The Clemson baseball team swept their two game mid-week series with Bradley LeCroy and the Liberty Flames.
The Tigers enter ACC play this weekend on a roll, having won 15 straight games and yet to lose at Doug Kingsmore Stadium 18 games into the season.
Notre Dame comes into DKS with a good record (10-4), and has yet to play a game on their home field in South Bend, Indiana
Clemson is 18-14 all-time against Notre Dame, and 8-8 at home..
Here is your preview of Clemson’s Atlantic Coast Conference opening series against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
Clemson Briefly:
Clemson enters the weekend with 17 wins and 1 loss. Winners of 15 straight games, and a perfect 12-0 at the cozy confines of Doug Kingsmore Stadium.
The Tigers are hitting .298 as a team through 18 games (72nd nationally). They’re still led in that category by Jarren Purify (.462; T-25th in the country). Josh Paino leads the team with 4 home runs.
As a team, the Tigers have 32 doubles, 3 triples and 20 home runs.
On the mound, the Tigers pitching staff touts a 3.81 ERA (42nd nationally). The staff has struck out 186 batters and walked 61 through 18 games.
Opponents are hitting .206 against the Tigers.
Here is a look at the Notre Dame Fighting Irish through 14 games of the season:
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Head Coach – Shawn Stiffler (3rd Season)
2025 Record: 10-4
Wins: North Florida (x2), Iowa, UMBC, Stetson, Belmont (x3), Winthrop (x2)
Losses: North Florida, Wake Forest (x3)
Here are the probable starting lineup for Notre Dame and their 2025 stats:
Position Players:
| Name (#) | Year | Position | 2024 Stats |
| Noah Coy (2) | Fr. | 2B | .154; 2B, 5 RBI |
| Parker Brzustewicz (22) | Fr. | 1B/LF | .388; 4 2B, 3B, 7 RBI |
| Bino Watters (15) | Fr. | LF/DH | .316; 2B, HR, 14 RBI |
| Carson Tinney (8) | Soph. | C | .262; 2 2B, 2 HR, 11 RBI |
| Estevan Moreno (3) | Jr. | SS | .140; 2 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBI |
| Connor Hincks (12) | Grad. | 1B/2B | .270; 3 2B, 2 HR, 8 RBI |
| Nick DeMarco (20) | Sr. | 3B | .174; 2B, 3 HR, 9 RBI |
| Brady Gumpf (21) | Grad. | RF | .313; 2 HR, 9 RBI |
| DM Jefferson (1) | Sr. | CF | .129; 6 RBI, 4-4 SB |
Offensively, the Irish are led by a pair of Freshen; 1st Baseman/Outfielder Parker Brzustewicz, and Outfielder/Designated Hitter Bino Watters. Brzustewicz leads the team with a .388 batting average, and Watters has 14 RBIs to lead the team. Notre Dame has only hit 15 homeruns in 14 games, and are led by Senior 3rd Baseman Nick DeMarco with 3.
The Irish are hitting .252 as a team (216th nationally). They have hit 19 doubles, 3 triples and 15 home runs as a team.
Coach Stiffler left VCU to take the Notre Dame job three seasons ago, leaving VCU to former Clemson assistant (and current Liberty Head Coach) Bradley LeCroy.
Starters for Notre Dame:
| NAME (#) | Year | Hand | 2025 Stats |
| Jack Radel (27) | Soph. | RHP | 1-1; 6.57 ERA; 12.1 IP, 11 K, 4 BB; OppBA: .255 |
| Jackson Dennies (41) | Grad. | RHP | 2-1; 3.00 ERA; 21 IP, 22 K, 4 BB; OppBA: .176 |
| Rory Fox (5) | Jr. | RHP | 0-1; 4.22 ERA; 10.2 IP, 16 K, 3 BB; OppBA: .214 |
The Tigers will face three righty’s out of the gate for each game. One thing that pops off the page is the void of “free 90s” given up by the Fighting Irish pitching staff. This staff throws stikes and the Tigers will have to have their usual good at-bats to work counts in their favor and put good contact on the ball.
The Irish pitching staff owns a 5.01 staff ERA (100th nationally), have struck out 129 opponent hitters while walking only 48. They have given up only 11 home runs as a staff through those 14 games.
Clemson will counter with their same weekend starters that we have seen to start the year. Ace Aidan Knaak will try to show that he’s the anchor of the staff. He’s been good through four starts but not as lights out as he was last season. On Saturday, Ethan Darden will go and has been as consistent as any starter in the country through 4 outings. Coach Bakich will throw Justin LeGuernic again on Sunday. The Sophomore struggled a little bit last week, but has shown glimpses of being a quality starter. The coaching staff will be looking to see if he can add reliable to the quality this weekend against Notre Dame.
SUMMARY
The Tigers continued their winning ways, sweeping Liberty this week, and yet it still feels like they’re not quite as good as they can be. But the one thing that is a certainty each and every game is that this team battles. Whether it’s in the field, or at the plate.
This team is never out of it, and just finds new ways to win every night. It’s a nice problem to have that there’s something just off, yet the wins keep piling up.
Keep it rolling!
As always…
Go Tigers!
