The No. 10 Clemson Tigers completed a three-game series, winning two of the three games against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to seal a crucial early-season ACC series victory at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on Sunday afternoon in front of an excited crowd.
The Tigers (19-2, 2-1 ACC) made history with their win on Saturday afternoon, extending their winning streak to 17 consecutive games and establishing the fourth-longest winning streak in program history. Saturday’s win also marked Erik Bakich’s Tigers’ first ACC series victory of the season.
Notre Dame (11-6, 1-5 ACC) entered the contest after defeating Winthrop twice and preparing for its most important series of the early season. Doug Kingsmore Stadium was electric throughout the three games, erupting each time the Tigers made a crucial or game-changing play.
Clemson’s victory on Friday can be credited to the pitching staff, with Aidan Knaak leading the charge by recording a career-high 12 strikeouts in the first game of the series. Knaak allowed only one hit in his seven innings of work during the 2-1 Clemson victory. After retiring the last 13 batters he faced, Knaak was relieved by Lucas Mahlstedt and Drew Titsworth, who each delivered strong performances of their own.
The second game offered more excitement than its predecessor, beginning early in the first inning when Cam Cannarella hit a single, followed by two more run-scoring singles from Jacob Jarrell and Tristan Bissetta. In the second inning, Dominic Listi roped a powerful double, and Jarren Purify extended his impressive hitting streak to 13 with a run-scoring triple. The Tigers did not let up, and by the top of the third inning, they had cruised to a 7-0 lead.
Despite the Fighting Irish’s attempt to mount a comeback, Clemson’s momentum showed no signs of slowing. Cannarella recorded his third single of the game in the bottom of the third inning, and just two batters later, Collin Priest stepped up to the plate and launched his third home run of the year, giving his team two more runs.
Tryston McCladdie became the sixth Tiger to score, adding his second home run of the season to close the game and seal an 11-7 Clemson victory.
Bakich spoke on the balance of the offense’s lineup following the victory.
“That’s the goal of the offense, to be dynamic,” Bakich said. “It’s a combination of speed and power, but we also need to have a long lineup.” In the final game of the series, Clemson fell short of repeating its previous efforts, suffering its first loss of March on Sunday afternoon. The Irish appeared rejuvenated heading into the matchup and were able to get on the board early and often. Notre Dame scored the first five runs of the game, with the first three coming from home runs.
For Clemson, it seemed as though the scorching momentum it had previously carried had come to a halt as its batters struggled against Notre Dame’s starter, Rory Fox, who caused trouble for Cannarella and company throughout the afternoon.
Following the loss, Bakich touched on the positives.
“It was a good opportunity to regroup and get back at it and get better,” Bakich said after Sunday’s game. “You know it’s tough to learn from wins, but it’s easy to learn from losses, so we’ll have a lot of teaching points coming off of today.”
Clemson will stay at home, aiming to begin a fresh winning streak when it hosts The Citadel on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Tigers will then face Wake Forest at Doug Kingsmore Stadium over the weekend in another three-game ACC series.
