Tag: Aidan Knaak

No. 4 Clemson Tops Panthers 9-2 In Second Game of Doubleheader To Win Series

Aidan Knaak pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings and Jimmy Obertop tied a school record with three home runs in No. 4 Clemson’s 9-2 victory over Pittsburgh in the second game of a doubleheader at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on Saturday.

CLEMSON, S.C. – Freshman righthander Aidan Knaak pitched 5.2 scoreless innings and Jimmy Obertop tied a school record with three home runs in No. 4 Clemson’s 9-2 victory over Pittsburgh in the second game of a doubleheader at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on Saturday. The Tigers, who won the series 2-1, improved to 32-7 overall and 13-5 in the ACC. The Panthers fell to 16-21 overall and 5-16 in ACC play.

Knaak (4-0) earned the win by pitching 5.2 scoreless innings, allowing four hits and two walks with eight strikeouts. He did not allow a baserunner to advance past second base. Pittsburgh starter Ryan Reed (0-5) suffered the loss, as he surrendered eight hits, five runs (three earned) and one walk with three strikeouts in 4.0 innings pitched.

Obertop belted a two-run homer in the first inning and Jacob Hinderleider grounded a two-out, run-scoring double in the third inning. Obertop hit another two-run homer, his second of the game, in the fifth inning. Two batters later, Hinderleider belted a solo homer, his eighth of the year. Jarren Purify’s sacrifice fly in the sixth inning added a run.

The Panthers dented the scoreboard for the first time in the top of the eighth inning, as two baserunners scored on wild pitches. Blake Wright responded with a solo homer, his 16th of the year, in the bottom of the eighth inning. Obertop followed with a solo homer, his third of the game and 14th of the season.

Obertop became the 18th Tiger in history and third this season (Will Taylor, Blake Wright) to hit three long balls in a game.

The Tigers travel to Athens, Ga. to take on Georgia on Tuesday at 7 p.m. on ESPNU.

–via Clemson Athletic Communications

Series Preview and Where to Watch/Stream/Listen: No. 6 Clemson vs. Pitt

Clemson Tigers Baseball: A full series preview of Clemson vs. the Pittsburgh Panthers in this weekend’s key ACC series at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

After a rough weekend in ACC play that saw Clemson drop its first conference series of the season, the Tigers are hoping to rebound when Pitt visits Doug Kingsmore Stadium for a weekend series beginning Friday.

Clemson (30-6 overall, 11-4 conference) fell four spots after a three-game losing streak last week and are ranked No. 6 in the latest USA TODAY Sports baseball coaches poll. D1Baseball currently projects the Tigers as a No. 3 national seed in the Field of 64 for the 2024 NCAA Division 1 Baseball Tournament.

Securing a top eight national seed would ensure Doug Kingsmore Stadium of hosting a Super Regional, if the Tigers advance past the four-team, double-elimination Clemson Regional to begin the tournament.

First things first, the Tigers will face a struggling Pitt (15-19, 4-14) team that has yet to win a conference series this season. The Panthers dropped two of three to No. 8 Duke last weekend.

Clemson dropped two games to NC State before rallying for a 7-0 shutout victory behind eight innings of two-hit ball from freshman sensation Aidan Knaak. For the second week in a row, Knaak earned ACC Pitcher of the Week honors for his 10-strikeout performance against the Wolfpack.

As a team, Clemson is batting .281 with an OPS of .892. Tigers pitchers have a staff ERA of 3.93, good for second best in the ACC.

Friday’s series opener will mark the return of left-handed starter Tristan Smith, who missed the past month with an ankle injury. Smith hasn’t pitched since March 16 in the Tigers’ ACC opener at Duke. He is 2-0 with a 2.55 ERA in five starts. Smith has 36 strikeouts to 11 walks this season and has limited opponents to a .179 average.

Since Smith’s injury, Ethan Darden (5-1, 3.19 ERA) has been Clemson’s Saturday starter. Darden will make his fifth mid-series start after pitching a complete-game loss last weekend vs. NC State. Darden lowered his ERA to 3.19 after holding the Wolfpack to one earned run and seven hits in nine innings. He struck out five batters without allowing a walk.

