CORAL GABLES, Fla. — The eighth-ranked Notre Dame baseball team (32-12, 15-10) could not get the bats going and dropped the series opener against ninth-ranked Miami (38-15, 19-9), 6-4, Thursday night at Alex Rodriguez Park.
The Irish took the lead in the fourth but the Canes responded with six-unanswered runs to take control of the game. The Irish fought back in the ninth with Ryan Cole’s second home run of the game. That is as close as they would get as the Canes got the final out of the game.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Neither team got a hit through the first three innings as both starters were on it from the get go.
The Irish struck first in the fourth inning with their first hit of the game. Cole hit a laser over the wall in left for a solo home run to give the Irish the lead. His eighth home run of the year put the Irish up 1-0.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Canes tied the game on a solo home run. After four full innings, the score was tied at 1-1.
Miami took the lead in the fifth with a three-run shot to center. The Hurricanes lead 4-1 after five frames.
The Hurricanes added two more runs in the seventh on their third home run of the game.
Notre Dame clawed back in the ninth with Cole’s second home run of the game. He hit a three-run blast for his first career multi-home run game.
UP NEXT
The Irish will look to even the series Friday night when the teams get back on the diamond. The second game of the series is set for a 7 p.m. ET start and will be aired nationally on the ACC Network.
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