Preview: Notre Dame baseball needs strong showing against Pittsburgh in final home series of regular season
Notre Dame graduation will take place in South Bend this weekend across the parking lot from Frank Eck Stadium, a looming reminder that No. 8 Irish baseball (29-10, 13-8 ACC) is also approaching the finish line.
Head coach Link Jarrett and his team will host Pittsburgh (26-20, 12-11 ACC) for a three-game series beginning Friday night as they fight to improve their seeding projections ahead of the postseason. It will be their final home series of the regular season, as Notre Dame closes it out at Miami next weekend.
Notre Dame is riding a three-game win streak and has won eight of its last 10 games. The Irish will need to put on a similar showing in its final six games if it wants to break into the top eight of the NCAA Tournament. The team is currently projected as a No. 10 overall seed — good enough to host a Regional — in both D1 Baseball and Baseball America’s projections. The Irish were in the same spot last season.
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This series is a reunion of two college teammates. Jarrett played baseball at Florida State with Panthers head coach Mike Bell. He is in his fourth season at Pittsburgh and led the Panthers to their best ACC series to date last season, as they went 18-12 against teams that made the NCAA Regionals. This year has been different.
They come to South Bend with a team ERA of 5.74, which is 11th in the conference. However, the group does not issue many walks, so Notre Dame will need to make contact to get on base.
Offensively, the Panthers have two batters currently hitting over .300: Bryce Hulett and Tate Levins. Ron Washington Jr. leads the team in home runs with nine. He is the son of former Texas Rangers manager and current Atlanta Braves third base coach Ron Washington.
For Notre Dame, Jarrett’s squad has been inconsistent offensively this season. They scored 15 against Michigan State in a mid-week contest on Tuesday, the 14th time the team has been in double digits this season. They’ve also puttered out and been unable to capitalize at times throughout the spring. Notre Dame ranks ninth in the ACC in total runs scored this season.
Which team will show up this weekend?
Pittsburgh-Notre Dame preview
Where: Frank Eck Stadium (South Bend, Ind.)
When: Friday at 6 p.m. ET, Saturday at 4 p.m. ET (Notre Dame Degree Day), Sunday at noon ET
Watch: ACC Network Extra (Friday), ACC Network (Saturday/Sunday)
Probable pitchers: Friday: RHP Matt Gilbertson (8-2, 2.61 ERA) vs. LHP John Michael Bertrand (6-1, 2.35 ERA); Saturday: RHP Logan Evans (3-6, 7.44 ERA vs. RHP Austin Temple (3-1, 3.68 ERA); Sunday: RHP Billy Corcoran (7-3, 2.92 ERA) vs. TBA
Noting Pittsburgh: The Panthers went 2-2 in their most recent four contests, taking two of three from Duke and dropping a mid-week contest to West Virginia; Pittsburgh has a team batting average of .273, which is 11th in the ACC, but has the seventh-best on-base percentage in the conference (.398); the Panthers have 43 stolen base attempts this season, which is third in the ACC; they have been successful nearly 88 percent of the time, which is atop the conference.
Noting Notre Dame: The Irish boast a .982 fielding percentage, which is tops in the ACC and eighth in the country; Notre Dame is 49-24 all-time against Pittsburgh, including a 24-7 home record; Irish batters have struck out just 284 times this year, the best mark in the ACC.
