EAST LANSING, Mich. – The Notre Dame Fighting Irish (23-16) fell to Michigan State (25-13) for the second time this season in their midweek matchup in East Lansing on Tuesday, April 25.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Irish posted an early 3-0 lead after two hits in the first frame of the day as TJ Williams started the offense with a base hit to shallow center field. Williams scored on a Carter Putz RBI double to deep right center to put Notre Dame on the board. Both Jack Penney and Vinny Martinez reached via a walk to make it bases loaded. Putz scored on an MSU fielding error to make it a 2-0 ballgame. The final run of the frame was scored as Estevan Moreno reached on a fielder’s choice and Penney was sent home to give the Irish the 3-0 advantage.
A two-run inning for the Spartans in the second closed the gap to just one at 3-2 heading into the top of the third. Both the Irish and the Spartans hung zeros in the third and fourth innings, but a three-run home run in the bottom of the fifth would lift Michigan State to their first lead of the day at 5-3.
The Irish responded with a strong frame in the top of the sixth as Martinez led off with a base hit through the left side. He scored shortly after as DM Jefferson launched it to deep right center for an RBI triple for the Irish. Trailing 5-4, a sac fly from Brady Gumpf would score Jefferson to tie it up at 5-5.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Spartans would retake the lead after a six-run frame to make it an 11-5 ballgame heading into the eighth. Dani Neri and Gumpf both recorded base hits in the top of the eighth, but the Irish were unable to score in the frame. The Spartans would tack on one more run in the bottom of the inning to extend the lead 12-5 heading into the ninth for the eventual 12-5 win in the midweek matchup.
It was a staff day on the mound as David Lally Jr. made the start for the Irish, with appearances from Ricky Reeth, Matt Bedford, Ryan Lynch, Sammy Cooper, and Justin Moore.
UP NEXT
The Irish resume ACC play at Frank Eck this weekend as they host Florida State for a three-game series starting on Friday, April