After falling behind early, Clemson rallied to take a lead, but it was one the team could not hold as Notre Dame rallied for an 8-7 walk-off win over the No. 19 Tigers at Frank Eck Stadium in South Bend on Saturday.

Jayce Lee’s two-run home run off of reliever Danny Nelson in the bottom of the eighth tied things up, before Parker Brzutstewicz bases loaded grounder to short in the bottom of the ninth ended it after a throwing error.

After getting shut out on Friday, things once again started out shaky for Clemson (18-6, 1-4 ACC). Starter Michael Sharman could not find the strike zone and lasted just two innings, allowing four runs on four hits, while walking two. Of his 42 pitches thrown, only 21 were strikes. The Tigers were trailing 4-1 after his departure.

Dion Brown would relieve Sharman to begin the third and held the Irish down, allowing Clemson an opportunity to get back in it. Brown went three scoreless, giving up just two hits while striking out four.

Luke Gaffney drove in three runs. Jacob Jarrell had a solo home run, his 10th of the season, as he went 2-for-5 and scored two runs. Tryston McCladdie, Jack Crighton and Jay Dillard also had multi-hit games, with Crighton driving in two runs.

After falling behind 4-1, the Tigers got an RBI hit from McCladdie in the third to cut the lead to 3-2. A two-run double by Crighton and a sacrifice fly by Luke Gaffney gave Clemson a 5-4 lead in the fifth, before a two-run single by Gaffney in the seventh pushed the lead out to 7-4.

The Irish cut into the lead in the sixth with a solo homer from Davis Johnson off reliever Hayden Simmerson, making it 7-5.

Lee’s homer in the eighth was the first home run allowed by Nelson this season.

Injury News

Jarren Purify was hit in the hand with a pitch in the eighth and left the game.

Up Next

The same two teams will face off in the series finale on Sunday, with first pitch a 1 p.m.