Irish Host Florida State For Weekend

March 23, 2017

By Michael Scholl

Five Things To Know

• The University of Notre Dame baseball team plays its first home ACC series of the weekend as No. 13 Florida State visits Frank Eck Stadium. The Irish have won four-of-five games, including a series victory at Pitt last weekend. The Seminoles are 15-7, with a 3-3 mark in the league after dropping two-of-three at Virginia Tech a week ago.
• FSU leads the all-time series between the schools, 11-7, but the Irish have won all three games played at The Eck. Florida State swept three games in Tallahassee in 2014, Notre Dame’s first year in the ACC. The Irish got revenge with a sweep in South Bend in 2015 before the Seminoles registered another sweep a season ago. Prior to Notre Dame joining the ACC, the only meeting between the teams since 1998 was 15 years ago when the Irish went to top-seeded Florida State and won the Tallahassee Super Regional to advance to the 2002 College World Series.
• The San Diego State game on Feb. 25 saw head coach Mik Aoki shuffle his infield after the Irish started 1-5 while committing 15 errors in six games. Since putting Kyle Fiala at third, Cole Daily at shortstop, Nick Podkul at second and Daniel Jung at first, the Irish are 6-7 while making just 12 errors in 13 games. The defense has been especially strong since the start of ACC play, with Notre Dame playing errorless baseball in five of the eight games since the start of the Clemson series.
• Notre Dame is playing its first home ACC series of the year in week three of conference play. Only Notre Dame and Boston College have yet to play home league games, with the Eagles playing host to Clemson this weekend. When Notre Dame opened its home season on Tuesday with a 12-1 over Northern Illinois, it became the fifth-last Power Five Conference team to play a home game. The only teams in the ACC, SEC, Big 10, Big 12 and Pac-12 yet to play at home are BC (March 24), West Virginia (March 24), Penn State (March 24) and Purdue (March 28).
• After earning Louisville Slugger Freshman All-America honors a season ago, Matt Vierling has emerged as one of the most versatile players in the season this season. In addition to leading the Irish with a .352 average and 17 RBI, he currently boasts Notre Dame’s longest on-base streak, having reached in the last 10 games. Meanwhile, the starting center fielder has become Mik Aoki’s go-to on the mound in late-game situations. Vierling has made five appearances on the season, earning a pair of saves and a win while allowing just two earned runs in seven innings of work.

– ND –

Michael Scholl joined Fighting Irish Media in August 2016, coordinating communications for the baseball program and assisting with the football team at his alma mater. The South Bend native earned a degree in political science from the College of Arts & Letters in 2009 before going on to work in athletics communications at Providence College, Vanderbilt and Cincinnati.