April 1, 2018
By Megan Golden
DURHAM, N.C. — Entering the eighth in a 4-4 tie, the University of Notre Dame baseball team struggled to close the game in a 16-4 loss to Duke on Sunday afternoon.
Notre Dame (11-16, 4-8) owned two leads in the game but could not hold on against the Blue Devils (24-5, 9-3). The three-game sweep is the first of the season for the Irish.
How It Happened
Matt Vierling continued his tear, belting a solo homer off the centerfield wall at Durham Bulls Athletic Park to give the Irish a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning.
Duke responded in the bottom half of the frame, when Griffin Conine hit the second solo homer of the game to center to even the score, 1-1.
With nobody out in the fifth inning, Eric Gilgenbach connected for his second single of the day. Then Daniel Jung stepped in and hit his second homer of the season to right field to help the Irish regain a 3-1 lead.
Charlie Vorsheck walked Conine to open the bottom of the sixth and then gave up a double and an RBI-single that cut Notre Dame’s lead to 3-2. Cole Kmet entered in relief of Vorsheck and allowed a RBI-single to Michael Rothenberg that tied the game at 3-3. The Blue Devils took a 4-3 lead on a groundout.
In the seventh inning, Gilgenbach reached first after being hit by a pitch, and he advanced on a groundout from David LaManna. Cole Daily knocked a base hit through the left side that scored Gilgenbach and tied the game, 4-4.
Kmet walked Rothenberg in the eighth and allowed pinch-runner Chase Cheek to steal second and score on a single from Jimmy Herron, who put the Blue Devils up, 5-4. Duke connected for 12 runs on eight hits in the inning off the Irish bullpen and built a 16-4 lead to secure the win.
Game Notes
- Notre Dame trails the all-time series, 6-12, and owns a 4-9 record at Duke.
- The Irish move to 3-6 versus top-20 teams in 2018.
- The Irish own a 4-8 record in true road games this season.
- Over the last four games, Notre Dame starting pitchers own a 2.13 ERA (6 ER/25.1 IP).
- Cameron Junker started and worked 3.1 innings, allowing one run and striking out four.
- Irish outfielder Matt Vierling has hit safely in 18 of 20 games in the month of March, batting .338 (26-77) with two doubles, one triple, four homers and 20 RBI during that span. Vierling owns eight multi-hit games in March.
- Alex Kerschner has hit safely in 13 of his last 16 games.
Up Next
Notre Dame returns home for a midweek game versus Chicago State at 6:05 p.m. ET on Tuesday at Frank Eck Stadium. The game will be streamed on ACC Network Extra and 103.1 FM (South Bend)/WatchND.
For a behind-the-scenes look at the Irish baseball program, follow @NDBaseball on Twitter and @NotreDameBaseball on Instagram. For tickets to an Irish baseball game, click here.
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Megan Golden, athletics communications assistant director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since August of 2016. In her role, she coordinates all media efforts for the Notre Dame baseball and women’s soccer programs. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Golden is a 2014 graduate of Saint Mary’s College and former Irish women’s basketball manager. Prior to arriving at Notre Dame, she worked in public relations with the Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox.