Newsstand: Three Notre Dame baseball players earn All-America honors
Notre Dame is in Omaha. Three of the key cogs who helped the Fighting Irish get there were honored by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) and Perfect Game Wednesday.
Left-handed ace John Michael Bertrand was named a NCBWA Second Team All-American. Senior third baseman Jack Brannigan was pinned to the Perfect Game Third Team All-America squad. Freshman pitcher Jack Findlay was selected as a Perfect Game Second Team All-American.
Bertrand leads the team in several major statistical categories including wins (9), innings pitched (103.2), strikeouts (107) and ERA (2.69). He’s the first Irish pitcher to have over 100 strikeouts in a single season since David Phelps in 2007. He’ll be on the mound Friday when Notre Dame takes on Texas in the two teams’ College World Series opener.
Brannigan ranks tied for first in RBI (46) and second in home runs (12). He has made 11 pitching appearances, including one start. He’s arguably the best player Notre Dame has in the field. He’s a vacuum cleaner of a third baseman.
Findlay emerged as one of the Irish’s best bullpen weapons in the postseason. He earned two saves in the Statesboro Regional and pitched five scoreless innings in Game 3 of the Knoxville Super Regional. He has only allowed one run in 10.1 innings of work in the NCAA Tournament.
Bertrand, Brannigan and Findlay will have to come up big to extend the Irish’s season in Omaha.
Notre Dame tweets of the day
The Irish arrived in Omaha Wednesday afternoon. They have a practice and press conference Thursday followed by several opening ceremony festivities. Then the games begin Friday.
BOLD statement from Link Jarrett.
If this doesn’t warm the soul, what will?
Notre Dame quote of the day
“Key words and context were missing from the quote that upset a lot of people that I care about. I’m very proud of my two degrees from Ohio State. I would never discredit the quality of education those degrees represent.”
— Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman on his comments regarding the academic differences at larger schools like Ohio State versus those of smaller schools like Notre Dame. For more, click here.
Headlines of the day
Countdown to kickoff: Notre Dame vs. Ohio State only 80 days away (Tyler Horka, Blue & Gold)
How every Irish athletic team scored in latest NCAA APR data (Patrick Engel, Blue & Gold)
Phil Steele ranks Irish in preseason top 10, details national title potential (Ashton Pollard, Blue & Gold)
Four-star ATH Ronan Hanafin breaks down Notre Dame official visit (Mike Singer, Blue & Gold)
On300 DB Micah Tease recaps Notre Dame official visit (Sam Spiegelman, On3)
Notre Dame rolled out the red carpet for key LB recruit Jaiden Ausberry during official visit (Mike Singer, On3)
WATCH: Marcus Freeman’s comments, Fighting Irish recruiting breakdown, more (Mike Singer, Blue & Gold)
Lucky Charms: Where Fighting Irish stand at WR in the 2023 class (Mike Singer, Blue & Gold)
‘Top Gun,’ a snub and a heater: The story behind the Notre Dame baseball postseason mustache movement (Tyler Horka, Blue & Gold)
