CLEMSON, S.C. – The University of Notre Dame baseball team bounced back with its first ranked win of the season after taking down No. 12 Clemson 9-2 Friday night at Doug Kingsmore Stadium.
Tommy Sheehan shut down the potent Tigers (13-4, 3-1 ACC) lineup and went the distance for his first career complete game while allowing just two runs. It was the first complete game for an Irish pitcher since Michael Hearne on April 19, 2016 against No. 21 Michigan State.
The Irish (7-9, 3-1 ACC) opened the scoring with three runs in the second and broke the game open in the ninth. Eric Gilgenbach tallied his team-leading sixth home run in the ninth when he sent a three-run shot over the fence in left field.
How It Happened
The Irish opened the scoring in the top of the second inning and Niko Kavadas got it started. He hit a hard grounder that ate up the third baseman and he reached on the error. David LaManna singled to center and the Irish had runners on first and second with two down. Jared Miller fought off a pitch on his hands and it dropped down on the right field line for a single and Kavadas came around to score the game’s first run.
The Irish added two more runs in the second off of a wild pitch and an error by the second baseman and had a 3-0 lead after the second.
The Tigers got a run back in the third inning but Sheehan settled back in and kept them from adding on any more in the inning.
The Irish got the run back in the sixth as Gilgenbach let the inning off with a single to left for his second hit of the night. He advanced to second on the sacrifice bunt by LaManna and ended up at third after a wild pitch. With two away, Miller hit a hard liner up the middle that the shortstop made a great play on but Miller beat the throw over to first which allowed Gilgenbach to score and regain the three-run lead.
In the eighth inning, the Irish added an insurance run from their most consistent hitter of the night. Miller tallied his career-high third RBI to score to Ryan Cole and increase the lead.
In the ninth, Gilgenbach blasted his sixth home run of the season and put the finishing touch on a great night at the plate. The senior captain finished the night with three hits to tie a career high.
Outside of the first two batters in the third inning, Sheehan kept the Tigers at bay all night long. He held the Tigers to a season-low two runs on the night and came back out in the ninth to shut the door. He got the final batter of the game to ground out to short and recorded his first career complete game.
Game Notes
- Tommy Sheehan went the distance to record his first complete game of his career.
- It was the first complete game by an Irish pitcher since Michael Hearne on April 19, 2016 against No. 21 Michigan State.
- Eric Gilgenbach hit his team-leading sixth home run of the season in the ninth inning.
- He tied a career high with three hits on the night.
- It is his third start this season he has gone at least seven innings and the second start to go at least eight innings.
- Jared Miller tallied an RBI single in the second inning to open the scoring. It is his third straight game with an RBI.
- He ended the night with three RBI for a career high and tied a career high with three hits.
- It was the first ranked win of the season for the Irish. They had five ranked wins last season and four of them came on the road.
Up Next
Notre Dame will continue its three-game series with No. 12 Clemson Saturday afternoon. The second game of the series is set for a 3 p.m. ET start and will be broadcast on the ACC Network Extra.
For a behind-the-scenes look at the Irish baseball program, follow @NDBaseball on Twitter and @NotreDameBaseball on Instagram. For tickets to an Irish baseball game, click here.
–ND–