Clemson baseball coach Monte Lee says he will go with sophomore Charlie Barnes on the mound when the Tigers open the baseball season this Friday at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

“Nobody likes facing a left-hander, typically,” Clemson’s new baseball coach said on Tuesday. “Barnes is one of those guys that has a lot of pitch ability. We know he is going to go out there and pound strikes and compete as hard as he can. He is one of those guys that gives us a great chance to get a quality start in Game 1.”

Barnes had an exceptional fall and spring, according to Lee, and has earned the right to open the season against Maine.

“I have been coming here since I was a little kid. I grew up a Clemson fan so it is going to be surreal and exciting getting the chance to pitch on opening day, and hopefully I can get the W for the team.”

Though it will be Barnes’ first Friday start, it will not be the first start of his career. The sophomore started two games on the mound last season and had 12 appearances overall. He was 1-2 and had a 3.38 ERA last year.

“I think Barnes is a tremendous competitor,” Lee said.

Clate Schmidt, who is coming back after surviving his bout with non-Hodgkin lymphoma back in the off-season, will get the start on Saturday. Lee likes the senior in the Saturday role because he changes things up in his lefty-righty-lefty rotation.

Freshman lefty Jake Higginbotham will get the start on Sunday for the Tigers.

“We could have went either way,” Lee said. “We could have went with Clate in Game 1 and Charlie in Game 2. I don’t think it would have been that big of a difference. We wanted to try and split the lineup up a little bit and go lefty and then righty.

“Then we are going to go with Jake Higginbotham on Sunday. Higgie is a very talented freshman and we feel like for him to be where we want him to be, we have to throw him in the fire and start him. I think that really sets up our bullpen well and gives multiple options, left-handed and right-handed out of the pen. I think that can be a strength of ours early is our bullpen as these starters continue to develop.”

Schmidt has started 25 games in his Clemson career, including six last year. He had 18 appearances overall in 2015 and posted a 2-3 record. His ERA was 4.67.

Lee confirmed Alex Bostic will be his closer. The lefty had 11 strikeouts in 15 appearances last year in a relief pitcher’s role. He has a 5.25 ERA.

“We want power stuff at the end of the game and Bostic is a guy that throws 93 and 94 miles per hour. He is left-handed, he has a plus-breaking ball and he is an experienced guy,” Lee said. “We feel very good about going with Bostic at the end.”