Knaak (3-0, 2.87 ERA) is scheduled to make his 10th start this weekend. The right-hander has 67 strikeouts on the season to just 15 walks in 53 1/3 innings — the most innings thrown by anyone on the Tigers’ staff.

Pitt will counter with right-hander Ryan Andrade (0-3, 9.96) in Friday’s opener and Jack Sokol (3-2, 5.63) as part of a doubleheader Saturday. Ryan Reed (0-4, 7.34) is also scheduled to start Saturday.

Pitt is batting .287 as a team with an OPS of 8.60. Luke Cantwell has started all 34 games for the Panthers and leads the club in hitting with a .330 average. Pitt’s 6.20 ERA as a pitching staff ranks fourth to last in the ACC.

CIUFO OUT FOR SEASON

Clemson coach Erik Bakich confirmed earlier this week that shortstop Andrew Ciufo would miss the remainder of the season with a torn ACL. The injury occurred on April 6 in the Tigers’ victory at Notre Dame. Bakich’s club has some depth at middle infield with a few options to step in for Ciufo.

One of those is senior Jacob Hinderleider, who has spent most of the season at first base. The Davidson transfer has started all six games at shortstop since the injury to Ciufo. Hinderleider is tied with second baseman Blake Wright for the team lead in batting average (.320). The Tigers also have options in infielders Cooper Blauser and Jack Crighton.

HONORING DOUG KINGSMORE

Prior to Saturday’s games, Clemson will celebrate the life of the late Doug Kingsmore, who passed away in December at the age of 90. Kingsmore was a co-captain on the university’s first ACC championship team in any sport when the Tigers won the 1954 ACC baseball title. The Tigers’ home ballpark was renamed to honor Kingsmore in 2003.

SERIES HISTORY

Clemson leads the all-time head to head series with Pitt, 7-4. The two teams first began play in 2014 after the Panthers joined the ACC.

Where to Watch/Stream/Listen

Here’s a look at when, where, and how Clemsons fans can watch, stream, and listen to this weekend’s series at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

Start Times (ET)

Friday, 6 p.m.

Saturday (Game 1), 1 p.m.

Saturday (Game 2), approximately 45 minutes after conclusion of Game 1

Broadcast Info

Live Video Stream: ACC Network Extra, ESPN+

Radio: Clemson Athletic Network | TuneIn App

Broadcast Teams

Video: Pete Yanity, Ron Smith, Tim Bourret

Radio: Don Munson, Bob Mahony

WATCH: Erik Bakich and players discuss Clemson’s 7-0 shutout win over NC State

Clemson Baseball: Watch Tigers head coach Erik Bakich and freshmen Aidan Knaak and Jarren Purify talk about the team’s 7-0 victory over NC State on Sunday at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

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.

Clemson freshman Aidan Knaak named ACC Pitcher of the Week for second straight week

Clemson Baseball: Freshman right-hander Aidan Knaak took home ACC Pitcher of the Week honors, the league announced Monday. It’s the second week in a row that Knaak has earned the honor.

CLEMSON, S.C. – Freshman righthander Aidan Knaak (Fort Myers, Fla.) was named ACC Pitcher-of-the-Week, announced Monday by the league office. He joined Wake Forest’s Nick Kurtz, who was named ACC Player-of-the-Week, in receiving conference accolades. ACC baseball weekly honors are determined by a vote of a select media panel and are announced on Mondays throughout the regular season.

It marked the second week in a row Knaak earned ACC weekly honors. He became the first Tiger pitcher to earn ACC weekly honors twice in one year since 2016 (Pat Krall) and the first Tiger pitcher to earn ACC weekly honors in back-to-back weeks since 2005 (Josh Cribb).

Knaak pitched another masterpiece in Clemson’s 7-0 win over NC State on Sunday. In 8.0 innings pitched, he allowed just two hits (both infield singles), no runs and one walk with 10 strikeouts to earn the win. Knaak, who threw 97 pitches (71 strikes), faced just two batters over the minimum.

