CLEMSON — With fall ball in full swing, the ping of the aluminum bat is quite frequently heard ringing through the air over by Doug Kingsmore Stadium these days.

The Clemson Insider was on hand for all three fall baseball scrimmages this weekend and wanted to provide some intel on what we saw.

The Tigers scrimmaged for six innings on Friday, five on Saturday and then 6.5 on Sunday. Pitchers generally throw two innings each in these scrimmages, but on occasion, you’ll see a guy go just one.

Tennessee transfer pitcher Michael Sharman got the start for one of the teams on Friday, while sophomore Talan Bell got the nod for the other squad, so it was a lefty vs. lefty affair. Sharman got tagged pretty good in the first and ended up allowing six runs on seven hits through his two innings of work. However, one source said Sharman has been really good since the start of fall, and this was his first bad outing.

Bell looks more confident now that he’s got a year under his belt. He allowed two runs (one earned) on one hit, but he did walk two batters.

Alabama transfer pitcher Ariston Veasey was probably the most impressive hurler on Friday. He throws hard, topping out in the mid-90s. He has really good stuff, including what was termed as a “spike changeup” that had a spin rate in the 960 range. He struck out four in two innings.

Drew Titsworth was one of the starters on Saturday, going just one inning. He needed just nine pitches to get through the frame and struck out a hitter.

Catawba transfer pitcher Hayden Simmerson was up and down, allowing five runs (one unearned). He does have pretty good stuff, though. He struck out five in his two innings. His issue on Saturday was walking guys. He issued two free passes and also hit a batter.

Brendon Bennett threw one inning and looked really sharp. His velo is up. He was in the 93-94 mph range.

On Sunday, we got to see a lot of the freshman arms. One source said this is the most polished group of freshman pitchers he’s seen at Clemson in several years, and from what was seen on Sunday he might be on to something. Most of those guys look ready, with at least two throwing in the mid 90s.

The most impressive of the bunch was right-hander Danny Nelson. He retired all six hitters he faced, striking out two. He was routinely touching 95 on the gun.

Righty Eston Simpson was another one in the 94-95 mph range. He had three strikeouts, but also allowed four hits. Three of those were weakly hit ground balls that just found a hole.

Freshman lefty Dan Margolies has really good stuff. He throws in the 91-92 mph range. He had one shaky inning and one really good inning. He struck out five hitters.

Ace Aidan Knaak did not throw this weekend. He isn’t throwing in scrimmages this fall, just throwing bullpens. Jacob McGovern also did not throw. Freshman Nick Frusco also did not pitch this weekend.

At the plate, transfer Nate Savoie was the star of the weekend. He hit two mammoth home runs, with one clearing the scoreboard out in left-center. He was playing catcher and left field. Both homers measured 424 feet. He looks to be a really good addition and will add some much-needed pop in the lineup.

Georgia transfer Bryce Clavon and senior Jack Crighton are battling it out in center. Both were really good defensively, but both have my sympathy in having to try and fill Cam Cannarella’s shoes out there. Clavon threw out a runner at home on Friday and Crighton made a nice diving stab on Sunday. Clavon went deep on Saturday, a two-run shot.

Sophomore Josh Castellani is battling for the spot at third. Tryston McCladdie and freshman Jason Fultz are also seeing action at the hot spot. Castellani hit a monster homer on Friday that went over the batter’s eye in center.

Freshman Peyton Miller, a two-way player, also went deep on Friday. He pitched one inning on Sunday, striking out two.

Transfer Ty Dalley also had a pretty solid weekend, registering at least one hit in each game. He had a double on Friday, a double and a triple on Saturday and an RBI single on Sunday. He’s been playing in right field.

Jarren Purify hit a double and a two-run home run on Sunday.

Luke Gaffney and Collin Priest are battling it out at first base.

Transfer Tyler Lichtenberger is really smooth at shortstop.

And finally, it was a tough weekend for the catchers. Jake Jarrell, Steele Burd and Savoie each had mishaps behind the plate.

Photo of pitcher Michael Sharman