April 7, 2018
By Megan Golden
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — For the fourth time in seven tries this season, the University of Notre Dame baseball team knocked off a top-10 team, this time with a 5-2 win over No. 6 Clemson. Left-hander Scott Tully (4-1) earned the win over Tigers southpaw Jacob Hennessy in the first of a three-game set at Frank Eck Stadium.
Notre Dame (13-16, 5-8), which received the third straight dominant outing from Tully, led for the duration of the game. For Clemson (23-7, 8-5), the loss ended its five-game winning streak.
How It Happened
Cole Daily led off the bottom of the first with a walk, and Jake Johnson wasted little time before belting a two-run shot to right field and giving the Irish a 2-0 lead.
Clemson connected for a walk and a single with nobody out in the third inning. A sacrifice bunt advanced the runners, and Jordan Greene’s sacrifice fly drove in the Tigers’ first run of the day to make the score 2-1.
The Irish were able to capitalize on a lead-off walk from Niko Kavadas, who advanced to third on a groundout and a passed ball. Kavadas then scored on a double from Daily, who gave the Irish a 3-1 lead.
Grayson Byrd hit a solo homer to right field in the fifth, helping the Tigers chip away at Notre Dame’s lead to make it 3-2. With one out, Kier Meredith hit a triple off the wall in right center field, but Eric Gilgenbach‘s throw home to David LaManna caught Meredith out at home to end the inning.
LaManna singled to open the bottom of the seventh, and he advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from Daily. Nick Podkul delivered his third hit of the day with two outs to drive home LaManna and give Notre Dame an insurance run with a 4-2 advantage.
Daniel Jung entered the game at first base in the eighth inning and belted a solo shot to right field in the bottom half of the frame to make the score 5-2.
Kmet, who entered in the seventh inning, worked 2.1 innings and earned his fifth career save.
Player of the Game
Cole Kmet worked 2.1 innings and struck out a career-high-tying four batters to earn his fifth save of the season. Kmet entered the game with the bases loaded and two down in the seventh and induced a groundout to end the inning.
Game Notes
- Notre Dame has posted a 6-8 record against Clemson all-time, including a 3-4 mark at home.
- The Irish move to 4-3 against top-10 teams this season.
- Notre Dame is 5-3 at Frank Eck Stadium in 2018.
- Over the last six games, Notre Dame starting pitchers own a 3.03 ERA (12 ER/35.2 IP).
- Scott Tully worked 6.0 innings with six strikeouts and picked up his fourth win of the season. In his last three outings, Tully owns a 1.74 ERA (4 ER/20.2 IP) with 12 strikeouts.
- Notre Dame’s bullpen combined to throw 3.0 scoreless innings of relief.
- Nick Podkul collected three hits and recorded his 11th multi-hit game of the season.
- Alex Kerschner has recorded a hit in nine straight games and in 15 of his last 18 games.
Up Next
Notre Dame and Clemson return to Frank Eck Stadium for a doubleheader beginning at 11 a.m. ET on Sunday. Both games will be streamed on ACC Network Extra and can be heard 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.