SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The Fighting Irish (3-3) head south for their third road series of the season as they take on the University of Alabama Birmingham (3-5) on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The three game series kicks off of Friday, March 3 at Young Memorial Field in Birmingham, Alabama.
Friday, March 3 @ UAB – 4:00 PM CT (5:00 PM ET) | Live Stats | CUSA TV
Probable Starters: RHP Jackson Dennies (0-1, 3.60 ERA) vs. RHP Blayze Berry (1-0, 2.70 ERA )
Saturday, March 4 @ UAB– 2:00 PM CT (3:00 PM ET) | Live Stats | ESPN+
Probable Starters: RHP Blake Hely (0-1, 8.10 ERA) vs. LHP Carson Myers (0-0, 3.38 ERA)
Sunday, March 5 @ UAB – 1:00 PM CT (2:00 PM ET) | Live Stats | CUSA TV
Probable Starters: RHP Radek Birkholz (0-0, 4.50 ERA) vs. RHP Brooks Walton (0-0, 6.00 ERA)
Irish Travel to UAB
- This will be the fifth matchup between the Irish and Blazers this weekend as Notre Dame preps for their third three-game series on the road.
- The first-ever matchup between UAB and Notre Dame was March, 12, 2011 in Conway, South Carolina. Notre Dame took home the win 3-0 against UAB and led the series 1-0 before the most recent series at UAB.
- The Irish now lead the overall series 3-1 with their last matchup in 2020.
- The Irish opened up their 2020 season on the road as they traveled to Birmingham in mid-February to take on the Blazers in a three-game series at UAB.
- Notre Dame would take game one of the series 4-2 and after falling 7-10 in game two, the Irish would close the series with a 9-3 win over the Blazers.
- The Blazers enter the weekend 3-5 win after winning the series 2-1 against Murray State last weekend and are most recently coming off a close mid-week loss after falling 8-7 on the road to Troy on Tuesday.
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 homerun 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.
Season to Remember in 2022
- Notre Dames run at the College World Series came to a close on June 21, 2022 after a 5-1 loss to Texas A&M in the Bracket 1 elimination game.
- The Fighting Irish finished the season with a 41-17 overall record after making the program’s third trip to Omaha for the College World Series.
- The Irish reached the Super Regional round in consecutive seasons for the first time in program history and were the only ACC team that advanced to Omaha after four ACC squads were in the Super Regionals last year.
- They eclipsed the 40-win plateau for the first time since 2006 and knocked off the No. 1 overall seed Tennessee in the Super Regionals.
- Heading into the contest, Tennessee was 37-3 at home and had won 11-straight games.
- The Irish hit four home runs in the win, the most home runs Tennessee had allowed all season.
- The Irish handed Tennessee their first loss at home in the postseason since 2001.
- Left-handed pitcher John Michael Bertrand, infielder/right-handed pitcher Jack Brannigan and left-handed pitcher Jack Findlay all earned All-American honors.
- Bertrand was named a second team All-American by the NCBWA, Brannigan was named to the third team by Perfect Game and Findlay was a second team freshman All-American from Perfect Game.
- It was Bertrand’s third postseason All-American honor this year (Collegiate Baseball & CoSIDA), Findlay’s second of the season (Collegiate Baseball) and Brannigan earned his first of the season.
- Bertrand was also named the NCBWA District Five Player of the Year, ABCA All-Region First Team, and was named the Statesboro Regional Most Outstanding Player as he helped pave the way on the Irish’s run to the College World Series