Game Thread | (G1) Notre Dame at Clemson

Notre Dame (17-13, 7-8) at Clemson (20-14, 4-8) 

When: April 14th

Time: 8:00 PM ET 

Where: Doug Kingsmore Stadium | Clemson, S.C.

Watch: ACC Network 

QUICK FACTS

- Notre Dame and Clemson are tied 13-13 in the overall series. 

- The Irish are 7-6 at Clemson. 

- Notre Dame swept the series a year ago and have won three straight series against the Tigers.

PROBABLE STARTERS
Friday 

Saturday

Sunday

OFFENSIVE STATS (Entering the series)

PITCHING STATS (Entering the series) 

- Looking at the stats, Clemson and Notre Dame aren’t going to blow anyone away on offense as both teams are looking for consistency. That said, Notre Dame has turned a corner and have started to figure things out, which starts with having the same lineup for four games in a row. 

Now, that can quickly change, but Shawn Stiffler appears to have found a left fielder in DM Jefferson and he’s responded well to more playing time. The DH spot has been manned by Vinny Martinez, but he’s hitting .179 entering the weekend. What Martinez gives Notre Dame is power as he’s hit four home runs, including three in the North Carolina series. 

Notre Dame will have a chance to put runs on the board as Clemson’s bullpen has struggled so there is an opportunity to score. The Tigers have given up 47 home runs and teams are hitting .260, so if the Irish can get to the pen early, Stiffler’s club should have a chance to get runners on the bases. 

Clemson’s bullpen currently owns a record of 14-8, 4.35 ERA an opponents are batting .270. 

- On the bump, Notre Dame has two solid starters as Jackson Dennies and Jack Findlay have raised their level of play in recent weeks. Dennies has really found a nice groove as he’s not only limiting runs, but batters are hitting just .162 against him on the year. In fact, Dennies has pitched 31.1 innings and given up just 18 hits and 10 runs. 

LHP Aidan Tyrell has thrived in his relief role this season as he boasts a 6-1 record to go along with a beautiful 1.62 ERA, which is No. 4 in the ACC. And like Dennies, Tyrell has really made life tough at the plate as opposing batters hit just .171 against him. 

LHP Jack Findlay has been Jack Findlay. He’s the model of consistency, but he’s also learning on how to deal with managing a higher pitch count. Notre Dame has started to lean and even push him more as he’s been around (if not higher) 100 pitches in recent weeks. Findlay recorded just two strikeouts last week, which was rare for him, but he continues to find ways to get outs as opponents bat .213 against him. 

And once again, this series will likely come down to what Notre Dame can get late from Radek Birkholz, Carter Bosch and Sammy Cooper. If those three can get outs, the Irish will have a chance to get out of Clemson with the series as Caden Spivey and Will Mercer have continued to be consistent. 

- This is an important series for Notre Dame’s postseason hopes as next weekend the Irish host No. 7 Virginia (28-4) before Florida State (13-19) comes to South Bend for what figures to be an emotional series. 

Notre Dame Lineup

Clemson Lineup

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