CLEMSON — It appears that Clemson’s weekend rotation has a new member.

Since the beginning of ACC play, the third-ranked Tigers have struggled to get much consistency out of Saturday starter Ethan Darden. The left-hander has seen his ERA jump from 1.64 to 6.07 since the start of conference play.

With Darden also dealing with some soreness, Erik Bakich ran Drew Titsworth out there in game two against Louisville on Friday, and the sophomore was overly impressive in his first career start.

“I think he crossed the bridge,” Bakich said. “I think he made the jump. I think we would be crazy not to pencil him as a starter somewhere.”

Titsworth baffled Cardinals’ hitters for six scoreless innings. The 6-foot-3 pitcher allowed just three hits, struck out three and didn’t issue a walk, as he faced just three hitters over the minimum.

“He looked very comfortable in that role,” Bakich added. “He is a big, physical kid. It adds a lot of value to him as a pitcher, knowing he can start, but he can also relieve if needed.”

Before the weekend, Titsworth had already proven himself as one of the Tigers’ top relievers. He threw 4.1 innings of scoreless baseball with seven strikeouts against Gardner-Webb two weeks ago in a midweek win, and that was all the evidence Bakich needed to know the right-handed hurler was capable of moving into a starting role.

For the season, Titsworth has an ERA of 2.86 and he’s struck out 32 batters in 28.1 innings of work, while walking just seven. And after his performance last Friday, it’s a safe bet that he will have another opportunity to start this weekend when the Tigers head to Raleigh for a three-game set against NC State.

“That is a big, durable body with a special fastball,” Bakich said. “So yeah, we will look to have him stay in that starting role. He was pretty good there.”