Although Clemson was unable to secure a victory in the season opener against Maine on Friday, the silver lining is the pitching was outstanding.

“I thought we pitched exceptionally well. If you look at our numbers, we walked one guy and struck out 14. I thought that Charlie Barnes and Alex Eubanks did an outstanding job,” new Clemson head coach Monte Lee said Clemson’s 4-3 loss in Game 1 of a three-game series.

Barnes, in his first career weekend start, pitched well enough to earn the win. He recorded a career-high in strikeouts as he took down seven batters before freshman Alex Eubanks took over in the sixth inning. Barnes only walked one batter and 51 of his 80 pitches were strikes.

“I think Charlie did outstanding. I really do,” Lee said. “I thought Charlie threw very, very well. He gave us everything that we needed in a first start, and Eubanks was outstanding out of the pen. I couldn’t have asked for a better outing by either one of those guys.”

Although he was disappointed in the loss, Barnes was pleased with his performance.

“It felt good,” the lefty said. “Our coaches preach a lot about setting the tone for the weekend, so I just really tried to make sure to pound the strike zone. I just really wanted to make sure that I was in the zone and tried to make sure our walks were down low. I felt like I did a good job.”

Once Barnes was taken out of the game after pitching 5 1/3, he knew the team would be in good hands with Eubanks coming on in relief.

“I trust him one hundred percent no matter the situation, no matter the time of the game. I know he is going to come in and do his job, so it is great just to have someone like him come in,” Barnes said.

In the 52 pitches that Eubanks threw on Friday, 35 of them were strikes, as he tallied seven strikeouts of his own. He also struck out the last five batters in the game, giving the Tigers a chance to rally in the ninth inning.

“My heart was definitely pounding, that is for sure. That was my first time out there, so getting to live my dream, that was awesome. I wouldn’t say I was nervous at all, I was just excited,” he said.

Eubanks impressed his coaches in his first performance, and he hopes he will gain many more opportunities throughout this season to do what he loves.

“I’m going to keep going out there every time they tell me to. If they give me the ball, I want to be out there, so I definitely wanted to keep going as long as they would let me,” he said.

Clemson will play Maine in Game 2 of the three-game series today starting at 2 p.m.

If you haven’t already order your copy today of Guts & Glory – Tales of Clemson’s Historic 2015 Football Season to help you celebrate and remember this special season.