Notre Dame Fighting Irish - Official Athletics Website

Midweek Preview: Butler

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Coming off a series sweep of No. 5 Florida State, the sixth-ranked Notre Dame baseball team returns home to open a five-game homestand. They open the homestand with a midweek matchup against Butler on Tuesday. Tuesday’s game is set for a 5 p.m. ET first pitch and it will be streamed on the ACC Network Extra. Admission is free for all fans this season at Frank Eck Stadium.

Midweek Preview
Matchup:Butler (14-14) vs. #6 Notre Dame (16-5)
When:Tuesday, April 5 | 5 p.m. ET
Probable Starters:LHP Cole McDaniel (2-2, 3.33 ERA) vs. RHP Radek Birkholz (0-0, 1.59 ERA)
Where:South Bend, Ind. | Frank Eck Stadium
Admission:Free for all fans
Watch:ACCNX
Live Scoring:StatBroadcast
Notes:Notre Dame
Social:@NDBaseball
@NotreDameBaseball

 BY THE NUMBERS
.720The Irish own an 18-7 record (.720) at home under head coach Link Jarrett. Notre Dame is 5-0 against non-conference opponents at home under Jarrett and won all three games of the 2021 South Bend Regional.
.753The Irish are 61-20 (.753) since the start of the 2020 season. That winning percentage ranks third in the NCAA over the past three seasons, trailing only Tennessee and Arkansas.
.989Notre Dame ranks second in the NCAA in fielding percentage with a .989 mark this season. The Irish have committed only nine errors in 574 putout opportunities this season.
1The Irish swept #5 Florida State on the road from April 1-3 (2-0 (12), 5-4, 9-7). It was the first time the Irish have swept a Top-5 team on the road in program history.
1.18Notre Dame is eighth in the NCAA and second in the ACC with a 1.18 WHIP this season. They have surrendered 140 hits and 86 walks in 161.1 innings pitched.
3.34The Irish rank 12th nationally and third in the ACC in team ERA with 3.34. They have given up 71 earned runs in 191.1 innings this season.
6.59The Irish are fourth in the NCAA and lead the ACC with 6.59 hits allowed per nine innings. They have given up 140 hits in 191.1 innings pitched this season.
7Notre Dame tallied seven team steals in the midweek win over Northern Illinois. It was the most steals in a game for the Irish since March 1, 2020, when they stole seven against Presbyterian.
8The Irish are 8-0 in mid-week games during Link Jarrett’s tenure. They are 3-0 this season with a road win over Elon and home wins over Valparaiso and Northern Illinois.
8The Irish scored eight unanswered runs in the 8-4 comeback win over #17 NC State on March 11. It was the most unanswered runs in a game since Game 2 of the Super Regional when the Irish scored nine unanswered runs to beat #7 Mississippi State.
11.4The Irish rank eighth in the NCAA and third in the ACC in strikeouts per nine innings with 11.4. The Irish pitching staff has struck out 243 batters in 191.1 innings this season.
12.0John Michael Bertrand (7.2 IP), Ryan McLinskey (1.2 IP), Aidan Tyrell (1.0) and Alex Rao (1.2 IP) combined to shutout #5 Florida State in 12.0 innings in the 2-0 Irish win on April 1. It was the first time in program history that the Seminoles had been shutout in an extra inning game.
12John Michael Bertrand set a career high with 12 strikeouts against #5 Florida State on April 1. It was the most strikeouts in a game for an Irish pitcher since Cameron Brown struck out 12 against Florida State on March 23, 2019.
15In the 20-2 win over Marist, 15 different Irish players recorded a hit. It is the most players with a hit in a game for the Irish over the past 16 years. The previous record was 13 against Georgetown in 2008.
57Outfielder Spencer Myers has 57 steals in his Irish career and ranks eighth all-time in program history for most career steals. He trails AJ Pollock by four for seventh place in program history.

Irish Begin Homestand With Butler

  • The Irish kick start a five-game homestand on Tuesday when the Butler Bulldogs come to Frank Eck Stadium.
  • It will be the 83rd meeting all-time between the two schools and the Irish hold a 67-15 advantage over the Bulldogs. This will be the first time the two teams have played since the 2012 season.
  • The Irish are 36-6 in games played in South Bend and have won the last 12 games against Butler dating back to 1994. 
  • Butler is coached by former Irish head coach Dave Schrage. Schrage was with the Irish from 2007-10 and has been the Butler head coach since the start of the 2017 season.
  • The Bulldogs come into the midweek matchup 14-14 on the season and went 3-1 with a weekend series win at home against Eastern Illinois.
  • The Irish are coming off a 4-0 week after the midweek home win over Northern Illinois and a weekend sweep on the road over #5 Florida State.
  • Notre Dame is 18-7 at home under head coach Link Jarrett in his three years and are 5-0 against non-conference teams at home under Jarrett.
  • Overall, the Irish are 8-0 against non-conference teams during Jarrett’s tenure.

