What we learned as Clemson baseball sweeps Notre Dame, including a 12-inning 13-12 win Sunday
Clemson baseball completed a three-game sweep at Notre Dame on Sunday, but the Tigers had to work overtime to do it.
Clemson blew an 11-1 lead over the final three innings, then scored twice in the top of the 12th to outlast the Fighting Irish 13-12 in South Bend, Indiana.
It was the 15th consecutive regular season series victory for the Tigers (28-3, 10-2 ACC) and their 12th victory in the last 13 games. Clemson leads the ACC’s Atlantic Division and is ranked second in the nation in the latest USA TODAY Coaches Poll.
Aidan Knaak turned in a strong start on the mound, allowing only three hits over seven innings.
Jacob Jarrell hit a three-run home run, his first of the season, and Jimmy Obertop had a solo homer, his seventh of the season, to help the Tigers build an 11-1 lead.
But Notre Dame (14-15, 2-13) rallied from with a run in the bottom of the seventh, four runs in the eight and five runs in the ninth to send the game to extra innings.
Clemson scored the winning runs in the top of the 11th when Jack Crighton hit a two-out grounder to shortstop, resulting in an errant throw to first base that allowed two Clemson baserunners to score.
The Tigers won Friday’s game 7-3 as Will Taylor had a go-ahead, two-run homer in the eighth, then took Saturday’s second game of the series as Ethan Darden improved to 5-0 by scattering five hits over seven innings.
Here are takeaways from the series:
Aidan Knaak comes up big again
Freshman right-hander Aidan Knaak (2-0) tossed seven strong innings for a second consecutive start. One week after blanking Miami while allowing only two hits and striking out 10 batters, Knaak took a no-hitter into the seventh inning against Notre Dame, striking out nine Fighting Irish hitters and not issuing a walk.
He lowered his ERA to 3.38 and continuing to demonstrate why he’s the youngest player in the Tigers’ starting pitching rotation. He has 57 strikeouts against 14 walks this season and on Monday was named ACC Co-Pitcher of the Week.
Clemson's Jacob Hinderleider off to fast start
A transfer from Davidson, Hinderleider has had an instant impact at Clemson. He leads the team with a .343 average and has emerged as the Tigers’ primary first baseman after having never played there before this season.
Hinderleider has 13 multiple-hit games and 12 multiple-RBI games and continued his success at the plate in the Notre Dame series, collecting seven hits in 14 at-bats while scoring four runs and driving in four more.
Clemson schedule gets tougher starting with NC State
Clemson is off to its best start since 2002, but the Tigers have some serious challenges ahead. Up next is a three-game home series against No. 20 NC State, followed by a mid-week game against Charlotte – the team that eliminated the Tigers from their own NCAA Regional last year.
After an ACC home series against Pitt, Clemson will play at No. 24 Georgia in a mid-week game before traveling to Louisville for a three-game ACC series.
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Scott Keepfer covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at skeepfer@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ScottKeepfer
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson baseball sweeps Notre Dame. What we learned about No. 2 Tigers
