Preview: Irish Host Akron in Final Home Series

SOUTH BEND, Ind – The Notre Dame Fighting Irish (26-19) close out their final home series of the year with a three-game series against the Akron Zips (18-30) starting Friday, May 12. The Irish will celebrate Degree Day on Sunday, May 14, in the final game of the series.

Friday | ACCNX | Live Stats \\  Saturday | ACCNX | Live Stats \\  Sunday | ACCNX | Live Stats \\ Game Notes

Notre Dame Faces in Akron in Final Home Series of the Season

• This will just the third time that the Irish and the Zips have faced one another, as this series will be the first time the two squads have matched up at Frank Eck Stadium. 
• The Irish lead the overall series 2-0, with the only two games previously played at neutral sites. The first ever matchup was March 17, 2000 in Jacksonville, Florida where the Irish defeated the Zips 10-3.
• The second matchup was February 28, 2015 in Macon, Georgia where the Irish won 5-4.
• The Irish head into the weekend with Vinny Martinez  leading the way with a .303 batting average, followed by Zack Prajzner who is hitting at a clip of .295.
• Prajzner has tallied a team best 52 hits and is second on the team with 10 doubles and 37 runs.
• Putz is leading the Irish with 33 RBI, as he’s recorded 48 hits, a team-best 11 doubles, and eight home runs. 
• Jack Penney and Vinny Martinez are leading the team with 10 home runs a piece.

Irish Fall to NC State

• Notre Dame took game one of the three game series against NC State, as they defeated the Wolfpack in the first game on Thursday, May 4. 
• Taking home the 9-7 win in game one, Vinny Martinez led the Irish with three hits and three RBI, followed by Williams, Prajzner, Putz, and Moreno, who tallied two hits a piece.
• This was Martinez’s third game in a row where he recorded a home run as his 10th homer of the season gave the Irish the 9-7 lead and eventual game one victory.
• The Irish fell in game two 5-1 and game three 6-1.

Florida State at Frank Eck Stadium 

• The Irish took home their fourth conference series win as they took down the Seminoles last weekend. After falling 3-2 to FSU in game one on Friday night, the Irish dominated game two 12-2 and completed the series win with a 12-8 win in game three.
• The Irish tallied 27 hits between games two and three as they were led by Brooks Coetzee with five hits on the weekend, followed by Brady Gumpf, Vinny Martinez, Carter Putz, and Zack Prajzner, who finished with four hits a piece. 
• Coetzee finished the weekend with three doubles and his second home run of the year, as well as drove in eight runs for the Irish. 
• Brady Gumpf went 4-6 at the plate, batting .667 on the series.
• Putz had a big day in the final game of the series as he finished the day 3-5, recording four RBI, scoring three runs, and homering twice in the 12-8 win. 
• Blake Hely started on the mound in game two, advancing to 3-1 on the year as he pitched 7.0 innings, striking out eight batters, and giving up just two runs on five hits. 

Irish Take on MSU for the Second Time This Season

• The Irish fell to the Spartans for the second time this season on Tuesday, April 25 in East Lansing. 
• Tied at 5-5 in the sixth, Michigan State recorded a six-run inning in the seventh to take the lead 11-5. The Spartans would tack on one more run in the bottom of the eighth to take the win 12-5. 
• Carter Putz and Brady Gumpf led the Irish with two hits a piece and DM Jefferson recorded his first triple of the season.
• The Irish fell to Michigan State in their first extra-inning game of the season at Frank Eck Stadium on Tuesday, April 11 in the first Irish-MSU matchup of the season. 
• TJ Williams went 3-4 on the day, recording four RBI and his third home run of the year. Zack Prajzner finished the day with two hits as he tallied homer number four of the season.
• Falling 7-6 after a Spartan home run in the top of the 11th, the Irish were unable to get the offense rolling in the bottom frame and dropped their first midweek of the season. 

Notre Dame Sweeps No. 8 Virginia 

• The Irish notched their first sweep of the season as they downed No. 8 Virginia at Frank Eck Stadium April 21-23, playing in their fifth doubleheader of the season.
• The Irish recorded six home runs in the first win of the series on Friday night as Estevan Moreno led the way with three homers for the Irish. Jack Penney, DM Jefferson, and Brady Gumpf each recorded a home run as well in the 10-7 victory. Penney leads the Irish with nine home runs on the season. 
• Jefferson’s long ball was the first home run of his career as Gumpf tallied his first homer of the 2023 season. 
• The Irish finished with a season-high 17 hits in the first game of the doubleheader on Sunday, April 23 as they took home the series with a 10-2 win.
• Jack Penney led the Irish with four hits, followed by Zack Prajzner and DM Jefferson who recorded three hits a piece. Carter Putz and Vinny Martinez finished with two hits, while TJ Williams, Danny Neri, and Estevan Moreno each finished with one hit in the win.
• The Irish capped off their weekend sweep with a 5-4 victory in the second game of the doubleheader. 
• Blake Hely finished with a season-high 7.1 innings pitched and season-high eight strikeouts as he took home his second win of the season in the final game.
• Vinny Martinez batted .700 in the series against No. 8 Virginia, finishing the weekend with seven hits, six RBI, three runs, two doubles, and one home run.