Irish Earn Sweep with 9-7 Win over #5 Seminoles

  • The bats came alive for the Irish in the 9-7 win over the Seminoles to sweep the series.
  • Notre Dame scored multiple runs in four of the nine innings on Sunday, including a game-high three runs in the first inning.
  • Ryan Cole hit his second home run of the weekend, a three-run shot off the scoreboard, in the first inning to put the Irish up early.
  • Carter Putz also hit his second home run of the weekend, a two-run shot, in the fourth inning to regain the lead for the Irish.
  • Cole finished the game 3-for-3 from the plate with two RBI and three runs. He also reached base in all five of his at bats (three hits, walk and hit-by-pitch).
  • Putz was 2-for-3 at the plate and also had two RBI and three runs.
  • On the mound, the bullpen tossed over eight innings of relief to help seal the win for the Irish.
  • Aidan Tyrell pitched a game-high 4.2 innings to earn his fourth win of the season and Jack Brannigan got the final five outs for his first save of the year.
  • With the win, the Irish completed the sweep over the fifth-ranked Seminoles. It is the first time in program history they have swept a Top-5 team on the road.

Irish Clinch Series with Comeback Win Over Seminoles

  • After trailing heading into the ninth, the Irish battled back to defeat Florida State, 5-4, to clinch the series.
  • The Irish broke a 1-1 tie in the fourth inning with a solo home run from Carter Putz.
  • The lead held until the seventh inning when the Seminoles took their first lead of the series after scoring three runs in the innings.
  • Notre Dame got a run back in eighth with a RBI double from Putz that scored Jack Brannigan to pull within one heading into the ninth.
  • In the ninth, the Irish had two runners in scoring position and were down to their final out.
  • Jared Miller hit a high chopper up the middle that the second baseman corralled in the shallow outfield. Brooks Coetzee III scored on the play and Jack Penney kept going for home and beat the throw to regain a 5-4 lead.
  • Roman Kimball came back out for the ninth and set the Seminoles down in order to seal the win.
  • The win clinched the Irish their first ever series win in Tallahassee in program history.

Irish Outlast Florida State in Extras, 2-0

  • The pitcher’s duel lived up to the hype as two of the best pitchers in the ACC faced off in the series opener.
  • John Michael Bertrand and Parker Messick dueled for eight innings without allowing a run to either team.
  • Bertrand had one of the best starts of his Irish career after tossing 7.2 innings of scoreless ball with a career-high 12 strikeouts. 
  • The 12 strikeouts were the most in a game by an Irish pitcher since 2019.
  • The scoreless game carried into extras as neither team scored over the first 11 innings of the game and a runner did not make it past second base.
  • In the 12th, Carter Putz doubled with two outs and then advanced to third on a wild pitch. 
  • Ryan Cole faced a 2-2 count and took the fastball clear over the wall in left for the game’s first runs. 
  • Alex Rao came back out and set the Seminoles down in order to close out the 2-0 win.
  • It was the first time in program history that the Seminoles were shut out in an extra inning game.
  • Bertrand was named ACC Pitcher of the Week following his performance against the Seminoles.  

Among the Nation’s Best

  • Since the start of the 2020 season, the Irish have been one of the most consistent teams over the past three seasons.
  • Notre Dame is 61-20, good for a .753 winning percentage over that period.
  • That ranks third overall in the NCAA, trailing only Tennessee and Arkansas.
School Record Since 2020 Win Pct.
Tennessee 92-21 .814
Arkansas 82-23 .781
NOTRE DAME 61-20 .753
Texas Tech 79-26 .752
Texas 85-29 .746
Old Dominion 76-26 .745
Vanderbilt 82-30 .732
UC Santa Barbara 72-28 .720
Arizona 76-30 .717
Ole Miss 80-32 .714
  • Among ACC teams, the Irish have the best winning percentage over the past three seasons.
School Record Since 2020 Win Pct.
NOTRE DAME 61-20 .753
NC State 69-31 .690
Virginia 75-34 .688
Miami 66-31 .680
Louisville 62-33 .653

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