It was the longest outing of his career and tied his career high for strikeouts. He retired the first 14 batters of the game before surrendering an infield single in the fifth inning. He also did not allow a baserunner past second base and allowed only one past first base.

On the season, he is 3-0 with a 2.87 ERA, .201 opponents’ batting average and 67 strikeouts against 15 walks in 53.1 innings pitched over nine starts.

–via Clemson Athletic Communications

Clemson freshman named ACC Co-Pitcher of the Week

Clemson Baseball: Clemson Tigers freshman right-hander Aidan Knaak was named Co-Pitcher of the Week by the ACC on Monday.

CLEMSON, S.C. – Freshman righthander Aidan Knaak (Fort Myers, Fla.) was named ACC Co-Pitcher-of-the-Week, announced Monday by the league office. He joined Louisville’s Sebastian Gongora, who was named ACC Co-Pitcher-of-the-Week, and Wake Forest’s Nick Kurtz, who was named ACC Player-of-the-Week, in receiving conference accolades. ACC baseball weekly honors are determined by a vote of a select media panel and are announced on Mondays throughout the regular season.Knaak became the first Tiger freshman to earn ACC Pitcher-of-the-Week honors since 2016 (Alex Eubanks) and the first Tiger first-year freshman since 2013 (Matthew Crownover).

Knaak took a no-hitter into the seventh inning at Notre Dame on Sunday. He retired the side in order in five of his first six innings and did not allow a hit until he gave up an infield single in the seventh inning.

In 7.0 innings pitched, he allowed just three hits, one earned run and no walks with nine strikeouts in Clemson’s victory. He tied his career high for innings pitched, throwing just 81 pitches (64 strikes).

On the season, he is 2-0 with a 3.38 ERA, .218 opponents’ batting average and 57 strikeouts against 14 walks in 45.1 innings pitched over eight starts.

–via Clemson Athletic Communications

Series preview and where to watch/stream/listen: No. 2 Clemson vs. Notre Dame

Clemson Baseball: Here’s a look at where Clemson Tigers fans can watch, stream, and listen to this weekend’s NCAA baseball series against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

No. 2 Clemson heads to South Bend for its next showdown in conference play when the Tigers take on Notre Dame.

The Tigers (25-3 overall, 7-2 ACC), ranked second in every major poll this week, defeated USC Upstate, 11-1, in seven innings on Tuesday and have won every conference series they’ve played thus far. Coach Erik Bakich’s team rallied after a series-opening walk-off loss at Miami last weekend to take two of three games against the Hurricanes.

Matthew Marchal will start Friday’s opener at Notre Dame with Ethan Darden scheduled for Saturday. Aidan Knaak is set to pitch Sunday. Knaak had his best performance as a Tiger in last Saturday’s start at Miami. The freshman right-hander tossed seven scoreless innings and struck out 10 batters while allowing just two hits.

Clemson’s pitching staff has compiled a 3.49 ERA and is limiting opponents to a .231 average this season.

With the bats, the Tigers are hitting .294 as a unit with an OPS of .924. They’re averaging 8.4 runs per game. Blake Wright leads the offense in home runs (13) and RBIs (42) and is hitting .331.

Notre Dame (14-12) will start right-handers Matt Bedford (Friday), Jack Radel (Saturday), and Rory Fox (Sunday) in this weekend’s series. The Fighting Irish are just 2-10 in conference play and were swept last weekend at NC State.

Saturday’s game will mark a rare national television appearance for the Tigers; that game will be broadcast by ESPN2.

Series History

Clemson leads the all-time head to head series with Notre Dame, 15-14. The two programs first met in 1994. The Tigers took two of three from the Irish in last year’s three-game series at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.

Where to Watch/Stream/Listen

Here’s s a look at where Clemson fans can watch, stream, and listen to this weekend’s series at Frank Eck Stadium.

Start Times (ET)

Friday, 4:30 p.m.

Saturday, 5:30 p.m.

Sunday: 1 p.m.

