CLEMSON — Erik Bakich believes his pitching staff is about to get a little deeper.

Reliever Jacob McGovern, who has not pitched since the middle of March, is expected to be back soon.

“McGovern just had what we thought was some shoulder soreness,” Bakich said. “He has had stuff like that in the past. Just had a little bit of an impingement.”

As a freshman last season, McGovern became a key piece out of the Clemson bullpen down the stretch. The left-hander appeared in 11 games, posting a 1.86 ERA.

Things haven’t gone quite as smoothly in year two for McGovern. In seven appearances, including two starts, McGovern’s ERA is 8.49. However, now that it’s known he’s been dealing with some shoulder soreness, some of that can be explained. The left-hander is expected back at some point in the near future.

The same can be said for transfer Michael Gillen, who has yet to make his debut for Clemson this season. Gillen, who transferred in after starring for two seasons with Seton Hall, was also expected to be a key piece for the Tigers this season.

In his two years with the Pirates, Gillen made 37 relief appearances, posting an impressive ERA of 1.51. He struck out 70 hitters in 65.2 innings while only issuing 19 walks.

“(McGovern) threw in a simulated game, he and Gillen both threw in a simulated game, a couple of days ago, and both looked very good,” Bakich said. “Very promising that both McGovern and Gillen will be back to action here very soon.”

Like McGovern, freshman Brendon Bennett has not pitched since the middle of March. The lefty has been dealing with some inflammation while trying to come back from an elbow injury..

Bennett made his debut in a midweek start against Winthrop two weeks into the season. He went on to make three more midweek starts, posting an ERA of 4.05 in 6.2 innings.

However, unlike McGovern and Gillen, it sounds like Bennett might be further away from a return to the mound.

“Brendon was rehabbing anyways,” Bakich said. “I think part of a guy who is rehabbing an elbow, you get some inflammation at times. He is just dealing with that. I don’t know when he will be back. We are going to be on the conservative side with that one.”