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Series Preview: No. 13 Florida State

Notre Dame Game Notes

NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The second-ranked Notre Dame baseball team is gearing up for their final home series of the regular season as No. 13 Florida State comes to town. The top-15 matchup will be aired nationally on ACC Network all weekend as the Irish look to continue its strong play in the ACC. The Irish hold a six-game winning streak heading into the weekend and are in the top spot in the Atlantic Division with just two conference series remaining. Saturday will be Notre Dame Degree Day to honor all the student-athletes on the team that will be getting their degrees later this month.

Home Sweet Home

  • The Irish are back at home for their final home series of the regular series this season as a top-15 matchup is on deck.
  • The Irish welcome the 13th-ranked Florida State Seminoles into town for a three game series that will be aired nationally on the ACC Network.
  • Head coach Link Jarrett will be going up against his alma mater this weekend and his former teammate in Seminoles head coach Mike Martin, Jr.
  • Jarrett and Martin, Jr. were teammates for two seasons, including the 1994 season when the Seminoles made it to the College World Series.
  • Florida State owns a 19-9 record over the Irish but holds just a slim 5-4 margin in games played at Notre Dame.
  • The Seminoles enter the weekend ranked as high as No. 13 in the polls and are 23-16 on the season and 15-12 in ACC play.

Record Breaking Offense Powers Irish to Sweep Over Tar Heels

  • The Notre Dame offense kept its hot play going in the 19-5 win in the series finale to sweep North Carolina.
  • The Irish scored in five of the eight innings and put crooked numbers up in three of those innings.
  • Notre Dame started early with a five run first inning to build an early lead thanks to RBI doubles by Niko Kavadas, Jack Brannigan and David LaManna.
  • The Tar Heels tied the game in the top of the third but it did not last long as Carter Putz put the Irish back in front with a leadoff home run in the bottom of the inning.
  • Notre Dame did not lay off the gas in the fourth inning, plating six runs in the frame. LaManna and Brooks Coetzee both hit home runs in the inning while Putz and Kavadas also drove in runs.
  • In the final offensive frame for the Irish, they put six runs on the board again. Zack Prajzner scored two runs on a home run while LaManna, Kavadas and Putz drove in the other runs in the inning to put the stamp on the game.
  • On the mound, Tanner Kohlhepp picked up his seventh win of the season which is the best mark in the conference. 
  • The 19 runs scored set an ACC record for the Irish as it is the most runs they have scored in a conference game since joining the league in 2014.
  • It is the most runs in a game since May 15, 2018 when they also scored 19 runs in a 19-10 win over Northwestern.
  • The Irish racked up 21 hits in the game, the most since March 24, 2016 when they had 21 in a 16-4 road win over Virginia Tech.
  • The 36 runs scored in the series sweep was the most in a series sweep since March 20-22, 2008 when the Irish scored 38 in the sweep over Georgetown.
  • With the win the Irish collected their 21st conference win of the season, the most in a season since they had 21 BIG EAST wins in the 2006 season.

Bats Lift Irish to Series Win Over North Carolina

  • The Irish bats took care of business in the 13-12 win over North Carolina to claim the teams ninth ACC series win of the season.
  • The Irish got out to an early lead after scoring in five of the first six innings and they scored multiple runs in four of those innings.
  • Notre Dame’s biggest inning came in the second when they plated four runs after Jared Miller, Ryan Cole and Niko Kavadas all singled to score runs in the inning.
  • David LaManna, Brooks Coetzee and Cole all drove in runs in the fifth and sixth innings to put the Irish run total in double digits for the eighth time this season.
  • John Michael Bertrand had another solid outing on the mound. He tossed 6.2 innings and allowed just two runs to pick up his fifth win of the season.
  • With the win, Notre Dame improves to 7-2 this season in games Bertrand starts.

Irish Blank Tar Heels in Series Opener

  • In the second to last home series of the regular season, the Irish pitching staff put together another masterful performance in the 4-0 win over North Carolina.
  • Will Mercer got the Irish going on the mound, tossing the first 4.2 innings and allowed just three hits to the Tar Heels.
  • Fresh off being named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Midseason Watch List, Tanner Kohlhepp came on to finish the fifth inning and went the rest of the way for the Irish.
  • He pitched the final 4.1 innings of the game and also allowed just three hits to pick up his team-leading sixth win of the season. 
  • At the plate, Jack Brannigan launched his fourth home run of the season in the fourth to put the Irish in front.
  • Kyle Hess also added a run in the fourth with an RBI single and that was all the offense for either squad until the eighth.
  • Carter Putz and Brannigan scored two insurance runs to seal the 4-0 win.
  • It is the third shutout the Irish have thrown this season and all of them have been against ACC opponents.

Top-25, Here Come The Irish

  • Following nine ACC series wins, with five coming on the road, everyone is taking note of the Irish.
  • The Irish made their biggest jump of the season, rising as high as No. 2 in the polls this past week.
  • The Irish are now a consensus Top-10 in all six polls and have jumped in the top-five in two of the polls.
  • They rank No. 2 in Baseball America, No. 3 in Perfect Game, No. 7 by USA Today Coaches Poll and D1Baseball, No. 9 in the NCBWA poll and No. 10 in Collegiate Baseball. 
  • No. 2 is the highest ranking for the Irish since the 2001 season when they were ranked as the No. 1 team in the country.
  • 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.
  • In the final week of the 2020 regular season, Notre Dame made their first appearance in 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.

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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