by Claire DeMeo ’24
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Notre Dame (20-20, 5-17 ACC) came up just short against No. 8 Wake Forest (27-14, 12-10 ACC) in the first of a three-game weekend series Friday.
RHP Matt Bedford had an impressive start on the mound, holding the Demon Deacons to just two hits and no earned runs in five and two-thirds innings of work. RHP Bennett Flynn (1-2) struck out four, but ultimately shouldered the loss.
Offensively, the Irish saw two batters homer in the game – INF Connor Hincks hit a solo shot to put the Irish up early, and INF Simon Baumgardt smashed a two-run bomb to regain the lead in the seventh. Notre Dame did not trail in the game until the eighth inning.
Notre Dame entered the day tied for the ACC lead in fielding double plays (37) and Hincks led all ACC players by a large margin in fielding double plays with 36. He added one Friday with a double play to end the first inning.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Wake Forest started off fast with a single, but Bedford dealt his first strikeout of the day in response. On the next batter, the Irish turned a double play courtesy of infielders Estevan Moreno, Jack Penney and Hincks. After two strikeouts for the Irish in the bottom of the inning, Penney slammed a double to the outfield, but a flyout ended the inning.
Bedford and the Irish sat Wake down in order in the second, with Bedford adding another strikeout. Hincks led off the bottom of the inning with a home run to put the Irish on top, 1-0. The next three batters sat down in order.
The Demon Deacons added a single to lead off the third, but the runner was unable to come home before the Irish went to bat. C Joey Spence drew a walk to lead off, but did not advance from first, and the game went to the fourth.
Wake Forest’s first two batters were retired in the fourth, and after a walk, Penney made an impressive cross-body play for the third out. Notre Dame went three up, three down in the bottom of the inning.
The Irish defense held strong in the fifth, forcing a groundout on the Deacon’s leadoff batter. After drawing a walk, Wake grounded into the second out. The next batter managed to draw another walk, but one more groundout to Bedford sent the Irish back to the plate. Notre Dame was unable to generate any offense, with all three batters retired in order to remain at 1-0.
Leading off in the sixth inning, the Irish forced a lineout to sit the first batter. The next Wake Forest batter forced a fielding error on a fly ball to reach second. The Irish were able to grab another groundout, but the Wake Forest runner advanced to scoring position. Turning to the bullpen after five and two-thirds innings, Flynn came into the game for Bedford. A wild pitch walked the batter and allowed Wake Forest to score from third, tying the game at 1-1. Flynn then delivered a three-pitch strikeout to push the game to the bottom of the sixth. After a flyout and a strikeout, Penney earned a walk, but in a close attempt to steal second on the next at-bat, he was called out.
Moving into the seventh, Flynn delivered back-to-back strikeouts to sit the first two batters in order. A groundout on the ensuing at-bat quickly sent the Irish back up to bat. Moreno sent a double down the left field line to lead off the bottom of the seventh. After a strikeout, Baumgardt crushed a two-run homer to put the Irish back on top, 3-1. A lineout and strikeout ended the inning with the Irish leading by two.
The Irish forced two quick outs to start the eighth inning including another three-pitch strikeout for Flynn. After drawing a walk on a full count, the next Demon Deacons batter then hit a homer to knot the game at 3-3. After a walk, RHP Tobey McDonough took the mound for Flynn. The Wake Forest runner then stole second, and the next batter drew a walk. A double on the next play scored one more for the Demon Deacons, putting them up 4-3. A foul-out got the Irish out of the half-inning, but they were then held to another three up, three down at the plate.
In the top of the ninth, McDonough wasted no time striking out Wake Forest’s leadoff batter. A groundout on the next play recorded the second out of the inning. Though the Deacons managed to draw another walk, a popup to Baumgardt sent the game to the bottom of the ninth. Notre Dame was unable to respond as a trio of strikeouts closed out the game.
UP NEXT
Notre Dame and Wake Forest meet for the second of the three-game series on Saturday, April 27 at 7:00 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on ACC Network. Saturday’s game will also be the Bark in the Park game, with the first 50 dogs to receive a Bark in the Park leash. Fans must sign a waiver to be allowed admittance into the dog seating area. The waiver can be found at https://app.fightingirish.com/BSB24.