Clemson’s pitching stuff is a puzzle to build, but the Tigers have one thing above all in that room: an ace.

Freshman Aidan Knaak has turned in two impressive outings on the mound. His latest earned him ACC Co-Pitcher of the Week. The Florida native went seven innings, allowing three hits, one earned run and striking out five.

“Aidan Knaak in complete control for seven innings and just awesome,” Head coach Erik Bakich said.

While Knaak’s start was impressive yet again, it was followed by a collapse consisting of 10 runs allowed in the final three innings before escaping in extras. Bakich did note he “won’t apologize” for the messy losses and Knaak’s performance was the biggest takeaway.

This is becoming far too normal for the Tigers, the Florida State series being the biggest example. Clemson managed to get another sweep in this one, but it didn’t come without some heroics.

Bakich made it clear that there’s a lot to clean up, but Knaak makes it far easier. This dominant day came on the heels of a shut-out win he pitched against Miami.

Knaak went seven innings as well in that matchup, , this time scoreless, striking out aa career-high 10 batters. He allowed just two hits and one walk.

There’s plenty of time for Clemson to clean up its pitching. The No. 2 Tigers(28-3) have 21 games left on its schedule to find consistency in the bullpen. One thing is for certain.

Knaak is the type of starter a team needs to reach Omaha. Clemson just needs to build the pieces around him.