Starkville Super Regional Preview

NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The No. 10 overall seed Notre Dame baseball team is back in the Super Regionals for the first time since 2002 and is set to face the No. 7 overall seed Mississippi State Bulldogs in Starkville. The Bulldogs will be making their fifth straight Super Regional appearance which is the longest active streak in the country and tied for the fifth longest in baseball history. The Irish (33-11) and Bulldogs (43-15) will open the Super Regional Saturday afternoon on ESPN with Dave Neal and Kyle Peterson on the call.

Starkville Super Regional

• For the first time since 2002, Notre Dame has advanced to the Super Regional round of the NCAA Tournament.
• The Irish are heading to SEC country as they travel to Starkville to take on the No. 7 seed Mississippi State Bulldogs at Dudy Noble Field.
• The Bulldogs went 3-0 in the Starkville Regional with wins over Samford, VCU and Campbell to advance.
• This is the second time the Irish and Bulldogs have met in the NCAA Tournament as they battled in the Starkville Regional in 2000.
• The Irish forced a decisive game seven after a 7-0 win in the regional final but ultimately fell  to the Bulldogs 10-9 in the final game.
• The Irish hold a 4-2 advantage all-time over Mississippi State and are 3-2 in games held in Starkville. The last time the two teams faced each other was the opening weekend of the 2002 season and the Irish won both matchups.
• Mississippi State finished the regular season in second place in the SEC West and was just one game back of No. 1 overall seed Arkansas.
• The Bulldogs bring a 43-15 record into the weekend and have won their last four games at Dudy Noble Field.
• The last time the Irish went to a Super Regional, they defeated Florida State in two out of three games to advance to the College World Series for the second time in program history.

Kavadas Named Golden Spikes Award Semifinalist

• Senior infielder Niko Kavadas was named one of 30 semifinalists for the Golden Spikes Award on Tuesday June 8.
• He just finished off an impressive weekend at the plate during the South Bend Regional. He hit .600 with 5 home runs, nine runs and 13 RBI over the three games and was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Regional.
• Kavadas set a program record for most home runs in a single season with his solo blast against Central Michigan on June 6. He bested the previous record that was held by Frank Jacobs in 1991 with 20.
• Heading into the Super Regional round, Kavadas leads the NCAA with 0.48 home runs per game and is third in the nation with 21 home runs.
• He leads the team in home runs, RBI (62) and slugging percentage (.785) heading into the weekend.

Bats Continue to Rake in Regional Clinching Win over Central Michigan

• After hitting 10 home runs in the first two games of the South bend Regional, the bats stayed red hot in the 14-2 win over Central Michigan to advance to the first Super Regional since 2002.
• The Irish trailed for the first time all weekend after Central jumped in front in the fourth inning but it did not last long.
• The first batter in the bottom of the fourth, Niko Kavadas hit his fifth home run of the weekend to tie the game at 1-1. 
• After taking the lead later in the fourth, the Irish got some breathing room in the fifth from Carter Putz. He unloaded a grand slam over the wall in left center to put the Irish up 6-1.
• Later in the game, Ryan Cole blasted his third home run of the weekend, a three-run shot, to left in the seventh.
• Two more home runs left the yard in the eighth to put the game out of reach. The first one was by Putz for his first career multi-home run game, and the other by Brooks Coetzee for his second of the weekend.
• On the mound, Aidan Tyrell had the best start of his career after going eight innings and allowed just two runs and no walks.
• Over the course of the weekend, the Irish got 24 innings pitched out of a possible 27 innings from their three starters.
• The Irish finished the regional with 15 home runs hit in three games by five players and all five had multiple home runs.
• The Irish ended the regional with a +45 run differential after outscoring their opponents 50-5. It is the highest run differential in a 3-0 regional win since Florida State in 2009 when they finished the regional with a +49 run differential.

Irish Set Program Record in 26-3 Win Over UConn

• With a spot in the Regional Final on the line, the Irish put together one of the best offensive performances in program history.
• Notre Dame set a postseason record with 26 runs scored in the 26-3 win over Connecticut to advance to the Regional Final. The previous record was 25 runs against South Alabama in 2002.
• The Irish scored in seven of the nine innings and put crooked numbers up on the scoreboard in five of those seven innings.
• The Irish ended up with six home runs in the game which set a Frank Eck Stadium record for Notre Dame.
• It started with a five-run first inning that was catapulted by Niko Kavadas’ grand slam off the scoreboard. It was his third home run of the regional in just over one full game of play.
• In the third, Carter Putz and David LaManna both went yard to further increase the Irish lead with a three-run inning. 
• In a four-run fourth, Kavadas added to his RBI total with a bases loaded walk followed by a 2-RBI single from Brooks Coetzee and an RBI single by David LaManna.
• In the sixth, the Irish put together another four-run inning. TJ Williams walked with the bases loaded and Ryan Cole tallied a 3-RBI double to pad the Irish lead.
• After a solo home run from Brooks Coetzee in the eighth, the Irish had their most explosive inning in the ninth as they scored eight runs.
• Jack Brannigan and Williams tallied RBI singles in the inning and the Irish hit two more bombs.
• Kavadas tallied his second of the game, this time a three-run homer, to tie the Notre Dame single season record for home runs in a season with 20.
• Ryan Cole also hit a three run home run in the inning and it was his second home run of the regional.
• Kavadas finished the game with career highs in runs (5) and RBI (8). It was the most RBI in a game by an Irish player since Jake Shepski had nine in 2016 against Virginia Tech. It was the most runs scored by an Irish player since AJ Pollock had five in 2008 against UW-Milwaukee. 
• Cole finished the game with a career high six RBI and tied career highs with three runs and three hits.
• On the mound, Will Mercer set a career high with seven innings pitched and allowed just two runs.
• The Irish scored in double figures for the second straight game in the postseason for the first time since 1992 in the Atlantic Regional in Coral Gables, FL.

Irish Shut Out Chippewas to Open South Bend Regional

• Playing at home in the postseason for the first time since 2004, the Irish did not disappoint the sold-out crowd with a 10-0 win over Central Michigan.
• Niko Kavadas powered the offense that hit four home runs on the day.
• Kavadas had two home runs for his third multi-home run game of the season.
• David LaManna and Ryan Cole joined Kavadas in the home run parade as it was the third game this season the Irish have hit four in a game.
• On the mound, John Michael Bertrand was dynamite once again.
• He went the distance for the third time this season and tallied his first career complete game shutout to secure the win for the Irish.
• He is the first Irish pitcher since Danny Tamayo in 2000 against Mississippi State to record a complete shutout in the NCAA Tournament.
• With the win, Notre Dame improved to 10-0 this season coming off of a loss.

—ND—