Friday’s college baseball action delivered fireworks from coast to coast, with dominant performances shaping the early momentum in league play. Aidan Knaak carved through lineups once again with double-digit strikeouts, while Sam Tackett continued his push for national recognition with two home runs in a narrow victory. Wehiwa Aloy and Dean Curley powered big wins with statement blasts, and Charles Davalan continued to hit everything in sight. Meanwhile, Micah Bucknam and Dylan Marionneaux turned in elite pitching performances, each tossing shutouts with double-digit strikeouts to headline a strong showing from under-the-radar arms. With standout bats heating up and Friday night arms settling into rhythm, this weekend’s slate further separated true contenders from the rest.

Below is a recap of Friday's top performers across the country!

Atlantic Coast Conference

Covered by Monty Taylor

Aidan Knaak, RHP, Clemson – 6.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 10 K, Win (103 pitches)

Aidan Knaak followed up last week’s dominant outing against Notre Dame with another outstanding performance on Friday against Wake Forest. The sophomore right hander didn’t give up a hit until the third inning when Marek Houston poked a ball through the right side. The only run Knaak gave up on the day was a solo home run by Kade Lewis in the 6th inning. He’s now 4-0 on the year with a 3.41 ERA and 54 strikeouts in 31.2 innings. The outing was his fourth straight game with eight or more strikeouts on the season.   

Ben Miller, 3B, Duke – 5 AB, 1 R, 2 H, 4 RBI, HR, 2 K

Ben Miller delivered a four RBI game as Duke won a Friday night ACC game for the first time in 2025. After three scoreless innings for each side, Ben Miller blasted his ACC-leading 11th home run of the year to give the Blue Devils a 3-0 lead. The sixth year third baseman is now just two home runs shy of cracking Duke’s Top 10 all-time home run list. He’d add an RBI single through the left side in the 5th inning to give Duke a 5-3 lead. The four RBI performance is Miller’s second on the season and the multi-hit performance is his ninth. He is now slashing .301/.346/.677 on the year with 32 RBIs.

Caleb Daniel, LF, Georgia Tech – 5 AB, 5 R, 4 H, 2 RBI, 2B, HR, BB

Star first baseman Kent Schmidt was out of the lineup and Drew Burress went 0-for-5, but freshman Caleb Daniel made sure that wasn’t a problem as he enjoyed a monster day for Georgia Tech. The first year hit his second home run in as many plate appearances when he drilled a two-run blast to right in the first inning to give Tech a 3-0 lead without an out being recorded. Daniel’s five runs scored tied Burress’s freshman school record as the Jackets scored a season-high 18 runs against Notre Dame. He is now slashing .333/.437/.550 with eight extra base hits in just 17 collegiate games.

Kyle Lodise, SS, Georgia Tech – 5 AB, 3 R, 4 H, 5 RBI, 3B, 3 HR, BB

Less than 18 hours after his cousin Alex had a multi-homer game for Florida State, Kyle Lodise turned in a career day as Georgia Tech trounced Notre Dame on the road, 18-7. With the aid of some wind gusts in excess of 40 MPH blowing out to left field, the junior shortstop belted three home runs in South Bend and added a triple for good measure. Lodise started the game off with a lead off long ball to put Tech on the scoreboard and then homered down the left field line in his second plate appearance to make it 5-0. He’d walk in the 3rd before hitting his third homer of the day in the 5th. Lodise is the first Georgia Tech player with three or more home runs in a game since Drew Burress last February hit four against Georgia State.