March 13, 2015
ACC Weekend #2: @ Clemson
March 13-15, 2015
6:30 p.m. / 2 p.m. / 1 p.m. (All ET)
Doug Kingsmore Stadium (Clemson, S.C.)
Team Information:
Notre Dame: 12-3, 1-2 ACC (22-31, 9-21 ACC In 2014)
2014 Postseason: Did not qualify for postseason
Clemson: 8-7, 1-2 ACC (37-27, 15-14 ACC In 2014)
2014 Postseason: 2-1 in ACC Tournament
NCAA Nashville Regional (0-2)
Rankings:
Neither team is ranked
Projected Pitching Matchups:
G1: RHP Scott Kerrigan (1-1, 3.09 ERA) vs. LHP Matthew Crownover (3-0, 1.80 ERA)
G2: RHP Brandon Bielak (2-1, 5.31 ERA) vs. RHP Brody Koerner (2-2, 4.18 ERA)
G3: RHP Nick McCarty (2-1, 2.70 ERA) vs. LHP Zack Erwin (1-2, 4.09 ERA)
Series History:
Notre Dame leads 3-1
First Meeting: W, A, 8-1 (5/27/1994)
Last Meeting: W, H, 11-3 (5/11/2014)
Aoki vs. Clemson: 7-8 (5-7 at BC; 2-1 at ND)
Game Coverage:
Live Video: ESPN3 (Links on UND.com)
Live Audio: WHME 103.1 FM in South Bend (Chuck Freeby, pbp) or WatchND (Links on UND.com)
Live Stats:ClemsonTigers.com
Twitter Reports: @NDBaseball / @NDsidRuss
Weather Report (as of Thursday, March 12):
Friday, March 13: 43 Degrees / 50% chance of rain
Saturday, March 14: 69 Degrees / 60% chance of rain
Sunday, March 15: 79 Degrees / Partly Sunny
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – After traveling all over the Peach State during the last week, the University of Notre Dame baseball team has turned its attention to the Palmetto State – and a showdown with Atlantic Coast Conference foe Clemson – to wrap up its 2015 spring break trip.
Despite having just played four times previously, the Irish (12-3, 1-2 ACC) and the Tigers (8-7, 1-2 ACC) could develop an outstanding series if last year’s three-game set at Notre Dame’s Frank Eck Stadium is any indication.
After winning a 2-1 thriller in game one on ESPNU, Notre Dame was shut out in the Saturday matchup behind a gem from Tiger hurler Daniel Gossett to set up a rubber game. In the Sunday finale, the Irish bats awoke, as they cracked three home runs in the fifth inning on their way to a dominating 11-3 victory and their first series win at home on their new artificial surface.
This year, each team enters the matchup looking for a series win after dropping 2-of-3 on the road last weekend in the ACC opener for both squads. Notre Dame won game one at Georgia Tech, 3-2 in 10 innings, before losing the final two games of the series, 11-7 and 4-1.
Meanwhile, Clemson had similar results at NC State, winning the first game, 6-4, before dropping the Saturday and Sunday games by a combined score of 22-9.
In their mid-week games, the Irish won a 5-3 thriller in 11 innings at Savannah State Wednesday night, while Clemson suffered an 8-6 loss against Michigan State at Flour Field in Greenville, South Carolina Wednesday evening.
The close win for the Irish improved their record to 2-0 in extra-inning games and 6-0 in contests that were decided by two runs or less in 2015, after going 2-6 and 8-18 in those categories, respectively, just a year earlier.
Clemson will counter Notre Dame’s usual weekend rotation of RHP Scott Kerrigan (1-1, 3.09 ERA), RHP Brandon Bielak (2-1, 5.31 ERA) and RHP Nick McCarty (2-1, 2.70 ERA) with LHP Matthew Crownover (3-0, 1.80 ERA), RHP Brody Koerner (2-2, 4.18 ERA) and LHP Zach Erwin (1-2, 4.09 ERA).
For the Irish to pick up a series win, they will have to contain junior Tyler Krieger, who has splits of .466/.552/.563 to go along with 10 RBI, 10 walks and 12 runs scored on the year.
Notre Dame would also benefit from continuing their turn-two mentality, as it sits first in the ACC (fourth nationally) in double plays and double plays per game.
Game one of the ACC series is slated for 6:30 p.m. (ET) at the impressive Doug Kingsmore Stadium, while the final two matchups are scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday. All three contests will be streamed live on ESPN3, with WatchND providing audio coverage. Live stats and Twitter updates (@NDBaseball) are also available. Links are located on UND.com.
–Russell Dorn, Assistant Media Relations Director
–ND–