ACC Play Resumes as Irish Take on Tigers

Notre Dame at Clemson – Game Notes

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – An eight-game, ten-day spring break trip for the Notre Dame baseball team comes to a close with a three-game ACC series at No. 10 Clemson. Game one is slated for 4:00 p.m. on Friday afternoon.

THE MATCHUP

• The Irish enter the weekend series with a 10-4 overall record and an 0-3 mark in ACC play.
• The Tigers have a 17-1 overall record and open ACC play with the series against Notre Dame.
• Clemson holds the all-time lead in meetings between the teams with an 18-14 mark.
• The Tigers won all three games of the series in 2024 between the squads. Two of the three games were decided by a run, and the series finale went 11 innings in a 13-12 final.

LAST TIME OUT

• Notre Dame took a pair of mid-week wins at Winthrop during the spring break stretch of play in the Carolinas. The Irish won game one 6-3 before taking Wednesday’s contest by a 12-3 score.
• A balanced attack by the Irish saw Notre Dame put runs on the scoreboard in four separate innings while the pitching staff did not allow an earned run in the 6-3 victory. Ricky Reeth posted his first collegiate save on the mound. Parker Brzustewicz and Bino Watters each hit the first triple of their respective collegiate careers.
• The Irish put up five runs in the top of the second and never looked back in a 12-3 game-two victory. Nick DeMarco and Jared Zimbardo each blasted a home run, and eight pitchers combined to limit the Eagles to two earned runs.

2025 CAPTAINS

The 2025 Irish baseball team will look to four captains to help guide the way this spring. John P. and Catherine Murphy Head Baseball Coach Shawn Stiffler announced graduate students OF Brady Gumpf and RHP Jackson Dennies, senior RHP Radek Birkholz, and junior INF Estevan Moreno as team captains for the season.

• Gumpf has played in 92 career contests for the Irish heading into the spring season. He had a single-season career-high 48 games played in 2024 and boasted a .352 on-base percentage with 31 RBI, 12 doubles, and nine home runs.
• Dennies has 41 career appearances and 76.1 innings pitched over his career heading into 2025. During his 2023 campaign, Dennies struck out 49 batters over 46.1 innings of work.
• Birkholz has made 48 appearances with 83.0 innings of work over three seasons for the Irish. He went 3-0 on the mound during the 2024 season with 20 strikeouts in 17.1 innings over nine appearances.
• Moreno had a team-best .625 slugging percentage in 2024 with 13 home runs and 17 doubles. His 42 runs scored was third on the team, and he has competed in 100 games for the Irish through two seasons of play.

TOP TALENT

The Irish have four players listed in the D1baseball.com Preseason rankings by position.

• Junior Estevan Moreno was 24th on the Top 50 shortstops list.
• Sophomore Carson Tinney was tabbed 47th on the Top 50 catchers listing.
• Graduate student Jared Zimbardo was 40th on the Top 100 outfielders report.
• Junior Rory Fox was 106th on the Top 150 starting pitchers list.