CLEMSON – Spending a month out due to injury tends to become caution when a player makes his a return, but that’s not the case for Clemson’s catcher.

Jacob Jarrell suffered a facial injury against Presbyterian Feb. 20 that caused him to be admitted to the hospital. He took a fastball to the face and now he’s back in the lineup and diving around for the Tigers.

The only precaution Jarrell took was a face mask when hitting, but that didn’t stop him from making a face first dives behinds the plate for foul balls. It’s representative of who the sophomore captain is and head coach Erik Bakich had high praise after the 13-3 victory.

“He’s one of our captains, one of our leaders. One of the hardest workers in all of the history of sports. The guy is relentless with his work ethic so just having his presence in the lineup is a big deal,” Bakich said.

A month off didn’t lead to any rust at the plate as Jarrell added an RBI single. With a crucial week series approaching against Florida State, Jarrell’s return is key.

Bakich noted that he and Jimmy Obertop share the catcher duties and being able to have both available keeps fresh legs throughout the season. Jarrell’s teammates may appreciate his return the most and his work ethic is second to none.

“It’s incredible to have JJ back in there. JJ is one of the leaders on this team. The hardest worker I’ve ever seen in my life. The dude works his butt off and it’s awesome to see him back in there after having such a crazy injury,” Infielder Blake Wright said.

Crazy it was, but you wouldn’t know watching Jarrell in his first game back and Clemson got him back right on time. The Tigers are back in action Wednesday against Presbyterian before gearing up for three-game series against the Seminoles starting Friday.