SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Aidan Knaak gave Clemson exactly what it needed Friday night. Five innings, eight strikeouts, one earned run. The kind of start that should keep your team in any ballgame. And it didn’t matter.
No. 19 Clemson fell 6-0 to Notre Dame in the opener of a three-game ACC series at Frank Eck Stadium, getting blanked on four singles while the lineup struck out eight times against Irish right-hander Jack Radel. The Tigers drop to 18-5 overall and 1-3 in ACC play, and the offensive struggles that surfaced during the Georgia Tech series last weekend.
Here’s the real story. Knaak was the best pitcher on the field for five innings. He punched out eight of the 18 batters he faced, allowed three hits, and the only earned run he surrendered came on a 407-foot solo shot by Mason Barth in the third. That’s a pitch you tip your cap on. His final line: 5.0 innings, 3 hits, 2 runs, 1 earned, 1 walk on 85 pitches. For a guy who fell to 0-3 on the season, those numbers tell you everything about the disconnect between his performance and his record.
But none of that matters when the offense gives you nothing. Zero runs. Four hits. 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position.
Clemson’s lineup looked lost from the jump. Jarren Purify struck out in the first. Nate Savoie struck out in the first. Jacob Jarrell struck out in the first. Three of the first four Tigers to step in the box went down swinging against Radel, and the pattern held all night. Radel worked his fastball to both sides, kept hitters off balance, and made 33 batters look like they were guessing. He threw 117 pitches with zero walks in a complete game. Think about that.
Tryston McCladdie was the only Tiger who could figure anything out. He singled to center on the first pitch he saw in the opening frame, stole second, and singled again through the right side in the ninth. Two of Clemson’s four hits. Six of nine starters finished hitless, and the bottom third of the order, Jack Crighton through Jay Dillard, combined to go 0-for-9.
The Tigers did put runners on base. Six men stranded. But every time Clemson had a chance, the at-bats came up empty. In the second, Luke Gaffney singled and Ty Dalley singled to put two on with one out. Crighton grounded into a double play. That was the best scoring opportunity Clemson had all night.
Notre Dame needed a few swings. Barth’s homer in the third gave the Irish a 1-0 lead. The fourth brought another run courtesy of Tyler Lichtenberger’s throwing error at shortstop, which put Bino Watters on second base. Parker Brzustewicz drove him in with a single to shallow right. Unearned run. The kind of mistake a good team can overcome when its offense shows up.
Clemson’s offense did not show up.
Knaak exited after five with the score 2-0. Justin LeGuernic came on in the sixth and retired the side in order. The seventh fell apart fast. Brzustewicz walked. Davis Johnson bunted him to second. Jayce Lee singled to first and Brzustewicz scored on a fielding error by Gaffney at first base. Barth got hit by a pitch to load the bases, and Jamie Zee crushed a three-run homer to right. Game over. 6-0. LeGuernic’s line: 2.0 innings, 2 hits, 4 earned runs on 31 pitches. Nathan Dvorsky threw a clean eighth, but nobody cared by then.
The frustrating part is how little Notre Dame had to do. Five hits. But they went 3-for-8 with runners in scoring position compared to Clemson’s goose egg. Two homers, a double, and a couple of timely singles. That was plenty against a lineup that never threatened.
Jarrell went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. Purify was 0-for-4 with two. When an entire lineup generates four singles against one pitcher throwing a complete game, the problem is not the pitching matchup. It’s the approach at the plate.
Clemson has two more games at South Bend on Saturday(2:00 PM) and Sunday(1:00 PM). In their last four ACC games, the Tigers have been shut out twice and held to three runs or fewer three times. The non-conference record is sparkling. The conference record is 1-3. Knaak has pitched well enough to win multiple times this year and keeps getting saddled with losses because the lineup can’t give him anything. At some point, the bats have to wake up. Saturday would be a good time.
