April 14, 2015
Midweek Game #6: Toledo
April 15, 2015
6:05 p.m. (ET)
Frank Eck Stadium (Notre Dame, Ind.)
Team Information:
Notre Dame: 24-10, 9-9 ACC (22-31, 9-21 ACC In 2014)
2014 Postseason: Did not qualify for postseason
Toledo: 12-23, 6-6 MAC (22-32, 11-16 MAC In 2014)
2014 Postseason: Did not qualify for postseason
Rankings:
Notre Dame: No. 25 Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Top 30
Projected Pitching Matchup:
LHP Scott Tully (3-1, 2.73 ERA) vs. LHP Alex Wagner (1-3, 9.16 ERA)
Series History:
Notre Dame leads 44-13
First Meeting: W, H, 7-5 (5/26/1934)
Last Meeting: W, A, 4-3 (4/16/2014)
Aoki vs. Toledo: 2-1 (all at ND)
Game Coverage:
Live Video: WatchND (Link on UND.com)
Live Audio: WHME 103.1 FM in South Bend (Chuck Freeby, pbp)
Live Stats: Gametracker (Link on UND.com)
Twitter Reports: @NDBaseball / @NDsidRuss
Weather Report (as of Tuesday, April 14):
Wednesday, April 15: 64 Degrees & Mostly Sunday
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Coming off a memorable weekend sweep of then-No. 7 Florida State that put the Irish in the national spotlight, the No. 25 University of Notre Dame baseball team gets back to business at 6:05 p.m. (ET) Wednesday when the Toledo Rockets come to Frank Eck Stadium for midweek action.
The Irish (24-10) are 15-1 in non-conference games this season and boast a perfect 4-0 mark in midweek contests at The Eck. They have shut out their last two midweek opponents — Eastern Michigan and Valparaiso — by matching 6-0 scores.
In a sweep of the Seminoles this past weekend, Notre Dame claimed its biggest series win since winning two-of-three at No.1 Florida State in the 2002 Super Regionals that advanced the Irish to their last College World Series. The Irish also handed Florida State just its second series sweep in its last 46 Atlantic Coast Conference series.
The big series win helped Notre Dame jump up to No. 21 in the RPI and also move back into the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Top 30 (No. 25) for the third time this season.
Sophomore Scott Tully (3-1) will start his second consecutive midweek game for Notre Dame. Last week against the Crusaders, he hurled five shutout innings, allowing just three hits while striking out three batters. The Reading, Massachusetts native has allowed no runs in eight of his 13 appearances this year and boasts a solid 2.73 ERA in 33 innings on the mound.
In non-conference games this year, the Irish bats have a slash line of .284/.401/.387, while the pitching staff boasts a combined ERA of 2.48 in 145.0 innings on the bump.
During Notre Dame’s current eight-game winning streak, the Irish pitchers have been downright spectacular, claiming a 1.12 ERA and a .179 opponent batting average in 72 innings of work. They have struck out 58 batters while walking just 12.
Not to be outdone, the Notre Dame defense committed just one error during the time frame and had 69.2 innings of error-free baseball from March 29 to April 12.
The Notre Dame bats were clutch last week in helping the Irish to a 4-0 record, as the squad had nine two-out RBI and five more when a runner was on third base with less than two outs.
Leading the way for the Irish was sophomore catcher Ryan Lidge, who had four two-out RBI while batting .667 with four doubles and five RBI. Teammate Zak Kutsulis, a junior first baseman, batted .538 with seven hits.
Toledo (12-23) is coming off a 3-0 loss at Dayton Tuesday night after taking two-of-three at Western Michigan this past weekend. The Rockets are batting .228 as a team, boast a 4.74 ERA and have a .963 fielding percentage.
Freshman LHP Alex Wagner (1-3, 9.16 ERA) will oppose Tully on the hill.
The Rockets are led by former Irish assistant Cory Mee, who spend time under the Golden Dome in 1993 as a volunteer assistant coach before returning in 1995 in an assistant role (1995-99).
Notre Dame leads the all-time series with the Rockets, 44-13, including picking up a 4-3 win last year in Toledo.
Tickets are still available for Wednesday night’s game on what is expected to be a beautiful night in South Bend. For fans that can’t make it out, links for WatchND’s free online video stream in addition to live stats are available on UND.com. Fans in South Bend can also listen to Chuck Freeby on WHME 103.1 FM.
–Russell Dorn, Assistant Media Relations Director
–ND–