NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The 15th-ranked Notre Dame baseball team makes its long await return to Frank Eck Stadium as the home slate begins this weekend. The Irish will play their first home game in over 670 days as they welcome Duke for a three game series starting Friday at 4 p.m. ET. Friday and Saturday’s game will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra while Sunday’s game is airing on the ACC Network.
Home Sweet Home
- 677 days have passed since Notre Dame baseball has hosted a home game when the Irish take the field at Frank Eck Stadium Friday afternoon against the Duke Blue Devils.
- Notre Dame never got to its home schedule in 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic cut the season short.
- The Irish last home game was on May 12, 2019, a 3-2 win over Canisius to clinch the series sweep.
- The final game at Eck actually ended on a play where a pitch was not thrown. The Irish won the game when a walk-off balk in the 11th inning scored Daniel Jung from third base.
- That capped off a wild series against the Griffons, as the first game of the series was won by the Irish with a walk-off walk with the bases loaded in the ninth inning.
- Head coach Link Jarret is in his second season as Irish head coach and has yet to coach at home.
- The Duke series will kick off a long stretch of Irish home games. Notre Dame’s next seven games and 16 of their upcoming 19 games will be at Frank Eck Stadium.
- Duke enters the series with a 7-6 record and 3-3 mark in ACC play. They are coming off a 7-4 midweek win over NC Central.
- This will be the first series between the two schools since 2018.
Road Less Traveled
- With the 12-4 series-clinching win over Virginia on March 13, the Irish won their fourth-consecutive ACC series dating back to the 2020 season, all of them coming on the road.
- It is the longest road series winning streak for the Irish since they have joined the ACC back in 2014.
- The last time the Irish won four straight conference road series was back in 2008 when they defeated Georgetown, Villanova, West Virginia and UConn.
- The Irish have been dubbed the road warriors as they have won seven of their last nine ACC road series dating back to the 2019 season.
- In the shortened 2020 season the Irish finished 9-1 on the road, it was their most road wins since the 2015 season.
- During his two year tenure as head coach for the Irish, Link Jarrett’s squad has a 16-3 record on the road.
- The 7-2 start to ACC play this season is the best start to a conference slate for the Irish since 2008 when they opener BIG EAST play with an 11-2 mark.
Top-25, Here Come The Irish
- Following three-consecutive ACC road series wins, including a sweep to begin the 2021 season, people are starting to take note of the Irish.
- A week after cracking two of the polls after the series win against Clemson, the Irish appeared in all six polls after the road sweep of Virginia.
- The highest the Irish are ranked is No. 15 by Baseball America, followed by No. 17 by D1Baseball, No. 18 by Perfect Game & USA Today, No. 23 by Collegiate Baseball and No. 24 by NCBWA.
- The No. 15 ranking is the highest the Irish have been in any poll since March 22, 2013 when they were also ranked No. 15.
- In the final week of the 2020 regular season, Notre Dame cracked the Top-25 when they were selected No. 24 by Collegiate Baseball News.
- It was the first time the Irish were ranked in the Top-25 since the 2015 season, the last time Notre Dame made an NCAA Regional.
Irish Close Road Trip With Series Sweep of Virginia
- Heading into the final game of the series, the Irish had a 2-0 record on Sunday’s and that perfect mark continued with a 8-3 win over the Cavaliers.
- Home runs were the tune of the day as Notre Dame hit three for the second time in the series.
- Niko Kavadas wasted no time blasting his fifth home run of the season, a three-run shot, in the first inning.
- In the later innings, the Irish opened the seventh and eighth innings with a solo shot to increase the margin.
- On the first pitch of the seventh, Jared Miller blasted his second home run of the series off the batter’s eye in center.
- In the eighth, Zack Prajzner took the first pitch over the wall in left for his first homer of the season.
- Aidan Tyrell and Tanner Kohlhepp tossed seven innings of relief and allowed just one run.
Hot Hitting Continued in 12-4 Series Win
- Following the explosive series opener at the plate, the Irish bats stayed hot to clinch the series over Virginia.
- Notre Dame scored the first three runs only to see the lead evaporate in the fourth.
- The very next inning, the Irish exploded for five runs to regain control of the game.
- Three straight hits to start the inning scored a run, followed by another run on a UVA error.
- Brooks Coetzee connected for another home run, his second of the series to cap the inning and give the Irish an 8-3 edge.
- Jack Brannigan finished the day with a career high four hits after a 4-for-5 performance at the plate.
- John Michael Bertrand tossed his second consecutive quality start to improve to 2-0 on the season.
- The Irish scored 10 or more runs for the second straight game and they were the first Virginia opponent to do that since April 26-27, 2016.
Home Runs Carry Irish To Friday Win at Virginia
- The Irish bats started the Virginia series off with a bang, smashing three home runs in the 10-5 win.
- Jared Miller started it off with his second home run, a two-run shot in the third, to take the initial lead.
- The Irish lost the lead but battled back with a big fourth inning to regain the lead at 5-4.
- Niko Kavadas doubled the lead with his fourth home run, a solo shot, in the fifth inning.
- Brooks Coetzee put the exclamation point on the win with a three-run blast in the eighth.
- Joe Sheridan tossed five innings of scoreless relief and allowed just one hit to pick up the save.
FRANK ECK STADIUM ATTENDANCE POLICY
2021 Baseball Media Credentials Info
The University of Notre Dame, in accordance with campus health and safety protocols and with the guidance of local health officials, will limit attendance for sports competing this spring to guests of competing Notre Dame student-athletes and coaches as well as current Notre Dame, Holy Cross and St. Mary’s College students. Students will be expected to show a current I.D. and physically distanced seating will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis. Additional student attendance policies can be found here.
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