DURHAM, N.C. (Interstat) — Kaden Smith’s walk-off single capped a stunning four-run rally in the bottom of the ninth inning as the Duke Blue Devils erased a three-run deficit to stun the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 6-5 in Atlantic Coast Conference baseball on Saturday evening at Jack Coombs Field.

The Blue Devils, who entered the ninth trailing 5-2, sent nine men to the plate against Notre Dame reliever Oisin Lee and capitalized on a critical error to complete the comeback and even the weekend series.

Notre Dame appeared in firm control behind a strong start from Caden Crowell and timely hitting from shortstop Noah Coy. Crowell pitched five innings, allowing two earned runs on no hits with five strikeouts and five walks. Coy drove in three runs, including a two-run triple in the second inning and a sacrifice fly in the fourth, to help the Fighting Irish build their lead.

Duke’s pitching kept the game within reach. After starter Luke Nochowitz allowed five runs in 3 1/3 innings, relievers Peter Lemke, Aiden O’Connell and Ben Dean combined for 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball. Lemke was particularly dominant, striking out five in 2 2/3 perfect innings of work.

The game turned dramatically in the final frame. With one out, Duke’s AJ Quagliano launched a ground-rule double. After a pitching change, pinch-hitter Anderson reached on a throwing error by Notre Dame third baseman Zee, allowing Quagliano to take third. Jake Lambdin’s groundout scored Quagliano to make it 5-3. RJ Hamilton then tripled to right-center, driving in Anderson to cut the deficit to one. After an intentional walk, Smith delivered the game-winning hit, a sharp single to third base that scored Hamilton and ignited the celebration.

The most important part of the game was undoubtedly the bottom of the ninth inning. Notre Dame, having secured three quick outs in the eighth, handed the ball to Lee to close it out with a 5-2 lead. The inning began routinely with a groundout. But Quagliano’s double provided a spark. The subsequent error on Anderson’s grounder opened the door, transforming a likely close play into a catastrophic sequence for the Fighting Irish. Instead of having a runner on first with two outs, Duke had runners at the corners with one out. Lambdin and Hamilton then executed under pressure with productive outs to tie the game before Smith ended it. The entire rally was fueled by a combination of clutch hitting and a pivotal defensive mistake.

Duke improved to 13-4 overall and 1-1 in the ACC. Notre Dame fell to 8-4 and 1-1. The teams conclude the three-game series on Sunday. According to Interstat’s ELO system, Duke had a 57.40 percent probability to win the game.

The Blue Devils finished with 10 hits, led by Hamilton’s three hits and two RBIs. Smith also drove in two. Notre Dame managed seven hits but could not add to its lead against Duke’s bullpen after the fourth inning. Notre Dame’s Noah Rooney provided two scoreless innings of relief with three strikeouts before the ninth-inning collapse.