After its matchup against Central Michigan on Tuesday was postponed due to cold weather, Notre Dame baseball hosts the Clemson Tigers for a three-game conference series this weekend at Frank Eck Stadium. The Irish own an 11-6 record and a 3-3 mark in ACC play, coming off a series at Louisville in which they won the opener but lost the final two games.
Clemson, ranked No. 19 nationally by d1baseball.com, comes to South Bend, owners of a 17-4 overall record and a 1-2 mark in Atlantic Coast Conference play, after last weekend’s conference series opener loss against Georgia Tech. The Tigers claimed a 3-1 midweek victory over College of Charleston on Tuesday and will face The Citadel on Wednesday night before flying north to South Bend.
The Tigers have dominated the Irish as of late. The Irish are 2-7 against the Tigers under Coach Shawn Stiffler and lost last year’s series 1-2 at Clemson. First pitch Friday is scheduled for 4:30 p.m., while Saturday’s and Sunday’s contests are slated for 2 p.m. and 1 p.m., respectively.
Clemson staff ace Aidan Knaak projects to start for the Tigers on Friday. Knaak ranked No. 55 on D1Baseball’s preseason MLB prospect rankings after posting a 9-1 record and a 4.18 ERA over 16 starts last year, earning all-ACC First Team Honors for the second year in a row. The Tigers right-hander, however, has had a bit of a rough go of it this season, sporting a 0-2 record and a 5.29 ERA in four appearances. Knaak has found success against the Irish in the past, though. Last year, he outpitched then-sophomore Jack Radel, pitching seven scoreless innings in a 2-0 Tigers victory. As a freshman in 2024, he introduced himself to the Irish batters with seven innings of two-run ball.
Lefty Michael Sharman is Saturday’s probable starter for the Tigers, and he’s been stellar in 2026. The 6-foot-1 southpaw owns a 1.47 ERA over 30.2 innings of work and has commanded the strike zone all season, evidenced by his 29-3 strikeouts per walk ratio. Expect Sharman to challenge Irish hitters in the zone with his high-80s fastball and lean on his deceptive changeup against righties and a curve/slider mix against lefties in put-away situations.
Drew Titsworth started Sunday against the Yellow Jackets and projects to shoulder starting duties Sunday against the Irish. Titsworth, a junior out of Frankenmuth, M.I., started the year on the injured list with an arm strain and has been working up to starting games after pitching in more of a swingman role for coach Erik Bakich last year. He boasts a 3.72 ERA in four appearances (one start) over 9.2 innings and attacks hitters with an unorthodox sidearm delivery. Titsworth figures to be kept on a short leash due to his early-season injury, so watch for Tigers relievers Justin LeGuernic (1.23 ERA, 14.2 IP); Dion Brown (1.74 ERA, 10.1 IP); and Danny Nelson (1.17 ERA, 2 SVs) to play a big role Sunday and throughout the weekend.
On offense, the Tigers are anchored by leadoff man Jarren Purify, an on-base machine who reaches base at a .478 clip and has earned 15 walks this season. He’s followed up by three-hole catcher Nate Savoie, who is 6-10 in his last three games with four home runs in that span. He’s slashing a stellar .408/.483/.829 on the year. Savoie also leads the Tigers in hits (31), RBIs (31) and home runs (nine). Keep an eye on designated hitter Jacob Jarrell, who bats fifth and is a power threat with eight homers in 18 games played.
Georgia Tech’s offense jumped all over the Tigers’ starters last weekend and challenged their bullpen in a way they hadn’t been challenged before by virtue of the Tigers’ relatively weak nonconference schedule. Notre Dame’s offense will look to replicate the Georgia Tech blueprint against the Tigers with another productive weekend at the plate after scoring 33 runs against Louisville. Look especially for Davis Johnson to continue hitting well after slugging 4 homers and 13 RBIs against the Cardinals last weekend.
On the mound, the Irish need more depth from their starters than they got against Louisville to compete with Clemson. Both Radel and Ty Uber went only three innings, and those short starts stretched the Irish bullpen thin, making it hard to protect the leads the offense built up.
While those short starts tested the bullpen, it’s also on the bullpen to shut the door when handed a lead late in games. The Irish dropped a pair of games over spring break, one to Duke and the other to Louisville, due to late-game bullpen implosions. For the Irish to succeed against the Tigers, they need someone like graduate righty Eli Thurmond or senior Noah Rooney, who’s largely handled closing duties, to step up and protect close leads. Thurmond had two scoreless innings against Louisville on Friday, and Rooney came on in the ninth with the Irish up 2-0 on Sunday at Duke and got the Devils’ three-hole hitter to strike out looking. The talent is there for the Irish bullpen; they just need to perform.
Radel’s and Uber’s long starts on Friday and Sunday against Duke put the Irish in positions to win. If Stiffler can get solid innings out of Radel and Uber and quality performances from the bullpen, and if the offense continues its productive ways, the Irish will be in great shape to win their first home ACC series of the season.