Broadcast Info

TV: ESPN2 (Saturday only)

Live Video Stream: ESPN+

Radio: Clemson Athletic Network | ClemsonTigers.com

Broadcast Teams

ACC Network Extra (Friday and Sunday): Jacob Irons, Andrew McGuiness, Cesar Sanchez

ESPN2 (Saturday): Mike Ferrin, Gaby Hernandez

Clemson up to No. 2 in D1Baseball Top 25 rankings

NCAA Baseball: Clemson Baseball moved up one spot to No. 2 in D1Baseball’s Top 25 rankings, released Monday, April 1. The Clemson Tigers remained No. 2 in Baseball America’s Top 25.

Another solid week that included a hard-fought series win at Miami saw the Clemson Tigers move up one spot to No. 2 in the new Top 25 rankings for D1Baseball.

The Tigers (24-3 overall, 7-2 conference) also remained No. 2 in Baseball America’s Top 25 rankings.

Clemson suffered a walk-off loss to Miami in the series opener Thursday night at Mark Light Field but rebounded with a 3-2 win Friday and a 7-0 shutout victory on Saturday behind freshman Aidan Knaak, who pitched his best game of the season.

Knaak (2-0) fired seven shutout innings against the Hurricanes, allowing just two hits. He struck out 10 batters and walked only one to earn his second win of the season.

Arkansas (23-3, 8-1) remained at No. 1 in both rankings after sweeping LSU in Fayetteville over the weekend. The reigning national champion Tigers (20-9, 2-7) fell to No. 18 in D1Baseball’s Top 25 and all the way to No. 25 in Baseball America’s rankings.

Texas A&M (25-3) moved to No. 3 in both rankings after a 4-0 week. Tennessee (24-5) moved to No. 4 in D1Baseball’s rankings and to No. 5 in Baseball America’s rankings. Florida (16-11) took the No. 4 spot in Baseball America’s rankings.

Clemson will face SC Upstate in Greenville in non-conference play Tuesday. Next up for the Tigers in conference action is a trip to South Bend for a three-game series against Notre Dame beginning Friday.

Clemson baseball defeats Miami for latest ACC series win

NCAA Baseball: No. 2 Clemson picked up a 7-0 shutout victory over the Miami Hurricanes at Mark Light Field Saturday. The Tigers won two of three in the series to improve to 24-3 overall and 7-2 in the ACC.

CORAL GABLES, FLA. – Freshman righthander Aidan Knaak pitched 7.0 scoreless innings of two-hit ball with 10 strikeouts to lead No. 2 Clemson to a 7-0 victory over Miami (Fla.) at Mark Light Field on Saturday afternoon. The Tigers, who won the series 2-1, improved to 24-3 overall and 7-2 in the ACC. The Hurricanes dropped to 15-12 overall and 6-6 in ACC play.

It marked Clemson’s first series win over the Hurricanes since 2012 and first at Miami since 2006. It was also the Tigers’ 14th regular-season weekend series win in a row dating to 2023. That includes 10 straight in ACC regular-season play.

Knaak (2-0), a native of Fort Myers, Fla., earned the win by setting career highs for innings pitched and strikeouts while walking just one batter. He only allowed one baserunner past first base and none past second base. Reed Garris and Rocco Reid pitched the final two innings to close out the shutout, Clemson’s first since 2022. Miami starter Herick Hernandez (2-3) suffered the loss, as he yielded seven hits, seven runs (five earned) and three walks with five strikeouts in 5.1 innings pitched.

In the first inning, Jacob Hinderleider’s infield single and error on the play plated three runs, then Hinderleider blooped a two-out, run-scoring single in the third inning. Cam Cannarella laced a three-run double in the sixth inning to give Clemson a 7-0 lead.

The Tigers travel to Fluor Field in Greenville, S.C. to take on USC Upstate on Tuesday at 6 p.m. on ESPN+. Clemson is the designated visiting team and occupies the third-base dugout.

–via Clemson Athletic Department

Talented Florida prospect talks Clemson commitment with TCI

Clemson received a verbal commitment from a talented pitcher in the Class of 2023 earlier this week. Aidan Knaak, who hails from Bishop Verot Catholic High School in Fort Myers (Fla.) is a right-handed batter and thrower, who has plus stuff on the …

Clemson received a verbal commitment from a talented pitcher in the Class of 2023 earlier this week.

