SOUTH BEND — Notre Dame baseball finally has its first ACC Tournament win of the Shawn Stiffler era.
Jayce Lee banged out three extra-base hits, and the much-maligned Irish bullpen recorded the final eight outs in a 5-4 win over Clemson on Tuesday night, May 19, at Truist Field in Charlotte, N.C.
Tenth-seeded Notre Dame (31-21) advances to face No. 7 seed Virginia Tech (29-23 overall, 15-15 in the ACC) at 5 p.m. Wednesday, May 20. The Irish and Hokies didn’t meet during the regular season, but Virginia Tech took two of three in South Bend last season.
Senior lefty Noah Rooney worked the final two innings to earn his sixth save despite allowing a two-out solo homer in the ninth.
Lee, the former South Bend St. Joe star, had two doubles and a solo homer, and Drew Berkland and Bino Watters added solo homers to pace the Notre Dame attack. The teams combined for six homers, all with the bases empty.
“I think he’s played every inning of the year for us so far,” Stiffler said of Lee. “He’s made every start out in right and just continues to grow and get better, continues to play the game with great energy. He’s a fabulous player. He works so hard. We cherish him for sure.”
Jack Radel, Notre Dame’s ace righthander, battled through 6 1/3 innings on a warm evening with temperatures in the low 90s. Radel, leaning more than usual on his slider and cutter, threw 93 pitches and left with a 4-2 lead to improve to 8-3 with a 3.29 ERA..
Both Clemson runs off Radel came in the third inning on Tyler Lichtenberger’s leadoff homer and Tryston McCladdie’s two-out RBI triple. Radel allowed just two other hits and a walk while fanning eight.
Back on March 20 at Eck Stadium, Radel tossed a four-hit shutout at Clemson to open the series. He scattered four singles in that one, struck out eight, walked none and went the distance on 117 pitches.
That set the tone for a three-game sweep that proved to be the high point of Notre Dame’s regular season. Dating to last season, the Irish have now won five straight against Clemson.
“Here in the heat, you’re not really used to it in South Bend,” Radel said. “I felt pretty strong, but I knew if I had to keep going it might have gotten a little shaky there at the end.”
Quick start for Notre Dame
Berkland, the Minnesota transfer, took Clemson left-hander Michael Sharman (6-2) out to the opposite field on the second pitch of the game. It was Berkland’s team-leading 16th homer.
Watters, the sophomore left fielder who joined Radel on the all-ACC first team, crushed a game-tying, opposite-field shot that traveled an estimated 418 feet in the bottom of the third.
Lee added the go-ahead double as the Irish answered immediately. Dylan Passo added a sacrifice fly for a key insurance run in the eighth.
“I’m pretty sure (Passo) went three straight strikeouts in his first three at-bast and then comes up in that big situation,” Stiffler said. “Anybody would be shaken in confidence there, and he was able to get it done with two strikes.”
Notre Dame hadn’t won an ACC Tournament game since beating Florida State and Virginia in 2022, when the Irish went on to reach the College World Series under former coach Link Jarrett.
The Irish have gone a combined 35-55 (.389) in league play over the past three regular seasons. They had dropped their first three ACC tournament games under Stiffler, including a 5-4 loss in 10 innings to Boston College last season.
Clemson’s offense struggled all season. The Tigers ranked 13th among ACC teams in homers, 14th in slugging and 15th in runs per game.
Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for the South Bend Tribune and NDInsider.com. Follow him on social media @MikeBerardino.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Notre Dame baseball ends ACC tourney futility with win over Clemson
Reporting by Mike Berardino, South Bend Tribune / South Bend Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
