April 8, 2018
By Megan Golden
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The University of Notre Dame baseball team was swept by No. 6 Clemson in a doubleheader on Sunday at Frank Eck Stadium.
Notre Dame (13-18, 5-10) dropped the three-game set to Clemson (25-7, 10-5) after falling, 6-3, in the first game and 5-2 in game two. The win on Saturday helped the Irish avoid a series sweep.
How It Happened: Game One
Clemson got on the board first, connecting for back-to-back solo homers with one out in the third inning. The homers from Jordan Greene and Kier Meredith put the Tigers up, 2-0.
Greene was back at it in the fourth, when he lined a single into center to drive in two runs and increase Clemson’s lead to 4-0.
Tommy Sheehan hit Seth Beer to open the fifth inning, and Beer eventually came around to score on a RBI-single from Drew Wharton.
Kyle Wilkie extended the Clemson lead to 6-0 with a solo homer to left in the sixth inning.
Doubles from Eric Gilgenbach and Bryce Gray got the Irish on the board in the seventh. Gilgenbach doubled to left and advanced to third on a David LaManna groundout. Gray drove home Gilgenbach to make it 6-1.
Gilgenbach knocked his second double of the game into left center to lead off the Irish ninth. With two outs in the inning, Cole Daily and Jake Johnson connected for back-to-back singles to bring the Irish within four. Nick Podkul lined a double to left to drive in the final run of the game and make it a 6-3 score.
How It Happened: Game Two
The Tigers got on the board first, courtesy of a walk and a balk from Cameron Junker with two outs in the inning. Logan Davidson walked and scored on a single from Chris Williams that gave Clemson a 1-0 lead in the first.
After allowing an early run, Junker settled in an struck out a career-high seven batters in the first four innings.
Clemson recorded three singles in the fifth, when Meredith drove in another run for the Tigers. LaManna’s errant throw to second allowed Meredith to score and extend Clemson’s lead to 3-0.
Podkul led off the bottom of the sixth with a single up the middle, and Matt Vierling doubled to right center in the following at-bat. Kerschner grounded out to second, plating Podkul. Gilgenbach followed with a sacrifice fly to drive in Vierling and cut the deficit to 3-2.
Beer doubled to lead off the eighth inning, and back-to-back singles from Clemson drove him in for the Tigers’ fourth run of the game. Clemson added an additional insurance run on a double play ball, taking a 5-2 advantage into the bottom of the inning.
Notes
- Notre Dame has posted a 6-10 record against Clemson all-time, including a 3-6 mark at home.
- The Irish move to 4-5 against top-10 teams this season.
- Notre Dame is 5-5 at Frank Eck Stadium in 2018.
- Irish starter Tommy Sheehan worked 6.0 innings and allowed six runs in game one.
- Cameron Junker worked a career-high 4.2 innings and collected a lifetime best seven strikeouts.
- Notre Dame’s bullpen snapped a streak of 13.0 straight scoreless innings in the eighth inning of game two.
- Alex Kerschner snapped a 10-game hitting streak and has hit in 16 of his last 20 games.
- Jake Johnson is batting .563 (9-16) with two runs scored and four RBI in his last four games. Four of his last eight games have been multihit performances.
- Brandon Knarr worked a career-high 1.1 scoreless innings, and Brian Morrell tossed a career-long 1.1 innings with a single-game best two strikeouts in game one.
Up Next
Notre Dame travels to Michigan State for a midweek matchup at 3 p.m. ET on Tuesday. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU and will be available on 103.1 FM (South Bend)/WatchND.
For a behind-the-scenes look at the Irish baseball program, follow @NDBaseball on Twitter and @NotreDameBaseball on Instagram. For tickets to an Irish baseball game, click here.
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Megan Golden, athletics communications assistant director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since August of 2016. In her role, she coordinates all media efforts for the Notre Dame baseball and women’s soccer programs. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Golden is a 2014 graduate of Saint Mary’s College and former Irish women’s basketball manager. Prior to arriving at Notre Dame, she worked in public relations with the Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox.