Despite falling victim to its third ACC series loss this weekend to No. 2 Wake Forest, Clemson came away with a few bright spots including senior righthander Nick Clayton. Clayton, a righthanded pitcher out of York, S.C. came in clutch with a big performance when the Tigers needed it most in game two on Friday.

After entering Friday’s game in the second with bases loaded and one out, the Palmetto State native dealt two straight strikeouts to get out of the jam and set the tone for what would be a career-tying outing for Clayton.

“It’s what you come to Clemson for honestly,” Clayton said. “A big part of what the recruiting process was and just knowing that you can get in those big moments like that. I thought we pitched well, I thought we played well today, but we’ve got to find a way.”

The 6-foot-4, 215-pound righthander went on to pitch a career-high tying 4.2 total innings, only allowing one run off five hits, one walk, and a career-high tying eight strikeouts while keeping Wake Forest within reach in the process.

“It was awesome,” head coach Erik Bakich said regarding Clayton’s performance. “His role, that’s a perfect example of a pitcher that could pitch in literally any role. He can be a starter, he can be a long reliever, he can be a short reliever, he can be a high leverage reliever and he can be a closer. There’s nothing that he can’t do, and he’s been in all of those situations this year so far. He’s got incredible metrics and movement on his fastball… He’s very good, so he’s super valuable moving forward, and we’ll utilize him as best we can, but he’s been awesome.”

No matter where Bakich and his pitching staff choose to put Clayton in the rotation, the redshirt junior continues to thrive in what his head coach described as a very “valuable” role for Clemson moving forward.

“You just got to get ahead,” Clayton said about his mindset. “We’re a really good staff whenever we get ahead and just get ahead, stay ahead and finish guys when you get two strikes.”

Before hitting the road for a four-game road stint next weekend, the Tigers are set to face Coastal Carolina in a midweek matchup at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on Tuesday, April 4. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. on ACCNX.

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