No. 8 Notre Dame wallops Northwestern 14-4 in final mid-week contest of regular season
To kick off the final week of the regular season, No. 8 Notre Dame baseball (32-11, 15-9 ACC) made the 100-mile trek to Evanston, Ill. on Tuesday afternoon to face regional foe Northwestern (22-26, 8-13 B1G).
The Irish walked away with a victory by a score of 14-4 to end the regular season with a 17-2 non-conference record. The game ended after seven innings thanks to the run rule.
Pinpointing an offensive star for the Irish on Tuesday is difficult given everyone contributed — pretty much everyone. Each of Notre Dame’s nine starters had at least one hit, but a few names stuck out: shortstop Zack Prajzner, second baseman Jack Penney, left fielder Ryan Cole and catcher David LaManna.
Prajzner had the only home run of the game, a two-run shot in the fourth inning. He added another hit and finished with a total of four RBIs. Penney, a freshman filling in for an injured Jared Miller at second base, went 2-3 with three RBIs. Cole and LaManna each had three hits and walked once. LaManna went 3-3 on the day, while Cole went 3-4. LaManna leads the team with a .394 batting average this season.
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In total, the Irish offense posted 16 hits, four of which went for extra bases, 13 RBIs and a pair of stolen bases. Northwestern struck out just one batter and walked 10. This game had nearly everything, including one of the wilder stolen bases you will see this season.
Third baseman Jack Brannigan stole home to score a run, but he slipped and fell between third base and home plate. He proceeded to crawl nearly halfway down the infield line and safely score.
The Irish pitching was once again shaky, as head coach Link Jarrett and pitching coach Chuck Ristano used five pitchers in seven innings. Tuesday’s contest was always going to be a bullpen game, but no one made it longer than two innings, and starter Liam Simon was the only one to notch more than four outs.
In total, the pitching staff allowed 10 hits, struck out six batters and walked four more. Righty Matt Bedford gave up two earned runs with an ERA of 10.50. The showing did the trick against a struggling Northwestern team while the Irish offensive was hot, but inconsistent bullpen work will not cut in if the Irish want to play deep into June.
Before Jarrett and Co. turn their attention toward the postseason, they head to Miami this weekend. The Hurricanes are ranked No. 9 in the country according to Baseball America, the same outlet that has the Irish ranked eighth. Miami is currently atop the ACC Coastal Division, while Notre Dame is winning the Atlantic.
The Hurricanes entered a Tuesday night contest with Florida Gulf Coast with a record of 37-14 (18-9 ACC). They lost two of three to Florida State last weekend, a team the Irish swept earlier this year.
Game 1 of the three-game series begins Thursday at 7 p.m. ET on ACCNX.
