Notre Dame baseball looked buried and was about to get run-ruled.
The Irish trailed No. 2 Clemson 11-1 through 6 1/2 innings Sunday after dropping the first two games of a home series against the Tigers.
An RBI single by second baseman Connor Hincks in the bottom of the seventh and kept the game alive rather than it being called early if ND trailed by 10 through seven innings.
Then the Irish (14-15, 2-13 ACC) crawled all the way back with four runs in the eighth inning and five more in the ninth to force extras only to fall short, 13-12, in 11 innings.
Notre Dame's rally started to get real in the eighth with an RBI double by third baseman Estevan Moreno, a two-run double by designated hitter Tito Flores and an RBI sacrifice fly by Hincks.
The bottom of the ninth featured a three-run bomb by Moreno, an RBI single by Flores and shortstop Jackson Penney scoring all the way from second on a passed ball to tie the game. With a chance to win the game, right fielder Brady Gumpf popped up to third base with Casey Kmet stranded at third.
Sloppy Notre Dame defense in the 11th inning gave the game away. An error by first baseman Josh Hahn advanced pinch runner Devin Parks to second base. After a Jarren Purify walk and a Jacob Jarrell pop-up, Clemson (28-3, 10-2) took the lead with Parks and Purify scoring on a throwing error by Penney that would have ended the inning. Notre Dame committed five errors in the loss.
Penney scored an unearned run in the bottom of the 11th after reaching on a throwing error by pitcher Rocco Reid and advancing to third. An RBI groundout plated Penney and moved Kmet to second base. But Gumpf, who finished 0-for-6 from the plate, grounded out to end the game.
Notre Dame used eight pitchers in the game starting with sophomore Rory Fox. He allowed eight hits, three earned runs and six unearned runs while striking out six in 4 1/3 innings. David Lally Jr (0-1) was saddled with the loss by pitching the last four outs of the game. He walked one and struck out another while ceding two unearned runs.
The Irish have now been swept in four of their first five conference series this season. They beat Miami twice for their only ACC wins.
Notre Dame is set to host Butler (13-16) on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. EDT ahead of a three-game series at No. 13 North Carolina (26-6, 11-4) on Friday-Sunday.
The Irish trailed No. 2 Clemson 11-1 through 6 1/2 innings Sunday after dropping the first two games of a home series against the Tigers.
An RBI single by second baseman Connor Hincks in the bottom of the seventh and kept the game alive rather than it being called early if ND trailed by 10 through seven innings.
Then the Irish (14-15, 2-13 ACC) crawled all the way back with four runs in the eighth inning and five more in the ninth to force extras only to fall short, 13-12, in 11 innings.
Notre Dame's rally started to get real in the eighth with an RBI double by third baseman Estevan Moreno, a two-run double by designated hitter Tito Flores and an RBI sacrifice fly by Hincks.
The bottom of the ninth featured a three-run bomb by Moreno, an RBI single by Flores and shortstop Jackson Penney scoring all the way from second on a passed ball to tie the game. With a chance to win the game, right fielder Brady Gumpf popped up to third base with Casey Kmet stranded at third.
Sloppy Notre Dame defense in the 11th inning gave the game away. An error by first baseman Josh Hahn advanced pinch runner Devin Parks to second base. After a Jarren Purify walk and a Jacob Jarrell pop-up, Clemson (28-3, 10-2) took the lead with Parks and Purify scoring on a throwing error by Penney that would have ended the inning. Notre Dame committed five errors in the loss.
Penney scored an unearned run in the bottom of the 11th after reaching on a throwing error by pitcher Rocco Reid and advancing to third. An RBI groundout plated Penney and moved Kmet to second base. But Gumpf, who finished 0-for-6 from the plate, grounded out to end the game.
Notre Dame used eight pitchers in the game starting with sophomore Rory Fox. He allowed eight hits, three earned runs and six unearned runs while striking out six in 4 1/3 innings. David Lally Jr (0-1) was saddled with the loss by pitching the last four outs of the game. He walked one and struck out another while ceding two unearned runs.
The Irish have now been swept in four of their first five conference series this season. They beat Miami twice for their only ACC wins.
Notre Dame is set to host Butler (13-16) on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. EDT ahead of a three-game series at No. 13 North Carolina (26-6, 11-4) on Friday-Sunday.
