WATCH: Erik Bakich and players discuss Clemson’s 7-0 shutout win over NC State
Clemson is coming off its worst week of the 2024 season.
The Tigers (29-6 overall) dropped three of their four contests this past week, including two of three to ACC rival NC State over the weekend. Even so, coach Erik Bakich’s team managed to salvage the final game of its series against the Wolfpack with a 7-0 shutout victory on Sunday.
Clemson was backed by eight scoreless innings of two-hit ball from freshman right-hander Aidan Knaak, who has slowly developed into the team’s most reliable starter. Knaak struck out 10 batters and threw 97 pitches against NC State to improve to 3-0 on the season.
Through nine starts, Knaak now has a 2.87 ERA with a strikeout to walk ratio that’s just over 4-to-1 (67 strikeouts to 15 walks in 53 1/3 innings). He was named ACC Pitcher of the Week by the conference on Monday, marking the second consecutive week Knaak has earned that honor.
Jarren Purify was also responsible for helping the Tigers end their three-game losing streak in Sunday’s win. The freshman from Detroit went 2-for-4 and had two run-scoring hits, including an RBI double as part of a five-run seventh inning that broke a scoreless tie and put Clemson ahead for good. Purify raised his average to .266 through 29 games.
Here’s Bakich, Knaak and Purify talking to reporters after Sunday’s victory.
