Clemson tops Notre Dame, advances in ACC tournament

Clemson opened up ACC tournament play with an impressive performance against Notre Dame.

The Tigers topped the Fighting Irish 7-3 Thursday afternoon in Pittsburgh to advance to the semifinals of the ACC tourney.

Clemson will play Virginia Tech on Friday at 1 p.m. with a chance to advance to the ACC title game.

“A hard-fought win today. Loved the way we competed, both at the plate and in the field defensively,” Clemson coach John Rittman told the ACC Network.

No. 5 seed Clemson got a strong start from sophomore Millie Thompson on the mound. The lefty allowed only two earned runs while helping the Tigers advance.

Thompson allowed six hits and had two strikeouts while earning the win.

“Millie did a phenomenal job in the circle for us today,” Rittman said. “Millie’s pitched really well all year long. … I just like that all of our pitchers are ready to go in and do the job when they’re called upon.”

All-ACC performer Valerie Cagle led the way at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a solo home run — her 12th of the season.

Cammy Pereira and Alia Logoleo also homered for the Tigers. Aby Vieira joined Cagle in finishing with multiple hits.

Now the Tigers will try to stay against No. 1 seed Virginia Tech.

The Hokies swept Clemson earlier this season in the first ACC series of the year for the Tigers.

Clemson enters the matchup 37-14 (14-10), while the Hokies are 41-6 (21-2).

“Virginia Tech’s a complete team. They have a great pitching staff, so they can throw one of three pitchers. They play really good defense. They have speed up and down the lineup, power,” Rittman said. “There’s a reason why they’re ranked where they’re ranked, and it’s going to be a challenge for us.”