CLEMSON — After taking a pitch off his face during Clemson’s west coast swing over the weekend, Tryston McCladdie got an extended stay in California.

While the rest of his teammates headed back to the Upstate after Monday’s win over Santa Clara, McCladdie had to stay behind due to the facial fractures suffered when he was hit with the ball. In fact, he wasn’t even back in time for the Tigers’ series-opening win over North Carolina on Friday night, although head coach Erik Bakich was expecting McCladdie to arrive back in town sometime on Friday, meaning he could possibly be back with the team for game two against the Tar Heels.

“He could not fly home,” Bakich said after the game one win over North Carolina. “He had to wait, because of the pressure in the sinus area. He is rejoining the team, and we will start the doctor protocol.”

At the same time, rejoining the team does not mean he will be back in the lineup that quickly. That is going to take some time. While Bakich is hoping McCladdie might be back in a couple of weeks, he knows it could be longer.

“Hopefully it is not too long,” Bakich added. “Might be a couple of weeks, a few weeks, I don’t know. The bones got to heal, too, but I think we can hopefully protect it, and get him back out there.”

McCladdie has been one of the most consistent hitters in the lineup, sporting an average of .339 with eight home runs and 35 RBI. His eight long balls are the third-most on the team. McCladdie was also 13-of-14 on stolen base attempts prior to the injury.

Whenever it is that he’s back on the field, expect McCladdie to be wearing extra protection, possibly something similar to what Jacob Jarrell wore at the plate after taking a pitch off his face two seasons ago.

“We have all been a part of facial fractures before,” Bakich added. “Certainly not fun but there are a lot of different ways to protect the face. As you can imagine, he will be wearing some contraption when he does get back out there.”