DURHAM, N.C. — Very few are more dependable than Clemson ace Aidan Knaak.

The sophomore right-hander has made 15 starts for the Tigers this season, with 12 of those being quality starts.

In Wednesday’s 6-1 win over Virginia Tech, in the second round of the ACC Tournament, Knaak went six strong, allowing just one run on four hits while striking out six. Getting a quality start from his ace meant Erik Bakich didn’t have to very deep into his bullpen.

“It certainly helps, especially with the approach that we are taking,” the head coach said. “Single elimination tournament, you are not saving anyone anyway. Anytime you have a tournament format and you have a starter that can give you six innings, that is obviously huge.”

Last week, Knaak threw 7.1 innings of no-hit baseball at Pitt, and he did it on one less day of rest than he is accustomed to getting. After that outing, which saw him throw 108 pitches, Knaak was right back out on the mound on Wednesday. This time on just five days’ rest.

However, early on, it appeared that having Knaak go on short rest wasn’t going to work out. Hokies’ leadoff hitter Ben Watson jumped all over a 2-2 changeup, depositing a solo home run deep into the right-field stands. After getting the next two hitters, Knaak issued his first and only. He battled back to strike out the next batter, getting out of the inning.

“Whenever you face any adversity, it is always good to just go flush it, just move on,” Knaak said. “You can’t really get stuck on what happened before. It is always about the next pitch. So, home run, flush it, worry about the next pitch, and keep going pitch by pitch. “

Knaak then allowed a one-out single in the second, and that is when he really started to settle in, retiring the next six hitters in a row, before a fielding error allowed a runner to reach. He allowed just two more singles the rest of the way, one in the fourth and one in the fifth.

Admittedly, it took Knaak a little longer than normal to get the changeup going, so he leaned on his fastball early on. The result was another stellar start, despite giving up a long ball to the very first hitter, and despite the short rest.

“Having one short day of rest, we have probably done that about four times this year, so you get used to it,” Knaak added. “But I thought I commanded the fastball early in the game, and then I started to get the changeup going the way I wanted it to move around the fourth and fifth inning. That definitely helped a lot.”

With the win, the Tigers move on to the quarterfinals against NC State. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m., and this Clemson team should be plenty motivated after being swept by the Wolfpack in Raleigh just a few short weeks ago.