Valparaiso and Western Michigan Come to Frank Eck

• The Irish defeated Valparaiso and Western Michigan in their home midweeks to advance to 8-4 at home.
• Winning 7-3 over Valpo, the Irish were led by Vinny Martinez who finished the day with two home runs. He also recorded three hits, three runs, and two RBI.
• The Irish defeated Western Michigan 2-1 on Wednesday at home as they were led by TJ Williams, who finished with two hits, including a double to left center field.

Irish Travel to Clemson 

• Notre Dame took game one of the three-game series at Clemson as the Irish offense was hot to start the series, recording 11 hits while winning 10-4 on Friday.
• The 10-4 victory was sparked by a big third inning as Notre Dame picked up their eighth ACC win of the year.
• Jack Penney and Brooks Coetzee each recorded three hits a piece in the win with Coetzee also recording three RBI and Penney recording two runs.
• TJ Williams also tallied his fourth home run of the year in the fifth inning for a two-run home run that extended the lead 8-2.
• The Irish fell 5-1 in game two on Saturday and 6-4 in game three on Sunday.
• The Irish are now 8-10 in the ACC after dropping the Clemson series on the road.

Michigan State Matchup at Frank Eck

• The Irish fell to Michigan State in their first extra-inning game of the season at Frank Eck Stadium on Tuesday, April 11. 
• TJ Williams went 3-4 on the day, recording four RBI and his third home run of the year. Zack Prajzner finished the day with two hits as he tallied homer number four of the season.
• Falling 7-6 after a Spartan home run in the top of the 11th, the Irish were unable to get the offense rolling in the bottom frame and dropped their first midweek of the season. 

Conference Play Resumes at Pitt

• The Irish took the series at Pitt after winning games one and two on Thursday and Friday. After winning 10-8 in game one, the Irish took game two 11-2 after a big offensive frame in the ninth. 
• The Irish fell short of the sweep as they dropped Sunday’s game 9-5 against the Panthers.
• A six-run first inning gave the Irish an early advantage in game one as Danny Neri capped off the scoring frenzy with his fourth home run of the year in the top of the first. 
• Jack Penney led off the second with his seventh home run of the season as he homered to right center to tack on another run for Notre Dame and make it a score of 7-2.
• The Panthers were able to close the gap to 10-8 with just one out in the bottom of the ninth as Sammy Cooper would come in to close for the Irish. 
• Pitt chopped a ground ball to Penney at third who turned a double play to preserve the Irish lead. Cooper picked up his second save of the season as Notre Dame took home the 10-8 victory to open the series.
• Jackson Dennies started on the mound in game two and finished the day pitching 4.2 innings, recording six strikeouts, and allowing no runs and just one hit.
• Leading 4-1 heading into the top of the ninth, the Irish offense dominated in the final inning scoring seven runs off of six hits in the frame to go on and take the 11-2 win.

Irish Take on Northwestern

• The Irish are now five-for-five in midweek matchups as they defeated the Northwestern Wildcats 12-0 on Tuesday, April 4 at Frank Eck.
• Notre Dame is now 6-3 after their second shutout win of the season. 
• Jack Penney recorded his sixth homerun of the year in the bottom of the seventh and Joey Spence would record his first career home run in the bottom of the eight for a two-run homerun to extend the Irish lead 12-0 heading into the ninth.
• The Irish will face the Wildcats again on the road on Tuesday, May 16. 

UNC Heads to South Bend for Another ACC Series 

• The Notre Dame Fighting Irish (14-11) dropped the three-game series at Frank Eck as they fell to No. 13 North Carolina (20-8) in games one and two of the series. 
• Looking for redemption after a tough loss to the Tar Heels on Friday night, the Irish fell 5-2 in the first game of day, but were able to take home the final game in a 9-1 victory on the home turf. 
• Jackson Dennies recorded a career-high seven strikeouts across 4.2 innings in the game three win. He also allowed just two hits, while giving up no runs and walking no batters. 
• Vinny Martinez had himself a weekend at the plate, recording five hits and five runs on the weekend, as well as three home runs and seven RBI.

