CORAL GABLES, Fla. — The eighth-ranked Notre Dame baseball team is primed for their final ACC matchup of the regular season as they travel to Coral Gables to take on the ninth-ranked Hurricanes. The series pits the two-division leaders against each other as the league title and seeding in the upcoming 2022 ACC Championship in Charlotte is on the line. The Irish officially clinched their bid to Charlotte last weekend and are looking to capture their second consecutive Atlantic Division title. The series kicks off Friday night at 7 p.m. ET from Alex Rodriguez Park and it will be aired nationally on the ACC Network.
| Series Preview | |
|---|---|
| Matchup: | No. 8 Notre Dame (32-11, 15-9 ACC) vs. No. 9 Miami (35-17, 18-9 ACC) |
| When: | Thursday, May 19 | 7 p.m. ET Friday, May 20 | 7 p.m. ET Saturday, May 21 | 1 p.m. ET |
| Probable Starters: | LHP John Michael Bertrand (7-1, 2.37 ERA) RHP Austin Temple (3-1, 3.33 ERA) TBA |
| Where: | Coral Gables, Fla. | Alex Rodriguez Park |
| Watch: | ACC Network (Thursday) ACC Network (Friday) ACCNX (Saturday) |
| Live Scoring: | Miami StatBroadcast |
| Notes: | Notre Dame |
| Social: | @NDBaseball @NotreDameBaseball |
| BY THE NUMBERS | |
|---|---|
| .717 | The Irish own a 33-13 record (.717) on the road under head coach Link Jarrett. |
| .747 | The Irish are 77-26 (.748) since the start of the 2020 season. That winning percentage ranks third in the NCAA over the past three seasons, trailing Tennessee and Arkansas. |
| .981 | Notre Dame is 12th in the NCAA and first in the ACC in fielding percentage with a .981 mark this season. The Irish have committed 31 errors in 1,157 putout opportunities this season. |
| 1 | The Irish swept #5 Florida State on the road from April 1-3 (2-0 (12), 5-4, 9-7). It was the first time the Irish have swept a Top-5 team on the road in program history. |
| 1.26 | Notre Dame is 12th in the NCAA and second in the ACC with a 1.26 WHIP this season. They have surrendered 319 hits and 166 walks in 385.2 innings pitched. |
| 3.78 | The Irish rank 13th nationally and are second in the ACC in team ERA with 3.78. They have given up 158 earned runs in 385.2 innings this season. |
| 7.44 | The Irish are sixth in the NCAA and first in the ACC with 7.44 hits allowed per nine innings. They have given up 319 hits in 385.2 innings pitched this season. |
| 10.9 | The Irish rank sixth in the NCAA and second in the ACC in strikeouts per nine innings with 10.9. The Irish pitching staff has struck out 468 batters in 385.2 innings this season. |
| 11 | The Irish scored 11 runs in the sixth inning against Boston College, the most in a single inning this season. It was the most runs in an inning since April 24, 2021, when the Irish scored 12 runs in the eighth inning against Boston College. |
| 12.0 | John Michael Bertrand (7.2 IP), Ryan McLinskey (1.2 IP), Aidan Tyrell (1.0) and Alex Rao (1.2 IP) combined to shutout #5 Florida State in 12.0 innings in the 2-0 Irish win on April 1. It was the first time in program history that the Seminoles had been shutout in an extra inning game. |
| 12 | John Michael Bertrand set a career high with 12 strikeouts against #5 Florida State on April 1. It was the most strikeouts in a game for an Irish pitcher since Cameron Brown struck out 12 against Florida State on March 23, 2019. |
| 18 | The Irish struck out 18 batters in the 2-0 win over #5 Florida State on April 1. It was the most strikeouts in a game for the Irish pitching staff since May 16, 2008, when they struck out 18 against South Florida. |
| 19 | Notre Dame is 19-3-1 all-time in regular-season series under Jarrett. The Irish are 10-2 in ACC series on the road and are 17-3-1 in ACC series over the past two-plus seasons. |
| 22 | The Irish allowed three runs or less for the 22nd time this season in the 8-1 win over Pitt on May 14. They are 22-0 this season and 48-2 overall under Jarrett in games they allow three runs or less. |
| 42 | The Irish scored 42 runs in their series sweep of Wake Forest on April 22-24. It set the program record for most runs in an ACC series since joining the conference in 2014. It was the most runs in a three-game conference series since 1993 when the Irish scored 48 runs in a sweep of Dayton when they were members of the Midwestern Collegiate Conference. |
| 62 | Outfielder Spencer Myers has 62 steals in his Irish career and ranks seventh all-time in program history for career steals. He trails Dan Bautch by six for sixth place in program history. |
Irish Set to Battle Hurricanes with Title Aspirations on the Line
- Heading into the final ACC weekend of the regular season, the Irish have a number of opportunities ahead of them as they take on Miami in Coral Gables.
- The matchup pits the division leaders against each other as they play out the final three games of the regular season.
