Midweek Preview: Michigan State

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The 12th-ranked Notre Dame baseball team is hitting the road for one of their final midweek matchups of the season. The Irish are set to face off with Michigan State for the second time this season on Tuesday at Comerica Park. Tuesday’s matchup is set for a 6:35 p.m. ET start at the home of the Detroit Tigers. The Irish head into the contest riding a five-game winning streak after each game of their five-game homestand last week.

Irish and Spartans Clash in Motor City

• The Irish head north to the Motor City as they prepare for their second of three matchups with Michigan State this season.
• Tuesday’s clash will be held at Comerica Park, home of the Detroit Tigers. It will be the third professional stadium the Irish have played at this season. They played at Flour Field (Greenville Drive) and US Bank Stadium (Minnesota Vikings) earlier this year.
• The first matchup of the season between the Spartans and Irish took place at US Bank Stadium as part of the Cambria College Classic.
• The Irish came away with a 2-1 win after Jack Brannigan hit the go-ahead home run in the seventh inning.
• This will be the fifth time the Irish have squared off with a B1G team this season and they are 4-0 in those games. The most recent win over a B1G team came on April 12 in the 14-5 home win over Michigan.
• Michigan State leads the all-time series 80-58 but the Irish have won four of the last five games against the Spartans.
• The Spartans enter the midweek matchup with a 16-21 overall record and are 3-9 in conference play.
• They are coming off a road series defeat as they lost two-of-three games to Northwestern, an opponent the Irish are set to face in May.
• The Irish are coming off a 5-0 homestand and hold their third winning streak this season of five games or more.

Irish Complete Comeback to Sweep Wake Forest

• The Irish overcame a six-run deficit in the fifth and a four-run deficit in the seventh to walk-off Wake Forest 13-12 on April 24 to sweep the series.
• The Irish never led the entire game until the bottom of the ninth when Carter Putz singled up the middle and Brooks Coetzee III scored the game-winning run from second. 
• The run capped the fourth ACC sweep of the season for the Irish, the most in a single season since joining the conference in 2014.
• It is the most conference sweeps in a single season since 2006 when the Irish swept five series in the BIG EAST.
• The Irish totaled 42 runs in the series against Wake Forest, setting the program record for most runs in an ACC series. The previous record was 36 last season against North Carolina. 
• It was the most runs in a three-game conference series since 1993 when the Irish scored 48 runs in a sweep of Dayton when they were members of the Midwestern Collegiate Conference.
• Jack Zyska had the best game of his career in the win as he was one of the main catalysts in the comeback.
• He hit two home runs in the game for the first time in his career and tied a career high with four RBI.
• His second home run of the game was a three-run shot in the seventh that tied the game up at 12-12, the first time the game was tied since the first inning.
• Eight of the nine starters got hits in the game, all nine starters reached base and six had multi-hit games in the comeback win.
• Zack Prajzner tied a career high with three runs for the second-straight game and Brooks Coetzee III also tied a career high with three runs. 

Irish Set Program Record in Series-Clinching Win over Wake Forest

• The Irish set a program record as they clinched another ACC series in the 21-3 win over Wake Forest.
• The 21 runs were the most in program history in an ACC game since joining the conference in 2014. The previous high was 19 last season against North Carolina.
• It was the most runs in a conference game since 2008 when the Irish scored 25 against Georgetown back in the BIG EAST.
• The Irish scored in seven of the eight innings at the plate in the win and scored multiple runs in five of those innings.
• The Irish hit four home runs on the afternoon, the most home runs in a game since they hit four in the 8-1 win over Clemson on April 9.
• David LaManna hit his first home run of the season and Brady Gumpf tallied his first career home run in the win. Zack Prajzner and Jack Brannigan also hit home runs in the game.
• 11 different players recorded a hit in the win and six players had multi-hit games.
• Carter Putz tied a career high with four hits and LaManna set a career high with four RBI. Prajzner tied a career high with three runs.
• It was the third-straight game and the 20th time this season the Irish limited their opponents to three runs or fewer. 
• The win clinched the fourth ACC series this season for the Irish and the 17th overall series victory under head coach Link Jarrett. 
• The Irish are 17-3-1 all-time in series in the past two plus seasons under Jarrett.

Irish Blow By Demon Deacons in Series-Opening Win

• The Irish battled the conditions in the 8-3 series-opening win over Wake Forest. 
• They survived a 1:10 rain delay and got out of a bases-loaded jam when play resumed after the delay. 
• In the final two innings at the plate, the Irish scored four runs to put the game out of reach.
• John Michael Bertrand had another strong outing on the mound for the Irish. He went 6.0 innings and allowed just one earned run. 
• It was the eighth start this season he has pitched 6.0 innings or more and seventh start this year he has given up one earned run or less.
• Jack Zyska tied a career high with a team-high three hits at the plate and David LaManna added two runs and two hits.
• It was the third-straight game and the 19th time this season the Irish limited their opponents to three runs or fewer. 

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 71-23, good for a .755 winning percentage over that period.
• That ranks third overall in the NCAA, trailing only Tennessee and Arkansas.

• Among ACC teams, the Irish have the best winning percentage over the past three seasons.

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