MT. PLEASANT, S.C. – The University of Notre Dame baseball team split Saturday’s doubleheader on the second day of the Swig and Swine Classic. The Irish fell 6-2 to Ball State at Shipyard Park but rebounded with a 7-0 win over Charleston Southern at CSU Ballpark.
After dropping the first game of the day, the Irish bounced back in the afternoon against Charleston Southern. After switching venues from Shipyard Park to CSU Ballpark on campus, the Irish jumped out to a fast start with runs in the first and third.
The two runs would be more than enough for the Irish against Charleston Southern as Cameron Junker tossed a gem of a performance on the mound. He pitched a career-best six innings without allowing a run and struck out six batters. Tommy Vail came in for the final three innings to combine for the first shutout of the season for the Irish.
Tune in and listen to the postgame interview with @EricGilgenbach and @CameronJunker ☘️
☘️Gilgenbach (2 games): 2 HR, 2 doubles, 5 RBI
☘️Junker: 6 IP, 4K, 0R#GoIrish #PassTheShillelagh pic.twitter.com/mJNQpVapSm— Notre Dame Baseball (@NDBaseball) March 3, 2019
How It Happened – Charleston Southern
Notre Dame got off to a quick start in the second game of the doubleheader. Daniel Jung got a base knock to right field to get the Irish going in the top of the first. Next batter was Carter Putz and he hit a shot to left center that landed on the warning track and bounced against the wall. Jung came all the way around from first to score the opening run of the game.
In the third, Notre Dame manufactured another run to add to its lead. Spencer Myers led the inning off with a double down the left field line. Jung hit a long fly ball to the warning track in center which advanced Myers to third. Next up, Putz hit a hard grounder to the shortstop and Myers was running on contact to score on the ground out.
The Buccaneers were threatening in the bottom of the third with the bases loaded and nobody out. Junker stayed composed and forced a line-out to Miller at short, who quickly tossed the ball over to second to double up the runner off the bag. The next hitter grounded out to Copeland to end the inning without any damage.
Junker settled into a grove after the third, giving up just two hits over the next three innings and kept the Buccaneers off the scoreboard.
The Irish added an insurance run in the top of the seventh. Myers singled up the middle and stole second for his third stolen base of the season. Jung was up next and he hit a blooper into center to score Myers.
Sophomore Niko Kavadas got in on the action in the top half of the eighth. He sent a 2-2 pitch deep over the fence in right field for his third home run of the season and extend the lead to 4-0 for the Irish.
The Irish put their final stamp on the game in the ninth inning. Myers and Jung both recorded hits to set career highs and the bases were loaded for Eric Gilgenbach. He hit a rope down the left field line to clear the bases and secure the win.
How It Happened – Ball State
It was a pitchers duel through the first three innings at Shipyard Park. Cameron Brown and Ball State’s Drey Jameson held both teams to just three hits combined and tallied 11 strikeouts.
Jameson looked to have another 1-2-3 inning locked up in the fourth until Gilgenbach stepped to the plate with two outs. The senior captain turned on a first-pitch fastball and launched the ball over the fence in left and into the Wando River for the first run of the game.
The Cardinals responded quickly on the Irish in the bottom half of the inning. They strung together a few hits and put up four runs on the scoreboard. Ball State followed it up with two more runs in the bottom of the fifth to take control of the game with a 6-1 lead.
Gilgenbach came back at up in the eighth inning and hit another towering blast to left center. It cleared the outfield fence and made another splash in the river for his second home run of the game to tie a career high.
Game Notes
- Eric Gilgenbach hit his team-leading third and fourth home run of the season against Ball State.
- It is his third career multi-homer game and first since April 13, 2018 against NC State.
- Cameron Junker tossed a career-high six innings against the Buccaneers. He scattered just four hits, allowed no runs and struck out six.
- Spencer Myers set a career high with three hits against the Buccaneers.
- Daniel Jung also set a career high in hits against Charleston Southern with four on the night.
- Tommy Vail tied a career high with three innings pitched en route to his first save of the season.
- Carter Putz recorded hits in both games to extend his hitting streak to six games.
- Andrew Belcik tallied a career high five strikeouts in two innings of relief against Ball State.
- First career start for Brooks Coetzee in the second game against Charleston Southern.
Up Next
Notre Dame will play its final game of the Swig and Swine Classic Sunday morning back at Shipyard Park. The Irish will square off with Ball State for the second time on the weekend and Sunday’s first pitch is slated for 11 a.m. ET.
For a behind-the-scenes look at the Irish baseball program, follow @NDBaseball on Twitter and @NotreDameBaseball on Instagram. For tickets to an Irish baseball game, click here.
–ND–