Notre Dame kept its season alive with a 5-4 win over the Clemson Tigers in the first round of the ACC Tournament. Jayce Lee was an absolute villain against the Tigers with a 3-3 performance that included two doubles and a home run. The Irish will now take on Virginia Tech in the next round. The two teams did not face each other during the regular season.
Notre Dame Baseball: Irish Take Down Tigers in ACC Tournament Opener
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Notre Dame
baseball team battled their way to a 5-4 win over Clemson in the first round of the ACC Tournament at Truist Field on Tuesday evening.
Jack Radel capped off a three-up, three-down first inning with a strikeout for the Irish. Drew Berkland then put Notre Dame ahead with a solo home run to opposite field for a quick 1-0 lead. Radel, meanwhile, needed just seven pitches to retire the side in order in the top of the second.
The Tigers equalized the game with a solo homer of their own in the top of the third and used a two-out triple to drive in a second run. Bino Watters drew the Irish back even in the bottom half of the inning with an opposite-field shot of his own to make it a 2-2 game. Noah Coy kept the inning alive with a single to left-center field and moved into scoring position on a wild pitch. Jayce Lee battled his way to a double down the left field line, and Coy came around to score for a 3-2 Irish lead.
Radel forced the Tigers into stranding a runner at second with a strikeout and a ground out to end the top of the fourth. Radel then had a three-up, three-down effort in the top of the fifth to keep the game at 3-2 in favor of Notre Dame.
Jayce Lee drilled a 3-1 pitch to right-center field and beyond the wall to put the Irish up 4-2 through six complete.
The Tigers put a run on the scoreboard in the top of the seventh with a home run to cut the margin to one at 4-3 before Dylan Singleton closed out the inning with an infield ground out. Noah Rooney posted a perfect eighth inning to keep the Irish ahead.
Mark Quatrani led off the bottom of the eighth with a single before advancing on a wild pitch. A ground out allowed Quatrani to move to third, and Clemson intentionally walked Jayce Lee. Lee stole second, and Dylan Passo drove in Quatrani with a sacrifice fly for a 5-3 lead.
The Tigers plated a run in the top of the ninth before putting the tying run on base. Noah Rooney, however, slammed the door shut with a strikeout to end the game by the 5-4 final score.
Jayce Lee went 3-for-3 with two doubles, a home run, two RBI and a run. Drew Berkland and Bino Watters each hit a home run in the win. Mark Quatrani had a 2-for-4 effort at the plate with a run, and Noah Coy added a hit and a run. Dylan Passo drove in a run with a sacrifice fly for the Irish.
Jack Radel earned the win after going 6.1 with eight strikeouts on the night. Dylan Singleton posted two-thirds of an inning with a strikeout. Noah Rooney posted his sixth save of the season after going the final 2.0 innings on the hill with three strikeouts.
The Irish (31-21) now face Virginia Tech on day two of the ACC Tournament in Charlotte, North Carolina. The game is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. ET at Truist Field.
