SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The 13th-ranked Notre Dame baseball team (23-8) remained undefeated in midweek games this season with the 12-2 win over Purdue Fort Wayne (10-24) Wednesday afternoon at Frank Eck Stadium. The Irish scored in each of the last four innings at the plate and put up double-digit runs for the 10th time this season.
The Irish had another strong performance on the mound in the win. As a staff, they allowed just two runs and four hits. Liam Simon picked up his first win of the season and tied a career high with eight strikeouts. Jack Findlay set a career high with four strikeouts and tied a career-high with 3.0 innings of scoreless relief. It was the second-straight game and 18th time this season the Irish have allowed three runs or fewer in a game.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Purdue Fort Wayne took the lead in the top of the first with a solo home run.
The lead did not last long as the Irish tied the game in the bottom of the first. Spencer Myers worked a leadoff walk and stole second base. The steal was the 61st of his career, surpassing AJ Pollock for seventh all-time in program history for career steals. Myers scored later in the inning on the sacrifice fly from Jack Zyska to tie the game at 1-1.
After giving up the run in the first, Simon settled in over the next few innings. He struck out two in the second and the side in the third to keep the game tied.
In the bottom of the third, the Irish took the lead off the bat from Zyska. He smoked a solo shot off the top of the wind screen in left to give the Irish their first lead of the game. His fifth home run of the season gave the Irish a 2-1 lead after three.
Simon tied a career high with his eighth strikeout of the game in his final inning in the fourth. He finished the outing with 4.0 innings pitched with just two hits, eight strikeouts and no walks.
The Irish added to the lead in the bottom of the fifth. Brooks Coetzee III singled through the right side and scored Ryan Cole. They added another run in the inning as David LaManna singled up the middle to score Coetzee III from second. After five innings, the Irish led 4-1.
Another run came home in the sixth as Cole scored on a double play to put the Irish up 5-1.
Then the Irish broke the game open in the seventh with their biggest inning of the game. The Irish scored five runs in the inning and it started when LaManna ripped his second double of the game, this time down the right field line, to score Zyska. Jack Penney came home on a wild pitch in the inning and LaManna scored on an RBI single from Jared Miller. The big hit of the inning came from Cole with his fifth home run of the season, a two-run shot, that put the Irish up 10-1 after the inning ended.
Nick Juaire added the final two runs in the eighth with an RBI double from left to put the cap on the game for the Irish.
UP NEXT
The Irish continue the homestand with an ACC series as Wake Forest comes to town. The Demon Deacons and Irish will square off starting Friday at 5 p.m. ET. It will be Wake’s first trip to South Bend since the 2018 season. The entire series will be streamed on ACC Network Extra. Admission is free for all fans at Frank Eck Stadium this year.
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