Pitching hasn’t been a strong suit for Clemson baseball even in the midst of a 24-3 start.

The No. 2 Tigers made a big stride in those efforts during a series win over Miami on the road. Friday was the only blemish was Clemson fell 3-2 on a walk off but the first two on the mound were excellent.

Matthew Marchal and Lucas Mahlstedt both pithced 4.0 innings. The former allowed a single run and kept the game intact for the Tigers’ offense.

Over the entire weekend, Clemson allowed just four runs. Saturday was a 3-2 victory that featured four Tigers pitchers while Sunday was a dominant 7-0 shutout.

“For our pitching staff to come out this weekend and show what our potential looks like. This was a whole lot closer to our potential as a pitching staff so it was great to see the relentless attack on the strike zone all weekend long,” Bakich said.

The “exclamation point” was made by Aidan Knaak, pitching seven scoreless innings. The freshman allowed just two hits and had 10 strikeouts on the day, a career high for the young star.

Baseball is a lot easier when it comes with an early lead, and Clemson’s mix of slow starts and pitching struggles made the strong record that much more impressive. If the Tigers can ride this weekend momentum into the rest of the season, it raises this team’s potential far higher than it already is.