SOUTH BEND, Ind. – A crowd of over 1,200 saw a back-and-forth contest wrap up with a dramatic walk-off moment for the Notre Dame baseball team as the Irish came back from a 7-5 deficit in the eighth inning to win 8-7 over No. 19 Clemson.
Caden Crowell retired the side in order and capped off the top of the first with a strikeout. The Irish struck in the bottom of the first inning. Drew Berkland drew a lead-off walk, and Noah Coy went the opposite way with a single to left field. Mark Quatrani laced a ground-rule double to the left-center gap to drive in Berkland. Bino Watters bounced a single up the middle, and Coy and Quatrani both came in to score for a 3-0 lead.
Clemson got on the scoreboard in the top of the second with a solo home run to start the inning.
Drew Berkland countered for the Irish with a solo homer of his own to center field to give the Irish a 4-1 lead through two complete.
The Tigers plated a run in the top of the third and added three in the fifth to go ahead 5-4.
In the bottom of the sixth, Davis Johnson blasted a solo shot well beyond the right field fence to knot the game at 5-5.
Clemson countered again with two runs in the top of the seventh to take a 7-5 lead.
In the bottom of the eighth, Davis Johnson drew a four-pitch walk. Jayce Lee then crushed a two-run home run that hit the scoreboard in left field at Frank Eck Stadium as the Irish drew even at 7-7.
Eli Thurmond retired the Clemson side in order in the top of the ninth to help set up the comeback. Drew Berkland beat out an infield single, and Mark Quatrani added a one-out single to center field to put runners at the corners. The Tigers intentionally walked Bino Watters to load the bases. Parker Brzustewicz hit a grounder to the Clemson shortstop, who went home with the throw for the force out. The Tigers tried to turn the double play, but the throw by the catcher tailed wide and into the back of Brzustewicz. The sophomore was well within the running lane, and the errant throw ricocheted off of his back and away from the Clemson defense as Mark Quatrani dove into home plate to walk off the 8-7 Irish win in dramatic fashion. The play underwent a video review after a Clemson challenge to the call that Brzustewicz had been running inside the field of play and not in the runner’s lane, and the result of the review was that play was confirmed by the umpire crew as the Irish celebrated on the infield.
Drew Berkland was 3-for-4 at the plate with a double, a home run, two runs scored and an RBI. Mark Quatrani went 2-for-5 with a double, two runs and an RBI. Noah Coy added a 2-for-5 effort at the dish with a run. Bino Watters went 2-for-3 and drove in a pair. Davis Johnson had a home run, scored twice and drove in one. Jayce Lee belted a homer, drove in two and scored a run in the win.
Caden Crowell, Chase Van Ameyde and Xavier Hirsch combined for four strikeouts over the opening six innings of the contest. Oisin Lee went one inning on the bump, and Will Jaisle added an inning of work with a strikeout. Eli Thurmond earned the relief win and faced the minimum in the ninth.
The Irish (13-6, 5-3 ACC) conclude the three-game series against Clemson on Sunday starting at 1:00 p.m. at Frank Eck Stadium.