PREVIEW: Saint Joseph's

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The Fighting Irish (6-6) are coming off of their first ACC series of the season as they get ready to take on non-conference opponent Saint Joseph’s (4-6) before resuming ACC play at Wake Forest this weekend. This midweek neutral site matchup will take place at Ting Stadium in Holly Springs, NC.

Tuesday, March 14 vs. Saint Joseph’s – 3:00 PM  | Live Stats

Probable Starters: RHP Matt Bedford (1-1 5.62 ERA) vs. LHP Luke Zimmerman (0-0, 13.50 ERA)

Wednesday, March 15 vs. Saint Joseph’s – 1:00 PM  | Live Stats

Probable Starters: TBA vs. TBA

Midweek matchup in Holly Springs

• The Irish and the Hawks will matchup on Tuesday and Wednesday for the third and fourth time in program history.
• Notre Dame trails 0-2 in the overall series, with their two losses coming almost exactly five years ago on March 13, 2018 and March 14, 2018.
• The Hawks took game one 10-8 and game two 6-4 at in another neutral site matchup in Port Charlotte, FL.
• Saint Joseph enters the week 4-6 on the season as they are coming off of a three game sweep over UMass Lowell at home.

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.

Irish Travel to UAB

• The Irish took home their second series win of the season after taking down the Blazers 2-1 last weekend in Birmingham, AL.
• Danny Neri led the Irish against UAB, batting .500 (4-8 at the plate) and scoring three runs. Neri finished with a triple, a home run, and three RBI.
• Zack Prajzner batted .333 on the weekend recorded three hits and two runs. Pinch hitter Nick Juaire came in and went 2-2 at the plate and scored one run while also recording two RBI.
• The Irish took home game one of the series 7-2 on Friday, March 3 at Young Memorial Field after tallying runs in each of the first three innings and out-hitting the Blazers 10-5 on Friday. Jack Findlay (2-0) took home his second win of the season, finishing with six strikeouts on the day.
• Game two went to the Irish 7-3 after trailing 3-0 to start the top of the sixth. Notre Dame scored six runs in the top of the sixth, including a first career home run from Estevan Moreno. Will Mercer took home his first win of the season in game two.
• The Irish fell 5-2 in game three, falling to 5-4 on the season.

Notre Dame Wins First Series of the Year at UNCG

• The Notre Dame baseball team won their first series of the 2023 season after taking down UNCG on the road. 
• Carter Putz led the way for the Irish,  batting .400 on the weekend, finishing with four hits and three runs. 
• The Irish took home game one on Friday, Feb. 17 in a 6-5 win after Danny Neri stepped up to the plate and homered to right field. After an even ballgame at 4-4 heading into the top of the ninth, Neri’s home run scored Putz and added two more runs to the board. 
• Jack Findlay’s three strikeouts in the bottom of the ninth closed out Notre Dame’s game one win.
• Despite falling 12-0 to UNCG on Saturday, the Irish responded with a game three win 7-4 over Sunday to take the series.
• The Irish struck first as grad students Zack Prajzner and Brooks Coetzee got the Notre Dame offense rolling. Coetzee recorded an RBI single to send Prajzner home and put the Irish on the board. Notre Dame held the Spartans scoreless the first three innings and led 1-0 to start the fourth.
• Notre Dame scored another four runs in the top of the fourth with runs from Prajzner, Putz, Penney, and Martinez.
• Bedford, who got the win for Notre Dame on Sunday, dominated at the hill for the Irish. He threw four strikeouts over three innings and allowed no runs and only one hit. 

Irish Open Campaign at Lipscomb

• The Notre Dame baseball team took on the Lipscomb Bisons for just the second time in program history Feb. 17-19 in Nashville, Tennessee. 
• The Irish fell 5-4 in game one despite scoring two runs in the top of the ninth to close the gap within one. 
• Norte Dame bounced back in game two, defeating the Bison 8-4 after a big seven-run inning in the top of the seventh. 
• Despite taking home game two, the Irish struggled to connect at the plate and fell in game three 4-2, falling to 1-2 to start the 2023 season. 
• With only 10 hits as a team on the weekend, TJ Williams and Jack Penney both hit their first home runs of the 2023 season.
• Freshmen Rory Fox and David Lally Jr. made their debuts on the mound on Sunday, as well as graduate transfers Carter Bosch and Blake Hely who pitched in an Irish uniform for the first time.  

