SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The eighth-ranked Notre Dame baseball team is on the road for their final midweek matchup of the season when they take on Northwestern Tuesday afternoon in Evanston. This kick starts the final road trip of the regular season before the postseason begins for the Irish. Over the past weekend, they officially qualified for the 2022 ACC Championship in Charlotte. Tuesday’s matchup against the Wildcats is set for a 4 p.m. ET start and will be aired on B1G+.
| Midweek Preview | |
|---|---|
| Matchup: | #8 Notre Dame (31-11) vs. Northwestern (22-25) |
| When: | Tuesday, May 17 | 4 p.m. ET |
| Probable Starters: | RHP Liam Simon (1-0, 5.62 ERA) vs. TBA |
| Where: | Evanston, Ill. | Rocky and Berenice Miller Park |
| Watch: | B1G+ ($) |
| Live Scoring: | Northwestern Live Stats |
| Notes: | Notre Dame |
| Social: | @NDBaseball @NotreDameBaseball |
| BY THE NUMBERS | |
|---|---|
| .711 | The Irish own a 32-13 record (.711) on the road under head coach Link Jarrett. |
| .745 | The Irish are 76-26 (.745) since the start of the 2020 season. That winning percentage ranks third in the NCAA over the past three seasons, trailing Tennessee and Arkansas. |
| .982 | Notre Dame is ninth in the NCAA and first in the ACC in fielding percentage with a .982 mark this season. The Irish have committed 29 errors in 1,136 putout opportunities this season. |
| 1 | The 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. |
| 1.25 | Notre Dame is 12th in the NCAA and second in the ACC with a 1.25 WHIP this season. They have surrendered 310 hits and 162 walks in 378.2 innings pitched. |
| 3.76 | The Irish rank 14th nationally and are third in the ACC in team ERA with 3.76. They have given up 158 earned runs in 378.2 innings this season. |
| 7.32 | The Irish are sixth in the NCAA and first in the ACC with 7.37 hits allowed per nine innings. They have given up 310 hits in 378.2 innings pitched this season. |
| 11.0 | The Irish rank sixth in the NCAA and second in the ACC in strikeouts per nine innings with 11.0. The Irish pitching staff has struck out 462 batters in 378.2 innings this season. |
| 11 | The Irish scored 11 runs in the sixth inning against Boston College, the most in a single inning this season. It was the most runs in an inning since April 24, 2021, when the Irish scored 12 runs in the eighth inning against Boston College. |
| 12.0 | John 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. |
| 12 | John 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. |
| 13 | The Irish are 13-1 in mid-week games during Link Jarrett’s tenure. They are 8-1 this season with a road win over Elon and home wins over Valparaiso (2x), Northern Illinois, Butler, Michigan, Purdue Fort Wayne and Michigan State. |
| 18 | The 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. |
| 22 | The Irish allowed three runs or less for the 22nd time this season in the 8-1 win over Pitt on May 14. They are 22-0 this season and 48-2 overall under Jarrett in games they allow three runs or less. |
| 42 | The Irish scored 42 runs in their series sweep of Wake Forest on April 22-24. It set the program record for most runs in an ACC series since joining the conference in 2014. 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. |
| 61 | Outfielder Spencer Myers has 61 steals in his Irish career and ranks seventh all-time in program history for career steals. He trails Dan Bautch by seven for sixth place in program history. |
Irish and Wildcats Clash in Evanston
- The Irish hit the road to kick off their final road trip of the regular season with a midweek matchup against Northwestern.
- It will be the seventh time the Irish face a team from the Big Ten Conference this season and are 5-1 in those games so far.
- It will be the 137th meeting all-time between the two schools and the Irish hold a 76-60-1 advantage over the Wildcats.
- Northwestern leads the series 30-26-1 in games played in Evanston but the Irish have won the last three games against the Wildcats.
- In the last game between the two teams, the Irish won 12-4 in Evanston on May 14, 2019. The Irish hit three home runs in the win, including Spencer Myers’ first career home run in the sixth.
- Northwestern heads into the matchup with a 22-25 overall record and are 8-13 in conference play.
- They are coming off a 1-2 weekend after they dropped the weekend series against Purdue at home.
- The Irish are 33-11 heading into the matchup after going 2-1 over the weekend in a series win over Pitt.
Irish Clinch Another ACC Series in 8-1 Win Over Pitt
- The Irish had another strong performance on the mound and at the plate in the 8-1 win over Pitt to clinch the series.
- With the win, the Irish secured their sixth ACC series win of the season and improved to 7-1-1 under head coach Link Jarrett in home ACC series over the past two seasons.
- The Irish had a balanced approach at the plate as nine different players recorded a hit and they scored in five of the eight innings.
- Jack Penney tied a career-high with two hits and he led the team on the day with David LaManna and Zack Prajzner also having multi-hit games.
- On the mound, Austin Temple set a career high with 10 strikeouts over the first four innings of the game.
- Temple had two strikeouts in the first and second inning while he had three strikeouts in the third and the fourth.
- Will Mercer earned the win after tossing 3.1 innings of scoreless relief. He allowed only two hits and no walks in his outing.
- It was the 22nd time the Irish have limited their opponents to three runs or less this season and the Irish are 22-0 in those games.
Coetzee III, Bertrand Push Irish Past Panthers
- Brooks Coetzee III and John Michael Bertrand led the Irish to an 8-3 win in the series opener against Pitt.
- Coetzee III got hits in his first three at-bats at the plate, including his team-high 10th home run in the fourth inning.
- It was the second-straight game with a home run for Coetzee III and he finished 3-for-4 from the plate with two runs and two RBI.
- Bertrand picked up his seventh win of the season after 7.0 innings of work and he allowed just two runs, now walks and tallied nine strikeouts.
- It was the fifth time this season Bertrand has gone 7.0 innings or longer and the eighth start this year he has given up two earned runs or less.
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 76-26, good for a .745 winning percentage over that period.
- That ranks third overall in the NCAA, trailing only Tennessee and Arkansas.
| School | Record Since 2020 | Win Pct. |
| Tennessee | 110-27 | .803 |
| Arkansas | 98-32 | .754 |
| NOTRE DAME | 76-26 | .745 |
| UC Santa Barbara | 91-32 | .740 |
| Texas | 99-37 | .728 |
| Old Dominion | 90-35 | .720 |
| Texas Tech | 90-36 | .714 |
| Vanderbilt | 96-39 | .711 |
| East Carolina | 91-37 | .711 |
| San Diego | 76-32 | .704 |
- Among ACC teams, the Irish have the best winning percentage over the past three seasons.
| School | Record Since 2020 | Win Pct. |
| NOTRE DAME | 76-26 | .745 |
| NC State | 83-39 | .680 |
| Miami | 82-39 | .678 |
| Virginia | 86-44 | .662 |
| Louisville | 75-41-1 | .645 |
—ND—