CLEMSON — Dylan Harrison’s debut at Clemson was one to remember.
After Aidan Knaak labored through three innings, Erik Bakich turned to the freshman right-hander out of the bullpen with the Tigers trailing 1-0.
Over the next 4.1 innings, Harrison was mostly masterful, pounding the strike zone and limiting Army to just one run, while striking out three.
The freshman did exactly what was asked of him, holding the opponent down while giving his team a shot at a comeback win. Clemson would do just that, plating two runs in the seventh and one more in the eighth to pull out a 3-2 victory.
“Typically, with freshmen, one run game on Opening Day is not the recipe,” Bakich said. “Dylan, all fall and all preseason, he throws a ton of strikes. And we saw it today. He threw like 62 pitches and 50 of them were strikes. He can really command the fastball. That is why he was in there.”
Outside of allowing a solo home run in the seventh, Harrison held the Black Knights in check, and going as long as he did allowed the Tigers to save some arms ahead of a doubleheader on Saturday.
When Bakich came out of the dugout to get him with one out in the top of the eighth and the game tied at 2-2, Harrison strolled back to the dugout with a prideful smile, soaking up every last moment from his first outing.
“I pride myself on being the happiest guy on the team,” Harrison said. “Everyone in the locker room knows I am always walking around with a smile. I pride myself on being that upbringer for the team. Always providing the happiness and the energy in the dugout.”
While Harrison is generally all smiles off the field, something changes once he gets on the mound. He’s laser-focused on one thing. Pounding the strike zone. If his debut is any indication, the freshman is on his way to becoming a staple in the Tigers’ bullpen.
“He’s always been an even-keeled kid, and he doesn’t seem to get too emotional,” Bakich added. “For all of those reasons, it was a good matchup. It is one thing to think that, it is another thing to go out and execute it, and he did a great job.”
Photo by Bart Boatwright