SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The top-ranked Notre Dame baseball team heads back on the road this weekend for another ACC series. The Irish (12-1, 2-0 ACC) are set to square off with Louisville (13-4, 0-0 ACC) this weekend at Jim Patterson Stadium starting Friday afternoon. The game time for the first game of the series has been moved up due to inclement weather set to hit the area later in the evening. The Irish are riding a 10-game winning streak and a seven-game road winning streak going into the series.
| Weekend Preview | |
|---|---|
| Matchup: | No. 1 Notre Dame (12-1, 2-0 ACC) at Louisville (13-4, 0-0 ACC) |
| When: | Friday, March 18 | 4 p.m. ET Saturday, March 19 | 1 p.m. ET Sunday, March 20 | 1 p.m. ET |
| Probable Starters: | LHP Aidan Tyrell (3-0, 1.80 ERA) vs. LHP Tate Kuehner (3-0, 1.74 ERA) LHP John Michael Bertrand (4-0, 1.80 ERA) vs. RHP Jared Poland (1-1, 1.38 ERA) RHP Austin Temple (2-0, 1.70 ERA) vs. LHP Riley Phillips (2-0, 2.37 ERA) |
| Where: | Louisville, Ky. | Jim Patterson Stadium |
| Watch: | ACCNX (Friday) ACCNX (Saturday) ACCNX (Sunday) |
| Live Scoring: | Louisville Live Stats |
| Notes: | Notre Dame |
| Social: | @NDBaseball @NotreDameBaseball |
| BY THE NUMBERS | |
|---|---|
| .781 | The Irish are 57-16 (.781) since the start of the 2020 season. That winning percentage ranks second in the NCAA over the past three seasons and trails only Tennessee (.794). |
| .923 | The Irish are 12-1 (.923) to begin the 2022 season. It is the best start to a season for the Irish since 2004 when they also started 12-1 (.923). |
| 0.94 | Notre Dame is second in the NCAA with a 0.94 WHIP this season. They have surrendered 74 hits and 38 walks in 119.1 innings pitched. |
| .992 | Notre Dame leads the NCAA in fielding percentage with a .992 mark this season. The Irish have committed only four errors in 358 putout opportunities this season. |
| 1 | The Irish allowed only one hit in the 3-1 win over Minnesota on March 6. It is the fewest hits allowed in a game since April 18, 2007, when the Irish surrendered one hit in a 1-0 win over Purdue in 10-innings. |
| 1.66 | The Irish rank second in the NCAA in team ERA with a 1.66 through 13 games. The Irish pitching staff has allowed four runs or less in 12 of the 13 games this season. |
| 5.58 | The Irish also lead the NCAA with 5.58 hits allowed per nine innings. They have given up 74 hits in 119.1 innings pitched this season. |
| 7 | With the 11-4 win over #17 NC State on Mar. 13, the Irish have won seven-consecutive ACC road games dating back to Apr. 23, 2021. |
| 8 | The Irish have won their last eight ACC road series dating back to the 2020 season. It sets the program record for most consecutive conference road series wins. |
| 8 | The Irish scored eight unanswered runs in the 8-4 comeback win over #17 NC State on March 11. It was the most unanswered runs in a game since Game 2 of the Super Regional when the Irish scored nine unanswered runs to beat #7 Mississippi State. |
| 10 | The Irish have won 10 games in a row dating back to Feb. 20. It is the longest win streak under head coach Link Jarrett and the longest win streak for the Irish since 2015 when they won 10 in a row from Feb. 14 to Mar. 6. |
| 10 | The Irish are 10-0 in road series under head coach Link Jarrett’s tenure. The Irish have won all eight ACC series in Jarrett’s three seasons and two non-conference road series against UAB and Presbyterian back in 2020. |
| 15 | In the 20-2 win over Marist, 15 different Irish players recorded a hit. It is the most players with a hit in a game for the Irish over the past 16 years. The previous record was 13 against Georgetown in 2008. |
| 56 | Outfielder Spencer Myers has 56 steals in his Irish career and ranks eighth all-time in program history for most career steals. He trails AJ Pollock by four for seventh place in program history. |
| 73 | Head coach Link Jarrett has coached 73 games with the Irish since the start of the 2020 season and has not lost back-to-back games during that span. |
Irish Head South for Matchup with Louisville
- The Irish head back on the road for a three-game series with Louisville from Jim Patterson Stadium.
