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Midweek Preview: Michigan

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The fourth-ranked Notre Dame baseball team closes out its five-game homestand on Tuesday with a showdown against one of the school’s rivals. The Irish welcome Michigan to Frank Eck Stadium as the two teams will meet for the first time since the 2017 season. Tuesday’s first pitch has been moved up to 5:30 p.m. ET and will be streamed on the ACC Network Extra. Admission is free for all fans this season at Frank Eck Stadium.

Midweek Preview
Matchup:Michigan (17-14) vs. #4 Notre Dame (20-5)
When:Tuesday, April 12 | 5:30 p.m. ET
Probable Starters:LHP Walker Cleveland (1-2, 7.65 ERA) vs. LHP Jack Finlay (3-0, 0.73 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
.759Notre Dame owns a 22-7 record (.759) at home under head coach Link Jarrett. The Irish are 6-0 against non-conference opponents at home under Jarrett and they won all three games of the 2021 South Bend Regional.
.765The Irish are 65-20 (.765) 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.
.800The Irish are 20-5 (.800) to start the 2022 season. It is the best start to a season since 2004, when the Irish began the year 22-3 (.880).
.987Notre Dame is second in the NCAA in fielding percentage with a .987 mark this season. The Irish have committed 12 errors in 682 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.
1.14Notre Dame is sixth in the NCAA and leads the ACC with a 1.14 WHIP this season. They have surrendered 161 hits and 99 walks in 227.1 innings pitched.
3.01The Irish rank sixth nationally and lead the ACC in team ERA with 3.01. They have given up 76 earned runs in 227.1 innings this season.
6.37The Irish are third in the NCAA and lead the ACC with 6.37 hits allowed per nine innings. They have given up 161 hits in 227.1 innings pitched this season.
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.
9The Irish are 9-0 in mid-week games during Link Jarrett’s tenure. They are 4-0 this season with a road win over Elon and home wins over Valparaiso, Northern Illinois and Butler.
11.2The Irish rank seventh in the NCAA and third in the ACC in strikeouts per nine innings with 11.2. The Irish pitching staff has struck out 283 batters in 227.1 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.
16The Irish allowed three runs or less for the 16th time this season in the 9-3 win over Clemson to sweep the series on April 10. They are 16-0 this season and 42-2 overall under Jarrett in games they allow three runs or less.
18The Irish struck out 18 batters in the 2-0 win over #5 Florida State on April 1. It was the most strikeouts in a game for the Irish pitching staff since May 16, 2008, when they struck out 18 against South Florida.
58Outfielder Spencer Myers has 58 steals in his Irish career and ranks eighth all-time in program history for most career steals. He trails AJ Pollock by two for seventh place in program history.

Notre Dame Renews Acquaintances with Michigan

  • The Irish close out their recent homestand with a visit from long-time rival Michigan on Tuesday at Frank Eck Stadium.
  • The Irish and Wolverines are set to meet on the diamond for the first time since the 2017 season and this will be the first trip to Eck to face the Irish since 2013.
  • The Wolverines did make a trip to Eck last season as they were the 3 seed in the South Bend Regional but did not face off against the Irish after losing to UConn and Central Michigan.
  • Michigan holds an 88-46 advantage over the Irish but are only 36-30 in games played in South Bend.
  • The Wolverines head into the midweek matchup with a 17-14 record and are 3-3 in B1G play. They are coming off a weekend sweep of Cal State Fullerton at home. 
  • The Irish are riding an eight-game winning streak into Tuesday’s matchup and are coming off a weekend sweep of Clemson.
  • The current win streak is their second this season of eight wins or more as they won 10-straight games in late February to early March. It is the first time since 2004 that the Irish have had two separate wins streaks of eight or more in the same season.
  • Notre Dame continues to hold strong in a number of national categories this season. They currently rank in the Top-10 in fielding percentage (2nd – .987), hits allowed per nine innings (3rd – 6.37), WHIP (6th, 1.14), ERA (6th – 3.01) and strikeouts per nine innings (7th – 11.2).

