NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame baseball team hosts its final home series of the season when it welcomes the Canisius Golden Griffins to Frank Eck Stadium. The three-game series will start on Saturday with a double-header as the Irish are coming off their final exam week. It is also Senior Weekend as the Irish will honor their three senior student athletes along with their three senior managers in between both games on Saturday.
Know the Opponent: Canisius Golden Griffins
- After the University’s final exam break, the Irish will host Canisius College for the first time in school history.
- The Griffins finished last season 35-22 and were the MAAC Tournament champions to earn a trip to the NCAA Tournament.
- Notre Dame is 9-2 all-time versus MAAC school’s with the last matchup coming against Monmouth in 2017 during the USA Baseball-Irish Classic.
- The Golden Griffins head into the weekend series with a 22-23 overall record and the second-best record in the MAAC at 15-6 in conference play.
Thank You Seniors
- Heading into the final home weekend of the season, the Irish will honor outfielder Eric Gilgenbach, right-handed pitcher Shane Combs and infielder Jake Singer over senior weekend.
- Gilgenbach is a team captain this season and hails from Rochester Hills, Michigan. He has played in 132 games and made 106 starts and he just eclipsed the 100-hit plateau this past weekend against No. 7 Louisville. Gilgenbach has earned a number of accolades including ACC All-Academic Team, ACC Co-Player of the Week, Collegiate Baseball National Player of the Week and Third Team All-ACC (2018) throughout his career.
- Right-hander Shane Combs has been a consistent option out of the bullpen in his final season with the Irish. He has made 13 appearances this season and owns a 1-0 record and 3.14 ERA. Combs came on in relief and earned his first win to clinch the series over No. 12 Clemson in Notre Dame’s 4-2 win in extra innings on St. Patrick’s Day.
- Second baseman Jake Singer has battled back from injury for his senior season and has made a career-high 20 appearances and 14 starts in his final year with the Irish. A leader in the community, Singer is constantly among the tops in community service hours on the team. In his senior year, he has amassed 25.5 hours to bring his total to 97.5 over his four years.
See You In Durham
- With two weeks remaining in the regular season, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish have clinched a bid to the 2019 ACC Championships.
- Thanks to a Virginia Tech loss, the Irish along with Wake Forest and Clemson clinched a bid over the weekend for the 12-team tournament that will be held in Durham, N.C. at the Durham Bulls Park.
- It is the fourth time since the Irish have joined the conference that they have qualified for the ACC Championship.
- Most ACC teams still have two conference series remaining while the Irish have just one against Boston College for seeding purposes in the tournament. The Irish are currently 10th in the conference and their seed range depending on results range from 8-12.
- The tournament is broken up into four three-team pods where each team will play the other team and the best record from each pod will advance to the semifinals.
- The tournaments kicks off on Tuesday, May 21 with pool play that runs until Friday, May 24. The semifinals are the next day on Saturday, May 25 and the finals will be held on Sunday, May 26.