Clemson Baseball's Electric Star Reliever Earns Weekly Award

The Clemson Tigers baseball team went a perfect 5-0 last week, and this reliever played a key role in that success.

Clemson senior Lucas Mahlstedt (47) celebrates after striking out the last batter as the Tigers beat Wake Forest 5-1 at Doug Kingsmore Stadium in Clemson, S.C. Friday, March 21, 2025. | Ken Ruinard - staff / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Clemson Tigers' baseball program is coming off a dominant week in which they were a perfect 4-0 on the road.

The team's electric closer Lucas Mahlstedt played a key role in the team's dominance over that stretch, and as such was named ACC Pitcher of the Week by D1Baseball (subscription required).

The right-handed sidearm reliever has been absolutely suffocating on the mound so far this season, and that continued against both Georgia Southern and Cal last week as he struck out four batters in 2.2 innings of work while allowing zero baserunners in the process.

Mahlstedt also picked up three more saves across these outings, which extended is nation leading total on the season to 11.

The flame-throwing righty has evolved into one of the best shut down relievers in all of college baseball this season, currently sitting at a 1.01 ERA with 38 strike outs across 26.2 innings of work this year.

He's already matched in strikeout total from last season in half the amount of innings pitched, and is on pace to record a career low in walks allowed.

The nation’s leader in saves:@Lucas_Mahlstedt (11) pic.twitter.com/LKJltrk3Hc

— Clemson Baseball (@ClemsonBaseball) April 7, 2025

Mahlstedt is in his second season with the Tigers, and before that spent two years as a part of the Wofford Terriers.

He came into the season as a pretty solid career reliever at the collegiate level, but his evolution into arguably the nation's best closer this year has been a key part of Clemson's success thus far.

Having somebody in the back of the pen that can reliably come in at the end of games and slam the door shut on opposing teams is a luxury every coach in America would kill to have, and that's exactly what third-year Tigers' head coach Erik Bakich has found in Mahlstedt.

As of this writing, Clemson is ranked as the fifth best team in the nation per D1 Baseball and holds sole possesion of first place in the ACC standings.

Mahlstedt's 11 saves have played a crucial role in getting the Tigers where they are now, and they'll be relying on him even more down the stretch in order to repeat as ACC champions and get back to Omaha for the first time since the 2010 season.