Notre Dame Baseball Loses Series to North Carolina

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish baseball team welcomed the North Carolina Tar Heels to South Bend last weekend with for a three game ACC series. Despite two losses in the first two games the Irish managed to keep the scores close. They broke out in game three for a dominant win to avoid the sweep and close out the series.

Game 1: Notre Dame 8 (13-10, 4-6) - North Carolina 10 (19-7, 5-3)

Win: Nelson Berkwich, UNC (2-1)

Loss: Carter Bosch, ND (0-1)

Save: Kevin Eaise, UNC (2)

North Carolina started things off early, scoring two runs in each of the first two innings to take a 4-0 lead. Notre Dame answered quickly though, scoring three runs each in the second and third to take a 6-4 lead. The three runs in the second inning came on one swing, with runners on first and third base Estevan Moreno hit a three run home run to cut the deficit to one.

In the third inning Notre Dame scored three more runs, again on one swing of the bat. This time it was Vinny Martinez who hit the home run for the 6-4 lead. Notre Dame added another home run in the fourth inning with a solo home run from Zack Prajzner before finishing their scoring with another home run from TJ Williams in the eighth inning. At that point though Notre Dame’s bullpen fell apart, allowing six runs in the ninth inning for a comeback 10-8 win for North Carolina.

Game 2: Notre Dame 2 (13-11, 4-7) - North Carolina 5 (20-7, 6-3)

Win: Connor Bovair, UNC (3-1)

Loss: Jack Findlay, ND (4-1)

Save: Kevin Eaise, UNC (3)

Game two started a lot slower than game one, with no score coming in the first four innings. North Carolina again scored first though with three runs scored in the fifth and sixth innings total. Notre Dame answered with two runs in the seventh inning, cutting the deficit to one. After a three run home run in the first game, Vinny Martinez was at it again with a two run home run for the Irish. North Carolina added two insurance runs in the ninth inning though and Notre Dame couldn’t score again.

Game 3: Notre Dame 9 (14-11, 5-7) - North Carolina 1 (20-8, 6-4)

Win: Aidan Tyrell, ND (5-1)

Loss: Jake Knapp, UNC (3-1)

Notre Dame came out firing in game three, scoring multiple runs in each of the 1st, 3rd, and 5th innings. Carter Putz hit a two run home run in the first inning to give Notre Dame the early lead. In the third inning Jack Penney hit a solo home run early before Brooks Coetzee had an RBI base hit later in the inning. Martinez finished the third inning with another home run, a two run shot for the 6-0 Irish lead.

The Irish tacked on three more runs in the fifth inning to put the game out of reach. DM Jefferson doubled with the bases loaded to score two runs followed by Estevan Moreno singling to bring home the ninth and final Irish run of the day. North Carolina scored one run in the eighth inning but the game was already out of reach and Notre Dame avoided the sweep with a 9-1 win.

Up Next

Notre Dame plays one more home game midweek with the Northwestern Wildcats visiting South Bend for one game. The Irish then head on the road and visit the Pittsburgh Panthers for three games over the weekend.