There was one lone bright spot in No. 2 Clemson’s 14-4 run-rule loss at No. 25 NC State on Thursday.

Transfer pitcher Michael Gillen made his Clemson debut, coming out of the bullpen to start the seventh inning.

The hard-throwing righthander struck out the very first hitter he faced looking, before giving up a fluky ground ball double that went off the glove of Jarren Purify at second. Gillen did hit the next hitter, but retired the next two he faced to escape the jam.

Gillen finished the night pitching one inning, while allowing no runs, the one hit, and striking out one. It was the only scoreless inning by a Clemson pitcher all night. He needed just 14 pitches to get through the frame, 11 of which were strikes. That is a strike rate of 79%.

Before transferring to Clemson in the offseason, Gillen was a staple in the Seton Hall bullpen over his first two collegiate seasons. Known for his pinpoint command, he was mostly used as a setup man.

As a freshman with the Pirates, Gillen posted an ERA of 0.34, allowing just one earned run in 26.2 innings pitched (19 appearances). He struck out 27 and walked just five.

The following season, his workload increased, even though he made one fewer appearance. He threw 39 innings (18 appearances), posting an ERA of 2.31. He allowed just 10 earned runs, while striking out 43 and walking just 14.

Coming into the season, Gillen’s career ERA was 1.49 across 66.2 innings pitched. Even more impressive is his career WHIP, which was 1.12 coming into Thursday’s game.

All in all, it was a solid debut, even if it was a fairly quiet one, due to how the game played out. With Drew Titsworth having moved into the starting rotation, and it not currently known when Ethan Darden might return after dealing with some soreness, the Tigers will benefit from having another arm in that bullpen. Especially an arm the caliber of Gillen’s.

While Gillen will undoubtedly be worked back in slowly, even getting an inning of relief each weekend over the rest of the regular season could dramatically improve what is already a very good Clemson bullpen. And with a little luck, maybe he is fully settled in by the time the postseason rolls around.