Entering the 2018 campaign, questions loomed over the Clemson pitching staff after losing every starting pitcher from the 2017 team.

However, in their first three games the 12-ranked Tigers showed fans they still have a talented group of arms who are ready to show what they’re made of.

While some people on the outside may be surprised with how Clemson’s pitchers performed in the first weekend, as the Tigers swept William & Mary in their three-game series, Clemson Head Coach Monte Lee knew what he had entering the spring and feels his team is in a good spot moving forward.

“I kept telling you guys if we keep throwing the ball the way we are I feel good about where we are,” he said after Sunday’s 2-1 victory in Game 3. “I think William & Mary is a good offensive ball club and we pitched pretty well against them this weekend.”

Pitching Coach Andrew See and his staff value pitch efficiency and preach filling up the strike zone. Tiger pitchers certainly did so this past weekend on the way to Clemson’s first 3-0 start since the 2010 season.

Tiger pitching maximized efficiency against the Tribe by throwing strikes with virtually no free passes. Clemson pitchers combined to strike out 36 batters this past weekend, while only walking two batters.

“I feel like every guy did an unbelievable job, even the guys who got hit a little bit, we filled up the strike zone,” Lee said. “You can tell how good of a job we did at executing pitches and that’s a credit to Coach See and our staff,” he said.

The Tigers got solid production from its starters Jacob Hennessey, Brooks Crawford, and Jake Higginbotham. Each pitcher went four-plus innings without a walk, while combining for 13 hits allowed, 13 strikeouts and no walks.

Out of the pen Clemson got good production from freshmen Spencer Strider and Travis Marr, who came in for effective relief appearances. Sophomore Carson Spiers appeared Friday and Saturday for brief stints out of the pen throwing 2.1 innings with five strikeouts against two hits and earned the save in Saturdays 7-6 win.

A familiar face, junior Ryley Gilliam, closed out the final inning of Sundays finale with a pair of strikeouts and one hit. He also earned Friday’s dramatic come-from-behind win.

“We used a lot of arms,” Lee said. “We feel like we have more depth this year than years past in the bullpen and that allows us not to have to stretch our starting pitchers out and throw 80-100 pitches in a start.”

The Tiger pitching staff seems to have found its identity over the weekend but now it must transition to the midweek as Furman comes to Doug Kingsmore Stadium Tuesday for a 4 p.m. start.