitches...has an improving changeup...slated as Furman's Friday night starter in league series play. 2006 -- Served as the anchor to Furman's starting rotation, earning starts in 15 of 16 appearances...went 6-4 with a 3.90 ERA...paced the Paladin staff with 87 2/3 innings of work and 65 strikeouts...strong work on the hill played a key role in Furman posting a 32-23 record and 16-11 SoCon mark good for a third place league finish...32 wins matched a program season high...4.45 team ERA ranked third in the SoCon...earned his first win of the season against Miami of Ohio (6.1 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K)...recorded a career high 10 strikeouts over seven innings en route to an 11-0 win over Wofford...longest outing came in a 3-2 win at Appalachian State (7.2 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K)...opponents hit .299 against him...named to the SoCon Academic Honor Roll. 2005 -- Registered action as both a reliever and starter, totaling 22 appearances and seven starts...went 2-2 with a 4.38 ERA...opponents batted .256 against him...helped key Furman's strong stretch run that led to a SoCon Tournament championship, NCAA Tournament appearance, and 30-29 final record...went 2-0 with a 2.07 ERA over his final 13 appearances (39.0 IP, 36 H, 9 ER, 28 K)...four of seven starts came in mid-week contests...was the starting pitcher but did not get the decision in Furman's 3-2 win over 18th-ranked Tennessee (4.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K) and 6-2 triumph over 13th-ranked South Carolina (4.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 4 K)...hurled 5 1/3 innings of five-hit ball (2 ER, 3 K) but got no decision in eventual 5-4 SoCon Tournament championship game win over Georgia Southern...started and pitched 4 1/3 innings of four-hit ball (0 ER, 2 K) in 6-3 loss to Michigan in NCAA Tournament action...registered his second win in crucial 5-4 decision at Davidson (1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 K). 2004 -- Fashioned a solid first season, making 19 appearances in both relief and starting roles...first 12 appearances came in relief before moving into starting rotation for seven starts...went 3-3 with a 5.80 ERA over 49 2/3 innings (44 strikeouts)...earned his first victory by working 2.0 inning of perfect relief in a 1-0 win over Gardner-Webb...last win came in an 11-2 decision over Appalachian State (6.0 IP, 3 H, 2R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 K)...yielded only two home runs...left-handed hitters batted only .188 (9x48) against him.
High School: Played under Bill Dreisbach at Lakota West High School...named a Great Miami Conference all-conference pitcher his senior year after leading his conference in strikeouts...was named to the Cincinnati All-City Team and the Greater Miami Conference all-conference team his senior year...also played with the Walt Sweeney Cardinals for three years under Larry Redwine.
Personal: Full name Matthew David Klinker...son of Vince and Carol Klinker...born October 8, 1984...carries a 3.18 GPA...business administration major.