Aidan Knaak, who hails from Bishop Verot Catholic High School in Fort Myers (Fla.) is a right-handed batter and thrower, who has plus stuff on the mound and can pound the zone with several effective pitches.

The right-handed pitcher caught up with The Clemson Insider regarding his decision to commit to Clemson.

“I was looking for a Power 5 school. I was looking for the academics, they had really good academics and I wanted to study Business and Data Science Statistics,” Knaak told TCI. “Overall, the campus is just a perfect college town and I basically like everything about it.”

Knaak was recently on Clemson’s campus for one of Monte Lee’s camps. He pitched there and the Tigers’ coaching staff really liked what they saw from Knaak. So, they made an offer.

After talking it over with his family, Knaak knew he wanted to be a Tiger. He verbally committed to Clemson on Aug. 3, choosing the Tigers over programs like Georgia Tech and West Virginia.

“I really like the coaches and how they set up the scrimmages,” Knaak said. “I really liked the pitching coach, Andrew See. I like what he had to say and the head coach.”

Knaak was intrigued by Clemson before they even knew about him. So, he contacted his travel ball coaches and from there, they contacted Clemson. 

That ensured that the talented Florida right-hander would be on Lee and his staff’s radar while Knaak was camping there.

The rest is history.

Knaak’s relationship with Clemson’s staff is still pretty new, but he likes Lee because he cares not just about what his players are accomplishing on the diamond, but also in the classroom.

He again touted See, who is very analytically driven. That definitely piqued Knaak’s interest and was a part of what he was looking for in a college baseball program.

As far as his pitching repertoire is concerned, Knaak has five working pitches in his arsenal — fastball, curveball, changeup, slider and his splitter, a pitch he’s still mastering.

“They really liked my location and, of course, my fastball,” he said.

While Knaak already has four solid pitches, you may be asking yourself, why the splitter?

It came about while the Florida pitcher was playing catch.

“I always like to play around with different pitch grips when I’m playing catch and just see what my feel is,” he said. “When I’m playing catch, that pitch is breaking a lot. My catching partner would always say: ‘that’s a really good pitch,’ so I just started working on it and just kept making that pitch better and better, trying to see what I can do with that. That would be a very good pitch to add to my arsenal.”

He’d certainly like to master that pitch before he officially enrolls in Tiger Town.

Looking into the future, Knaak’s goal is to earn a future spot in Clemson’s rotation, but right now he’s focused on helping lead his team to a State Championship. 

“I want to be able to master all my offspeed [pitches] and be able to throw it wherever I want in the strike zone,” he said. “Obviously you have days where you can do that, but being able to do it more often is basically the goal.”

While he’s his own pitcher, Knaak also happens to be a big Los Angeles Dodgers fan. It’s only rather fitting that he enjoys watching both Clayton Kershaw and Walker Buehler, who he described as his “two idols.”

Time to get the latest Clemson apparel to show your Tiger pride. Order your officially licensed Clemson gear right here!

Clemson adds new 2023 commit

Clemson has picked up a new commitment from a prospect in the Class of 2023. Aidan Knaak, a right-handed pitcher from Fort Myers, Fla., announced his commitment to the Tigers’ baseball program via social media on Tuesday night. I am excited to …

Clemson has picked up a new commitment from a prospect in the Class of 2023.

Aidan Knaak, a right-handed pitcher from Fort Myers, Fla., announced his commitment to the Tigers’ baseball program via social media on Tuesday night.

I am excited to announce that I am going to be continuing my academic and baseball career at @clemsonuniversity!” Knaak wrote in a Twitter post. “I want to thank God, my family, friends and coaches for your support and helping me along this journey.”

Knaak, a 5-foot-11, 180-pound right-handed batter and thrower, attends Bishop Vero Catholic High School in Fort Myers, Fla.

Time to get the latest Clemson apparel to show your Tiger pride. Order your officially licensed Clemson gear right here!