Midweek Matchup at Frank Eck Against Butler 

• The Irish are 4-for-4 in their midweek matchups so far this season, with two neutral site wins over Saint Joseph’s in Holly Springs, a win over Valpo in the 2023 home opener, and a 4-0 win over Butler at Frank Eck.
• Jackson Dennies started on the mound as he recorded a career-high six strikeouts across a career-high four innings pitched.

Irish Make History in Series Win Over No. 2 Louisville

• The Notre Dame Fighting (12-9) Irish defeated the No. 2 Louisville Cardinals (19-4) in a historic fashion, taking the first game of the series on Friday, March 24 and the first game of the doubleheader on Sunday, March 26.
• The 5-4 win on Sunday afternoon clinched the first-ever home series win over Louisville in program history. After falling 2-1 in the second game of the doubleheader, the Irish are now 4-5 in conference.
• In game one, Notre Dame trailed 2-0 heading into the fifth.
• The Irish held Louisville scoreless in the top of the inning, while the Irish offense really started to get hot in the bottom of the frame. The Irish led off with singles from DM Jefferson and TJ Williams, and a sac bunt from Jack Penney would put runners on second and third for Notre Dame.
• Zack Prajzner scored both as he doubled down the left field line to add two Irish runs to the board and make it an even 2-2 ballgame. Zyska followed with a double of his own as he sent it to the wall in the left field gap to score Prajzner and take the lead 3-2.
• The Cardinals would score another run in the top of the sixth to tie it up at 3-3.
• The Irish immediately responded as Estevan Moreno ripped a home run to deep left, his second of the season, to put the Irish back on top at 4-3 and lead them to eventual 4-3 victory to take game one.
• In Saturday’s doubleheader, the Cardinals would put their first run of the day on the board on the first pitch of the game as they opened up with a home run to right field to take an early 1-0 lead. And after leading off the top of the fifth with another home run, Louisville led 3-0.
• Notre Dame wasn’t going anywhere, as the Irish bats started to get hot in the fifth. Notre Dame would score all five of their runs in the bottom of the inning. The Irish’s five runs would come off of just three three hits, all of which were home runs. Jack Penney would hit the first homer, followed by back-to-back home runs from Carter Putz and Brooks Coetzee.
• The five-run inning lifted the Irish to a 5-4 win to clinch the series win over the Cardinals.

Notre Dame Opens up at Home Against Valparaiso

• The Notre Dame Fighting Irish took down the Beacons in the 106^th matchup between Valpo and Notre Dame as the Irish lead the overall series 86-21 with the very first game taking place on May 14, 1918.
• The Irish defeated Valpo in a 8-4 victory in their home opener on Tuesday, March 21 at Frank Eck. 
• Both graduate students, Zack Prajzner and Jack Zyska both recorded their first home runs of the season in Tuesday’s win. Prajzner’s homer to left field came in the bottom of the third and Zyska followed with his left field home run in the bottom of the fourth. 
• David Lally Jr. made his second career start on the mound, throwing 2.1 innings before he was relieved in the third inning by Carter Bosch.  Bosch recorded a season-high six strikeouts across 3.2 innings and gave up no runs while allowing only two hits. Sammy Cooper came in to close in the top of the seventh, taking home his second win of the season.

Irish Resume Conference Play at No. 4 Wake Forest

• The Notre Dame Fighting Irish finished the series 2-1 at no. 4 Wake Forest last weekend after falling in both doubleheader games on Saturday, but taking home Sunday’s game in a 3-1 victory. 
• The Irish are now 9-8 on the year and 2-4 in the ACC after the road series. 
• Due to Friday’s game being postponed for inclement weather, the Irish and Demon Deacons played a doubleheader on Saturday, March 18. 
• Wake Forest took game one 4-1 and game two 12-3.
• Jackson Dennies started on the mound for the Irish in game one, finishing the day with three strikeouts while allowing two runs and five hits across 3.2 innings pitched. 
• Aidan Tyrell came in relief with two outs in the bottom of the fourth, throwing 3.1 innings, recording four strikeouts, and giving up just one run and one hit.
• Trailing 1-0 heading into the top of the third, Danny Neri led off for the Irish with a double down the left field line and advanced to third on a sac bunt from TJ Williams. Estevan Moreno followed with his first hit of the day as he singled through the left side to score Neri for Notre Dame’s only run of the game
• The Irish struggled to score in game two on Saturday. Trailing 12-1 heading into the top of the ninth, Connor Hincks singled to center field for his first career hit and was sent home on a two-run home run from Tony Lindwedel. Lindwedel’s first career home run would close the gap to 12-3 as Wake Forest took home the second game of the series.
• Wake Forest was undefeated 14-0 at home so far this season until Notre Dame took game three with a score of 3-1.
• The Irish offense sparked in the top of the second with a double to right center from Carter Putz, who scored after Jack Zyska hit a single to left field. 
• The Irish posted an early 1-0 lead, while Findlay continued to shut down the Demon Deacons from the mound as he closed the first two innings with three strikeouts.
• DM Jefferson started the third with a lead-off single to center field and advanced to second on a passed ball with TJ Williams up to bat. Jefferson was able to score and tack on another run for the Irish as an RBI single from Brooks Coetzee brought Jefferson home for the 2-0 lead.
• Coetzee led off the sixth with a double to right center field, which was followed by a walk from Putz. With runners on first and second and Jack Penney up to bat, Coetzee was able to steal third on a wild pitch. Penney reached on a fielder’s choice, recording an RBI as Coetzee ran home to give the Irish a 3-0 edge heading into the bottom of the sixth.
• Findlay recorded his 10th strikeout of the day before he was relieved by Blake Hely with two outs in the sixth. Findlay absolutely dominated from the mound, throwing 10 strikes across 5.2 innings and allowing just two hits and no runs.

