NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The sixth-ranked Notre Dame baseball team had another stellar performance on the mound as they shutout North Carolina 4-0 Friday night at Frank Eck Stadium.
“Anytime you can win Friday, it helps you come to the stadium with a bit of a relaxed feeling on Saturday,” said head coach Link Jarrett. “North Carolina is a very good team and they have been playing well. I have talked about the super regional feel about these series and you never felt in a good spot until getting the runs in the eighth. (Brooks) Coetzee putting that ball in play was huge and it makes for a really good ending on a Friday.”
Will Mercer and Tanner Kohlhepp combined for the third Irish shutout of the season as the pair kept the Tar Heels bats quiet throughout the night. Mercer tossed the first 4.2 innings and allowed just three hits. Kohlhepp came on in the fifth and collected the final 13 outs of the game. He also allowed just three hits as North Carolina (20-19, 14-14 ACC) was shut out for just the second time this season.
At the plate Jack Brannigan launched his fourth home run of the year, a solo shot to right, to open the scoring in the fourth. The Irish (22-8, 19-8 ACC) added another run in the inning on the RBI single from Kyle Hess. Two insurance runs in the eighth helped seal the series opener for the Irish as they won their fourth game in a row.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The score remained deadlocked at 0-0 for the first three innings as both starters were able to keep the opposing bats at bay with the gusting winds coming in from left field.
The Irish broke through in the fourth and the long ball got the inning started from Brannigan. He took an outside fastball the other way and it easily cleared the wall as it ended two-thirds of the way up the screen in right. It was not the only run they scored in the inning as Hess singled to center that scored Coetzee from second. After the inning concluded, the Irish held a 2-0 lead.
Mercer got into the fifth for the Irish and exited with two outs and runners on first and second. Kohlhepp threw a wild pitch to move the runners into scoring position but got out of the jam. He forced a liner to Zack Prajzner who scooped it up before it hit the ground to end the inning and end the threat.
Kohlhepp was masterful out of the pen once again for the Irish. After being named to the Stopper of the Year Midseason Watch List on Wednesday, the Eau Claire, Wisc. native tossed four plus innings of scoreless relief to close out the game. He allowed just two runners to reach second base as he picked up his team-high sixth win of the season.
The Irish added two insurance runs in the eighth inning after forcing the Tar Heels into a couple of errors. Coetzee had a pop up that was dropped by the second baseman and following a throwing error, Carter Putz and Brannigan scored on the play to put the game out of reach.
STATS OF THE GAME
- With his walk in the third inning, Ryan Cole extended his reached base streak to 21 games.
- With his single in the third inning, Spencer Myers extended his hitting streak to six games.
UP NEXT
The Irish will look to claim the series when the two teams meet again on Saturday afternoon. Game two of the series will start at 2 p.m. ET and will be aired on the ACC Network Extra. The Irish will send lefty John Michael Bertrand to the mound to face lefty Shawn Rapp.
—ND—