Aidan Knaak’s junior campaign has not gone as expected.

Coming into Friday’s game against Stanford, the Clemson ace had yet to record a win. His three losses were more than he’d had in his first two seasons combined.

However, Knaak had not been as bad as some would suggest. Sure, he had a bad inning against South Carolina in Columbia, and Georgia Tech knocked him around to open ACC play, but outside of that, the right-hander has given the Tigers a chance. And let’s not pretend Georgia Tech hasn’t had their way with a lot of pitchers this season.

The biggest issue for Knaak has been a lack of run support. The Tigers were shut out in his start against South Carolina, when he allowed four earned runs. After the bad outing against the Yellow Jackets, Knaak only allowed one unearned run in another shutout loss to Notre Dame. A week ago, he gave up three earned runs to Miami, and when he left the game, Clemson was trailing 3-0. Another week, another game in which the team scored no runs while he was in the game.

Against Stanford on Friday, that finally changed. The Tigers plated a run in the second and two more in the fifth, allowing Knaak to pitch with a lead for the first time since a 9-3 victory over Bryant way back on February 20.

The Tigers went on to snag a 9-3 victory over the Cardinal, the team’s first series-opening win in ACC play.

“Got him some run support early, which was new for a change. Much needed,” head coach Erik Bakich said after the win. “Allowed him to pitch with a lead.”

And Knaak was certainly grateful for the offensive output.

“Felt great, pitched in front of my family,” Knaak said. “Most importantly, glad to have a good team that can hit. Got the offense going, had a great day offensively. Could not have done without them.”

Knaak pitched into the sixth inning, earning his first victory of the season. He allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits while striking out seven, and he issued just one walk.

Reliever Hayden Simmerson relieved Knaak in the sixth, holding Stanford scoreless over the final four innings. He retired 12 of the 13 hitters he faced, and more importantly, his outing allowed the Tigers not to go any deeper into the bullpen. Seeing as the team is in the midst of a stretch that will see them play five games in six days, that could prove to be extremely beneficial for a team still looking for its first series win in league play.

“One of the biggest storylines was Simmerson saving the bullpen, going four,” Bakich said. “We will take it. Still got a lot of work to do, but a great way to start the weekend. Will need to play well tomorrow with a chance to take the series.”

Clemson will look to clinch the series on Saturday. Game two against Stanford is scheduled for 5:05 p.m. and will be streamed on the ACC Network.