Midweek matchup in Holly Springs

• The Irish took down the Hawks on Tuesday, March 14, and Wednesday, March 15, in their first midweek matchup of the year. 
• Notre Dame defeated Saint Joseph’s 6-3 on Tuesday and 10-9 on Wednesday at Ting Stadium in Holly Springs, NC..
• Matt Bedford made his first start of the year in game one and freshman David Lally Jr. made his first career start on the mound in game two.
• Carter Putz recorded his second home run of the year in game one with a 440’ rocket to right field in the game one win.
• The Irish took game two in a close 10-9 win, finishing the game with a bases loaded walk-off HBP as Coetzee was hit by the pitch for the fourth time that game for the walk-off win.
• Putz, Penney, and Neri each recorded their third home runs of the year in game two against Saint Joseph’s.

Conference Play Opens Up at Georgia Tech

• The Notre Dame Fighting Irish start the 2023 conference season 1-2 in the ACC after falling in games one and two, but taking home game three against the Yellow Jackets on the road.
• The Irish fell in a close one on Friday night (March 10) at Russ Chandler Stadium. While the Irish trailed 2-0 early, a strong fifth inning that included five singles allowed Notre Dame to put four runs on the board to take the lead 4-3. However, the bottom of the seventh inning would lift the Yellow Jackets to the 7-4 victory in game one.
• Due to Sunday’s weather, a double header was played on Saturday where the Yellow Jackets took the first game of the day 15-2.
• While the Irish struggled to find the strike zone, the Yellow Jackets were hot from the plate, bringing in nine runs in the first three innings.
• The Fighting Irish scored their first run of the day in the top of the third after Estevan Moreno singled up the middle and was sent home from an RBI double down the right field line from Jack Penney.
• The Yellow Jackets would tack on another two runs in the bottom of the fourth to extend the lead 11-1 and wouldn’t score again until the bottom of the seventh.
• Freshman Caden Spivey made his debut on the mound in the bottom of the fourth, striking out his very first batter faced. Spivey allowed only one hit and gave up no runs in his two innings pitched.
• Norte Dame wasn’t going anywhere though, as they came out strong to start the second game of the day and went on to take the final game 17-4. The Irish finished with 16 hits, their best offensive outing of the season.
• Zack Prajzner started the Irish offense with a double to left field, followed by a base hit from Brooks Coetzee. Nick Juaire reached first after being hit by a pitch and it was bases loaded for the Irish. Jack Zyska was walked in his first at bat of the game, which scored Prajzner and put Notre Dame on the board 1-0.
• Jack Penney stepped up to the plate with bases loaded and two outs and crushed a ball down the right field line for a grand slam. Penney’s second home run of the season scored Coetzee, Juaire, and Zyska to give the Irish the 5-0 advantage after one.
• Leading 5-2 heading into the third, Carter Putz led off and started the inning with his first home run of the season with a 418’ homer to deep center field. Juaire followed with a base hit to left field and scored on an RBI double from Penny, his fifth RBI of the game.
• Jackson Dennies started on the mound for the Irish, pitching 2.2 innings, throwing three strikeouts, and giving up three runs.
• Dennies would give up one run in the bottom of the third before he was relieved by Aidan Tyrell, who finished with a game-high five strikeouts. Tyrell allowed no runs and only gave two hits across four innings pitched.
• Vinny Martinez kept the offense going with a 434’ rocket out to left field, his first home run of the season with the Irish in the top of the seventh. Notre Dame tacked on another five runs in the seventh to take home the 17-4 victory.