NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame baseball team had another dominant performance on the mound Sunday afternoon at Frank Eck Stadium and defeated the 14th-ranked Wolfpack, 4-1, to clinch their fourth series win in conference play this season.
Coming off a strong start last weekend at Pitt, Cameron Brown continued his strong play against one of the top teams in the conference. After allowing a run in the first inning, Brown shut the Wolfpack (33-12, 14-10 ACC) down the rest of his outing. He only allowed just two hits over his final five innings and did not allow another run.
The Irish (19-23, 12-12 ACC) tied the game in the fifth and a three-run sixth inning gave them the lead for the first time in the game. The combo of Joe Boyle and Tommy Vail got the final nine outs after Brown’s day was done to clinch the win and secure their second series win over a top-15 opponent.
Listen in as the staff (@CamBro24 and Tommy Vail) discusses their strong performances ☘️#GoIrish #PassTheShillelagh pic.twitter.com/BrDpDQDncu
— Notre Dame Baseball (@NDBaseball) April 28, 2019
How It Happened
NC State got out in front in the top of the first. They led the game off with two straight hits to have runners on the corners and nobody out. Brown settled in and got the next batter to ground into a double play which scored the runner from third. Brown got the next batter to strike out to end the inning and limit the damage to one run.
That was all the offense for either team during the early innings as both pitchers had control of the strike zone and kept the scoring chances at a minimum.
In the bottom of the fifth, the Irish strung together quality at-bats and were able to get on the scoreboard. Jared Miller led the inning off with a walk and moved over to second on the sacrifice bunt from David LaManna. Zack Prajzner dropped a single in to right field and Miller took a wide turn home and continued going after the throw went to the cut off man in the infield. Miller beat the eventual throw home and the game was tied at 1-1.
The Irish kept battling at the plate in the sixth inning. After two walks and a single, Eric Gilgenbach was up with the bases loaded and just one out. He turned on a breaking ball and hit it through the left side for a RBI single to score Ryan Carr. Jack Zyska scored the second run of the inning after tagging up on a foul pop out. Then LaManna added an RBI single and the Irish led 4-1 after the sixth.
Boyle came in for Brown and worked around a hit in the seventh to keep the Wolfpack off the scoreboard.
Boyle and Vail combined to get through the eighth inning without any damage and Vail was set to come back out for the ninth. Vail shut the door in the final inning, striking out the side to clinch the win and earn his fifth save of the season.
Game Notes
- Cameron Brown recorded his second straight quality start Sunday against the Wolfpack.
- Brown allowed just one run in six innings, scattering four hits and struck out six.
- Tommy Vail earned his second save of the weekend and fifth of the season after two innings of work.
- Vail did not allow a hit and struck out four, including the final three batters of the game for the save.
- David LaManna reached base in all three at-bats after going 2-for-2 with a walk and a RBI.
- The Irish earn their seventh ranked win of the season and second series win over a ranked opponent.
- The previous ranked series win came on the road over No. 12 Clemson on March 15-17.
Up Next
The Irish will continue the current 11-game homestand with their final home midweek contest of the season. Notre Dame will welcome UIC to Frank Eck Stadium on Tuesday with first pitch scheduled for 6 p.m. ET.
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.