- The Irish (.625) hold a slim percentage lead over Louisville (.611) in the Atlantic Division and still have an opportunity to win the league outright. The Irish trail the Hurricanes (.667) and Hokies (.640) in the overall league standings.
- Miami holds the all-time series with a 21-7 mark and this will be the first time the two teams have played each other since the 2018 season.
- This is Notre Dame’s third trip to the state of Florida this season. They opened the season at the Hatter Classic in DeLand and went 2-1 on the weekend. In April, the Irish traveled to Tallahassee and swept the fifth-ranked Seminoles in a weekend series.
- Miami enters the matchup after a 1-3 week in which they dropped two out of three on the road against Florida State and lost their midweek matchup with Florida Gulf Coast.
- The Irish enter the matchup after a 3-1 week in which they took two out of three at home against Pitt and won their road midweek game against Northwestern.
- Both teams are two of the best pitching teams in the ACC as they both rank in the top-five in ERA (ND – 2nd, UM – 5th), opposing batting average (ND – 1st, UM – 5th), strikeouts per game (ND – 2nd, UM – 4th) and walks allowed (UM 2nd, ND – 4th).
- The two teams also have the best records in the ACC since the start of the 2020 season. The Irish have a league-best 43-19 (.694) record in ACC games in that span and the Hurricanes are second with a 41-24 (.631) record in conference games.
Offensive Outburst Leads Irish Past Northwestern, 14-4
- The Irish offense started the last road trip of the regular season with a bang as they took down Northwestern 14-4.
- The Irish finished off their non-conference slate against the Wildcats and went 17-2 in non-conference games this season.
- It was also the seventh time the Irish faced a Big 10 opponent this year and they were 6-1 in those games.
- The Irish scored in double-figures for the 16th time this season and it was the 10th time they did it against a non-conference opponent.
- The Irish put the game away early with crooked numbers in four-straight innings starting in the second.
- They scored four runs in the second, three in the third, four in the fourth and two in the fifth.
- All nine starters recorded a hit and David LaManna and Ryan Cole led the way with a team-high three hits each.
- A trio of Irish led the way with team-high three runs in LaManna, Jack Zyska and Jack Brannigan.
- Brannigan stole home for the third time in his career. He has stolen home in each of his first three collegiate seasons.
- Zack Prajzner hit the lone long ball of the game as he tied a career high with 4 RBI.
- Radek Birkholz picked up his first collegiate victory after pitching 1.1 innings of scoreless relief.
- The Irish amassed 16 hits in just seven innings as the game ended via run rule after the seventh inning.
- It was the 23rd game this season the Irish have had 10 hits or more and the seventh time it has occured in the last eight games.
Among the Nation’s Best
- Since the start of the 2020 season, the Irish have been one of the most consistent teams over the past three seasons.
- Notre Dame is 77-26, good for a .748 winning percentage over that period.
- That ranks third overall in the NCAA, trailing only Tennessee and Arkansas.
| School | Record Since 2020 | Win Pct. |
| Tennessee | 111-27 | .804 |
| Arkansas | 98-32 | .754 |
| NOTRE DAME | 77-26 | .748 |
| UC Santa Barbara | 91-33 | .734 |
| Texas | 100-37 | .730 |
| Old Dominion | 91-35 | .722 |
| Texas Tech | 90-36 | .714 |
| Vanderbilt | 97-39 | .713 |
| East Carolina | 92-37 | .713 |
| San Diego | 76-32 | .704 |
- Among ACC teams, the Irish have the best winning percentage over the past three seasons.
| School | Record Since 2020 | Win Pct. |
| NOTRE DAME | 77-26 | .748 |
| NC State | 84-39 | .683 |
| Miami | 82-40 | .672 |
| Virginia | 86-44 | .662 |
| Louisville | 76-41-1 | .648 |
ACC Dominance
- Since Link Jarrett arrived in South Bend, the Irish have been the class of the conference over the past two-plus seasons.
- Notre Dame is 43-19 (.694) in ACC games since 2020, the best winning percentage of any school in the conference.
- The 43 conference wins over the last three seasons are the most by any school in the league.
- The Irish are 17-3-1 in ACC series over that time and eight of the 17 series wins have been sweeps.
- The eight ACC sweeps eclipses the seven sweeps the Irish had over the six seasons prior to Jarrett when they joined the conference in 2014.
- In 2022, the Irish are 6-2 in ACC series with four of the series wins coming via a sweep. They swept the Wolfpack in an abbreviated two-game series on the road, swept the fifth-ranked Seminoles in Tallahassee and swept Clemson and Wake Forest at home.
| School | ACC Record Since 2020 | Win Pct. |
| NOTRE DAME | 43-19 | .694 |
| Miami | 41-24 | .631 |
| Louisville | 34-27-1 | .556 |
| NC State | 34-28 | .548 |
| Virginia | 36-30 | .545 |
| Florida State | 36-30 | .545 |
—ND—