Irish Sweep Tigers with 9-3 Win

  • Notre Dame finished off its second-straight ACC sweep with a convincing 9-3 win over Clemson on April 10.
  • They outscored the Tigers 21-5 in the series and limited Clemson to three runs or fewer in all three games.
  • The Irish also never trailed against the Tigers at any point during the series and the score was tied for only two full innings the entire weekend.
  • It was the 16th time this season the Irish have limited their opponent to three runs or fewer and they are 16-0 in those games this year.
  • Carter Putz continued his torrid stretch at the plate, going 2-for-3 with three RBI. He finished the weekend series with eight RBI against the Tigers.
  • Danny Neri tied a career high with three hits and tied a career-high with two runs.
  • Jared Miller and Ryan Cole both hit home runs in the win, giving the Irish six long balls over the course of the series.
  • On the mound the trio of Will Mercer, Roman Kimball and Alex Rao closed out the series sweep as all three pitched at least 2.1 innings each. 
  • Kimball earned his third win of the season while Rao picked up his first save of the year.
  • The sweep is Notre Dame’s third ACC sweep this season and the seventh overall in the two-plus seasons under Jarrett.  

Blasts Push Irish Past Tigers

  • The Irish picked up another ACC series win with the 8-1 win over Clemson on April 9.
  • Notre Dame blasted four home runs in the win, the most in a game since the South Bend Regional final when they hit five in the 1-2 win over Central Michigan.
  • Nick Juaire and Danny Neri both hit their first career home runs in the win, while Brooks Coetzee III hit his team-leading seventh home run and Carter Putz hit his fifth of the year.
  • Putz led the way at the plate for the Irish with a team-high three hits and he tied a career high with five RBI.
  • Danny Neri also tallied three hits in a win, setting a new career high.
  • Austin Temple earned his third win of the season following 5.1 scoreless innings of work. He tied a career high with nine strikeouts.
  • Ryan McLinskey, Jackson Dennies and Radek Birkholz closed out the final 3.2 innings and did not allow an earned run.
  • It was the second straight game of the series that the Irish did not allow an earned run.
  • With the win, the Irish won their 16th series under Jarret and the 14th ACC series during his two plus seasons. 

Bertrand Lifts Irish Over Clemson

  • The Irish got another strong start from John Michael Bertrand to kick start another series in their 4-1 win over Clemson on April 8.
  • Coming off his career high 12 strikeouts against Florida State, Bertrand went a season-high 8.1 innings against Tigers and did not allow an earned run.
  • It was the longest start by an Irish pitcher over the weekend and he leads the ACC in innings pitched with 53.0.
  • It was also the second-straight start for Bertrand without allowing an earned run, which covers a span of 16.0 innings. 
  • He struck out eight in his outing against the Tigers, the fourth start this season he has had eight more K’s.
  • At the plate, Spencer Myers, Jack Brannigan and Brooks Coetzee III all had multi-hit games in the win.
  • Ryan McLinskey came on for the final two outs to earn his team-high third save of the year.
  • Bertrand was named ACC Pitcher of the Week for the second-straight week following his performance against the Tigers.

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 65-20, good for a .765 winning percentage over that period.
  • That ranks third overall in the NCAA, trailing only Tennessee and Arkansas.
School Record Since 2020 Win Pct.
Tennessee 96-21 .821
Arkansas 84-25 .771
NOTRE DAME 65-20 .765
Texas 88-30 .746
Texas Tech 82-28 .745
Old Dominion 78-28 .736
Vanderbilt 84-33 .724
UC Santa Barbara 75-29 .721
San Diego 64-27 .703
Arizona 77-33 .700
  • Among ACC teams, the Irish have the best winning percentage over the past three seasons.
School Record Since 2020 Win Pct.
NOTRE DAME 65-20 .765
Miami 71-31 .696
NC State 70-33 .680
Virginia 76-37 .673
Louisville 64-34 .653

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