Lethal Lineup is Back for 2022

• Coming off the most successful season in almost 20 years, a strong portion of the 2022 leadership returns as seven graduate students are back for another year with the Irish, four of which were every day starters.
• Graduate students Carter Putz, Zack Prajzner, Jack Zyska, and Brooks Coetzee all return to the field for the Irish. 
• Putz started all 58 games and was a big piece of Notre Dame’s success last season. He also led the team in hits (81) and runs (55) and was second on the squad in doubles (13)  and batting average (.339). 
• Putz’s 81 hits were the most hits in a single season since 2013 when World Series Champion Trey Mancini had 89 hits on the year.
• Prajzner returns to the Irish after starting all 58 games and setting career highs in runs, hits, doubles, home runs and RBIs last season. He was also fourth on the team in hits and runs as he finished with 44 runs and 58 hits. 
• Prajzner was named to the 2022 Statesboro Regional All-Tournament Team after hitting the game-tying home run in the 6-4 win over No. 22 Georgia Southern to advance to the Statesboro Regional Championship. 
• Both Putz and Prajzner were also recognized by Perfect Game as two of the top 50 seniors in the country heading into the 2023 season.
• Zyska made 38 starts on the season and was a big piece of the Super Regional win over No. 1 Tennessee as he hit one of four home runs in the 8-6 win over the Volunteers in game one and set a career-high four hits against Tennessee in game two. 
• He finished with 34 runs, 45 hits, 12 doubles, 13 home runs, and seven stolen bases.
• Coetzee started all 58 games and had a big year with the Irish as he set career highs in runs (42), hits (59), home runs (12), and RBI (43). 
• He finished second on the team in home runs and was one of three Irish players to hit double-digit home runs last season as the Irish set the program record for home runs in a single season with 79 homers.

Findlay, Tyrell, and Mercer Return 

• While the Irish lost main starters John Bertrand and Austin Temple, the Irish return Freshman All-American LHP Jack Findlay.
• Findlay capped off his freshman season as a pivotal piece of Notre Dame’s postseason success. He made 20 appearances, including eight starts, but was recognized as a big-time closer for the Irish. 
• Findlay led the Irish in ERA and saves, was second in wins and third on the team in innings pitched after finishing the 2022 season with a 2.17 ERA, 54 strikeouts, and 6-2 record with four saves through 49.2 innings. 
• Findlay was named a 2022 Perfect Game Second Team Freshman All-American and a 2022 Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. 
• At the beginning of this year, Findlay was also recognized by Perfect Game as one of the top 50 sophomores in the country. 
• Graduate student Aidan Tyrell also returns to the mound for Notre Dame. 
• Tyrell made 26 appearances and had five starts for the Irish as he finished the year with a 3.75 ERA, 37 strikeouts, and a 5-2 record with two saves through 48.0 innings pitched.
• Tyrell won his first three starts of the season after allowing just one run in 16.0 innings pitched and had a string of four and five-straight appearances out of the bullpen without allowing a run.
• Graduate student Will Mercer returns for his fifth season after making 13 appearances and 3 starts in 2022. 
• Mercer finished his senior year with a 4.18 ERA and a 2-1 record with one save through 23.2 innings pitched along with 24 strikeouts. He tossed a season-best 3.2 innings pitched and did not allow a run against #5 Texas A&M at the College World Series. 

Newcomers 

• The Irish also have 14 newcomers, featuring 10 freshmen and four grad transfers. 
• Blake Hely is a graduate transfer that joined the Irish this fall after spending four years at Davidson. 
• He was another Notre Dame player recognized by Perfect Game this year as one of the top 50 impact transfers in the nation. Hely was a weekend starter for the Wildcats, appearing in and starting 15 games with a 3.80 ERA and a 9-2 record after leading Davidson in 2022 with 85.1 innings pitched. 
• Hely was also named Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Year, Atlantic 10 First Team, and ABCA All-Atlantic Region Team this past season.
• Hely held opponents to a .207 batting average, led the A-10 with 6.86 hits allowed per nine innings and was second in the league with 97 strikeouts.
• Graduate transfers Vincent Martinez (C) and Justin Moore (RHP) joined the Irish this fall after each of them spent four years at Stanford. 
• RHP Carter Bosch is another graduate transfer who joins the Irish  from Georgetown.
• David Lally Jr., of Grand Blanc, Michigan, is predicted to be a force on the mound as he helped guide his high school to a 2021 State Championship, is a two-time Collegiate Baseball First Team All-American and was recognized this year as one of the top 100 freshmen in the country by Perfect Game.