Clemson Going With Its Best Against Notre Dame
By: Jason Priester May 19, 2026

When Clemson takes the field against Notre Dame Tuesday afternoon in the opening round of the ACC Tournament, the Tigers will be literally fighting for their lives. One loss this week in Charlotte and that is a wrap for the 2026 season.

Due to the dismal ACC record (10-20), Erik Bakich’s team has put itself in the position of having to secure the league’s automatic bid by winning the conference tournament to get into an NCAA Regional. And Clemson is going to have to win it as the No. 15 seed.

Oh, and let’s not forget that the Tigers were swept by the Fighting Irish in South Bend to open ACC play back in March.

TOURNAMENT SETUP
• Who – Clemson (31-25) vs. Notre Dame (30-21)
• When – Tuesday (5 p.m.)
• Where – Charlotte, N.C. (Truist Field)
• Watch – ACC Network

SERIES HISTORY
• Overall Record – Clemson leads 20-18 (1994-26)
• Record at Neutral – Clemson leads 1-0 (2018)
• Record in ACC Tournament – Clemson leads 1-0 (2018)

Knowing what is at stake, Bakich is going with Michael Sharman, who has been by far the team’s most consistent starting pitcher all season. The veteran left-hander is 6-1 this season, with an ERA of 3.21 and a WHIP of 1.06. In 78 innings, he’s struck out 69 and walked just 11.

However, in Sharman’s first start against the Irish, he lasted just two innings, allowing four runs on four with with two walks. He will need to be better on Tuesday.

Notre Dame, the 10-seed, will counter with its best pitcher, Jack Radel. The right-hander pitched a complete game shutout against Clemson in March, striking out eight while walking just one. Radel earned ACC Pitcher of the Week honors with the performance. Radel is 7-4 on the season, with an ERA of 3.32 and a WHIP of 1.05. In 81.1 innings pitched, he’s struck out 108 while walking just 21.

With Radel on the mound, Clemson will have to be better at the plate than they were the first time the team saw him. No matter what Sharman does, without any run support, it won’t matter.

CLEMSON OVERVIEW
• Clemson, which has a 2-2 neutral record, won one of three games at Virginia Tech last weekend.
• The Tigers are averaging 6.3 runs per game and hitting .283 with a .447 slugging percentage, .389 on-base percentage and 65 steals.
• The pitching staff has a 4.54 ERA, .245 opponents’ batting average and 2.90 strikeout-to-walk ratio, and Clemson is fielding .966.

NOTRE DAME OVERVIEW
• Notre Dame, which has a 4-2 neutral record and is averaging 8.0 runs per game, is led by fourth-year Head Coach Shawn Stiffler.
• The Fighting Irish won two of three games at Pittsburgh last week. They are hitting .306 and have a 6.01 ERA and .974 fielding percentage.
• Mark Quatrani is hitting .373 with 14 homers, Bino Watters is batting .368, Drew Berkland has 15 homers and Noah Rooney has five saves.

QUICK HITS
• The Fighting Irish swept Clemson in three games by a combined score of 21-11 at Frank Eck Stadium from March 20-22.
• Clemson is hitting .314 with a .414 on-base percentage in its 31 day games.
• Clemson (.373) had a higher on-base percentage in ACC games than its opponents (.370).

TIGERS TO PLAY IN 52ND ACC TOURNEY
• Clemson (31-25), the No. 15 seed, opens its ACC Tourney by playing No. 10 seed Notre Dame (30-21) on Tuesday at 5 p.m. on ACC Network.
• The better seed is the designated home team throughout the ACC Tournament, and home team is in the third-base dugout for each game.
• The games are played at Truist Field in Charlotte, N.C.
• It is the fourth time the ACC Baseball Tournament is held in Charlotte after last being held there in 2024.
• All 16 ACC teams are participating in the 2026 ACC Tournament and is in its second year of a single-elimination format.
• Seeds 1-4 receive a double bye and seeds 5-8 receive single byes.
• No. 1 seed Georgia Tech, No. 2 seed North Carolina, No. 3 seed Florida State and No. 4 seed Boston College all receive a double bye.
• No. 5 seed Miami (Fla.), No. 6 seed Wake Forest, No. 7 seed Virginia Tech and No. 8 seed Virginia all receive a single bye.
• The other eight seeds all must win five games in six days to win the tournament title.
• There are four games on both Tuesday and Wednesday, and two games each on Thursday, Friday (quarterfinals) and Saturday (semifinals).
• The ACC Championship Game is Sunday at noon on ESPN2, and the winner of the game receives an automatic bid into the 2026 NCAA Tournament.
• All of Clemson’s ACC Tournament games are broadcast live on the radio by Clemson Athletic Network.
• Live stats are available at ClemsonTigers.com for all Tiger games.

CLEMSON’S ACC TOURNEY HISTORY
• This is the 52nd ACC Tournament, and Clemson has been to the finals in 24 of the previous 51 tournaments, nine more than any other school.
• Clemson has won an ACC-high 11 ACC Tournament titles in history, including 2023, when it beat Miami (Fla.) 11-5 in the title game.
• Clemson’s 11 ACC Tournament titles came in 1976, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1994, 2006, 2016, 2023.
• Clemson has a 122-77 record (.613) in ACC Tournament games. The Tigers have the most All-ACC Tournament selections (71) in history.
• Clemson’s 122 ACC Tournament wins are 27 more than any other team (North Carolina (95)).
• Only California (66.7) and Florida State (65.9) have a better winning percentage than Clemson (61.3) in ACC Tournament play.
• Clemson is one of only two teams to play in all 52 ACC Tournaments. The Tigers join Virginia as the only teams to play in every ACC Tourney.
• The ACC Tournament began in 1973 and has been held every year but two (1979, 2020) since then.
• Clemson is 8-2 (.800) in the ACC Tournament under Head Coach Erik Bakich.

**Clemson Athletics contributed to this story