Clemson baseball opens with two top-25 wins and an SEC loss. Here's what we learned.

Clemson coach Erik Bakich wanted to see his Tigers get "punched in the mouth" in a season-opening showcase in Arlington, Texas.

And they definitely exchanged blows.

Clemson was hit hard by No.

17 Oklahoma State on Feb.

14, getting down 4-1 in the fourth inning before storming back to beat the Cowboys 6-5.

In a 16-5 win over No.

21 Arizona, the Tigers started and finished with their strongest blows, scoring seven and eight runs in the first and ninth innings, respectively.

But in the finale versus Ole Miss, Clemson was knocked down buried in a 7-0 hole in the first two innings and couldn't recover in a 15-5 loss.

It was a lot of action, and more good than bad for the Tigers.

Here is what we learned from Clemson's opening weekend.

Bakich still favors the high school recruit and the "four- and five-year relationships" that develop from those.

At the same time, it's hard to rely on prep prospects who arrive to college with varying degrees of readiness.

It's much easier to take transfers, like All-Big Ten freshmen Luke Gaffney (Purdue) and Collin Priest (Michigan), who have produced against verifiable competition.

But it may have been the Indiana State transfer, Dominic Listi , who played his first four seasons at Division III North Central (Ill.), who saw his statistical profile translate the most directly in his opening weekend at Clemson.

Listi, who boasts a career on-base percentage above .480, batted fifth in the opener against Oklahoma State and got on via a hit, a walk and a hit by pitch.

He scored twice in that one.

The 5-foot-11, 200-pound spark plug was moved to the top of the order versus Arizona.

He finished Saturday with three hits, two runs scored and four RBIs, and finished the series with a .556 average.

Clemson had Cal Baptist transfer Josh Paino, the 2024 WAC defensive player of the year, making highlight-reel plays at third base but also driving in three runs as a cleanup hitter in a rout of the Wildcats.

It seems Bakich has reeled in another useful batch of transfers as long as Gaffney's opening-weekend average of .154 turns around.

Aidan Knaak gave up a couple of hard hits to Oklahoma State and coughed up four runs in four innings, but he also struck out seven of his first eight batters.

The sophomore, who threw more than 50 percent of his pitches for strikes, should be fine.

Ethan Darden , the lefty, pitched admirably against Arizona, not allowing a run in four innings.

The junior won't light up the radar gun, but he's a battler.

The biggest reason for concern came Sunday after sophomore Justin LeGuernic was lit up for seven runs in 123 innings.

The lefty was tagged for six hits, including a couple of homers.

It's worth remembering Clemson came into last season with a rotation of Billy Barlow on Fridays, Tristan Smith on Saturdays and Knaak on Sunday.

And when Austin Gordon returned to the rotation, he inevitably bounced to closer .

Bakich always keeps his options open, and it's likely he will tinker with those Saturday and Sunday slots.

Knaak was followed in relief on Friday by Jacob McGovern , who, in Bakich's eyes, is still a candidate to start; the sophomore struck out four Oklahoma State batters in two innings.

He also pitched a scoreless 113 inning on Sunday.

Bakich has said Seton Hall transfer Michael Gillen , who featured as a hard-throwing reliever in his first two college seasons, has been stretched out to potentially start.

He was held out this weekend because of injury.

There have been positive assessments of freshman Dane Moehler's starting potential, as well.

His status is also unclear due to a preseason injury.

If Gillen and Moehler can get back in the mix, the Tigers should be OK in the front and back ends.

Reed Garris and Lucas Mahlstedt each had a pair of scoreless innings of relief, and Drew Titsworth and Nathan Dvorsky also appear to be quality arms out of the pen.

It's nothing out of the ordinary for a MLB prospect like Cam Cannarella to have a tepid start to a season of consequence, which is exactly what happened when the junior went 0 for 4 from the plate against Oklahoma State.

But the Tigers star rebounded in a big way.

Cannarella had a 4-of-6 hitting performance against Arizona, tying the school record with three doubles in a single contest.

He followed that, however, with an 0-of-2 day against Ole Miss.

It was probably a good sign for Clemson that it won two out of three when its star had one great day and two lesser ones.

It stands to reason Cannarella, a consummate competitor, will have more good days than not.

He just has to get in more of a consistent groove..

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