- Notre Dame has won eight-straight ACC road series dating back to the 2020 season, setting a program record.
- Head coach Link Jarrett is 10-0 all-time in regular season road series during his time at Notre Dame.
- The Irish have won seven-straight ACC road games dating back to April 23, 2021.
- Notre Dame is 12-1 (.923) on the season and 2-0 in ACC play. It is the best start to a season since 2004 when the Irish also started 12-1 to begin the campaign.
- The Irish are one of the best pitching and fielding teams in the nation as they ranked first nationally in fielding percentage (.992) and hits per nine innings (5.58) and they rank second nationally in ERA (1.66) and WHIP (0.94).
- Louisville enters the matchup with a 13-4 record and this will be their first conference weekend of the season.
- They are 4-1 in their last five games after winning two-of-three from Michigan last weekend and won both midweek matchups against Northern Kentucky and Bellarmine.
- The Cardinals are one of the most potent lineups in the conference as they lead the ACC in batting average (.336) and slugging percentage (.593).
- The Cardinals lead the all-time series 33-9 and 15-5 in games played in Louisville.
- This will be Notre Dame’s first trip to Jim Patterson Stadium since 2018 after the series was cancelled due to COVID-19 in 2020.
- When the two teams met last season, they split two games at Frank Eck Stadium. The Cardinals won the first game 7-4 and the Irish won the second game, 5-3, after Ryan Cole hit a walk-off two-run homer for his second walk-off in as many weeks.
Top-Ranked Irish Defeat Valparaiso in Home Opener
- After over 5,000 plus miles and 72 hours of travel over the first four weeks of the season, the Irish opened the home slate with a 12-1 win over Valpo on March 15.
- The bats started early as the Irish scored two runs in each of the first three innings to jump out to a 6-0 lead.
- Brooks Coetzee III highlighted the scoring with his team-leading fifth home run of the season in the third inning.
- The Irish deployed a staff day on the mound as six pitchers saw action against the Beacons.
- Jack Findlay, Alex Rao, Caden Aoki, Roman Kimball, Liam Simon and Radek Birkholz all pitched at least an inning for the Irish and allowed just one run and five hits on the afternoon.
- The offense exploded for six runs in the eighth to put the game out of reach.
- Jack Zyska hit his third home run of the season in the eighth and Brady Gumpf added his first career hit, a two-run double, down the left field line.
- The Irish scored in double-figures for the second-straight game and the sixth time this season.
- They also tallied 16 hits, the fifth time this season they have had 15 or more hits.
- On the mound, it was the fifth game this season the Irish have allowed one or fewer runs.
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 57-16, good for a .781 winning percentage over that period.
- That ranks second overall in the NCAA, trailing only Tennessee.
| School | Record Since 2020 | Win Pct. |
| Tennessee | 81-21 | .794 |
| NOTRE DAME | 57-16 | .781 |
| Arkansas | 74-21 | .779 |
| Old Dominion | 70-21 | .769 |
| Texas | 78-25 | .757 |
| Texas Tech | 71-23 | .755 |
| Vanderbilt | 76-25 | .752 |
| Ole Miss | 74-27 | .733 |
| UC Santa Barbara | 64-25 | .719 |
| Mississippi State | 73-29 | .716 |
- Among ACC teams, the Irish have the best winning percentage over the past three seasons.
| School | Record Since 2020 | Win Pct. |
| NOTRE DAME | 57-16 | .781 |
| NC State | 61-28 | .685 |
| Virginia | 65-32 | .670 |
| Miami | 56-30 | .651 |
| Louisville | 54-30 | .643 |
Road Warriors
- The Irish have been known to be a tough out on the road under head coach Link Jarrett.
- Notre Dame is a combined 29-7 on the road and have won every regular season road series since Jarrett came to South Bend in 2020.
- In Jarrett’s tenure, the Irish have won all eight ACC road series, while also winning non-conference road series against UAB and Presbyterian in the 2020 season.
- The Irish have won eight-straight ACC road series over the past three seasons to set a program record for most consecutive conference road series wins.
- It broke the previous record set by the 1991-93 squads that won seven-consecutive conference series while in the Mid-Western Collegiate Conference.
–ND–