Clemson Tigers Superstar Earns ACC Award After Career-High Performance

Clemson Tigers sophomore pitcher Aidan Knaak was named the ACC pitcher of the week for his efforts last week in Friday’s victory over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Knaak’s honor comes after an incredible start for Clemson (19-2, 2-1 in ACC). The Tigers, at one point, won 17 games in a row, the fourth-most in program history. Clemson moved to No. 7 in the D1Baseball.com Top 25 rankings released on Monday.

Against Notre Dame on Friday, Knaak threw seven shutout innings and allowed just one hit as the Tigers beat the Fighting Irish, 2-1. In that effort, he set a career high with 12 strikeouts. He threw 71 strikes on 96 pitches and gave up just two baserunners. At one point, he retired 13 straight hitters and retired the side in order in six out of his seven innings.

Going into this week’s action, Knaak — who is Clemson’s Friday starter — 3-0 with a 3.86 ERA. Batters are hitting .181 against him in five starts, with 44 strikeouts and nine walks in 25.2 innings.

In his second year in college, he has now earned three ACC pitcher of the week selections, as he won the award twice last season as a freshman. Per Clemsonsports.com, he is now the seventh Tigers pitcher to claim the award at least three times in his career, led by the six claimed by Kris Benson.

The others all won the award three times — Josh Cribb, Matthew Crownover, Alex Eubanks, Daniel Gossett and Ryan Mottl.

Clemson won 17 straight games after its Feb. 16 loss to the Ole Miss Rebels in the Shriners Children’s College Showdown in Arlington, Texas, until the Irish snapped the streak on Sunday.

Earlier this season, infielder Jarren Purify earned ACC player of the week honors.

Clemson spends the upcoming week at home, as the Tigers will host The Citadel on Tuesday and Wednesday. Then, Wake Forest visits to continue ACC action with a three-games series that starts on Friday.

The Wake Forest series should be a significant test for the Tigers, perhaps their biggest of the season to this point. The Demon Deacons are undefeated in ACC action at 6-0, with an overall record of 18-3. The only team that stands better than Wake Forest in the ACC is Florida State, which is 3-0 in league action but 18-1 overall. The Seminoles are the only ACC team with just one loss overall.