MT. PLEASANT, S.C. — The University of Notre Dame baseball team kicked off the 2019 Swig & Swine Classic with a 7-4 win over Charleston Southern Friday afternoon at Shipyard Park.
The Irish faced a 4-1 deficit after the top half of the second but did not trail long. Daniel Jung and Carter Putz had back-to-back hits to drive in three runs and tie the game. The next inning, Jack Alexander drove in the game-winning run with a two-out double to left.
Tommy Sheehan retired 17 consecutive batters in the middle innings en route to a career-high eight innings pitched. Cole Kmet shut the door in the ninth, with a 1-2-3 inning for his first career save of the season.
Check out the postgame interview with today’s players of the game ☘️
☘️@TommySheehan_ 8 IP 6k
☘️@CarterPutz 2-4 2 Doubles 2 RBI#GoIrish #PassTheShillelagh pic.twitter.com/mMEzr6jE5q— Notre Dame Baseball (@NDBaseball) March 1, 2019
How It Happened
The Irish got on the board in the bottom of the first. Ryan Cole led the inning off with a single and stole second to get into scoring position. Jung hit a blooper to right field that dropped in and the Irish had first and third with nobody out. During the next at bat, Cole broke home and scored on a wild pitch to give the Irish the lead.
In the top half of the second, Charleston Southern responded with big inning. The Buccaneers strung together four hits and put four runs on the scoreboard to take a 4-1 lead.
Notre Dame got right back in the game the very next half inning, doing most of the damage with two outs. With runners on first and third, Jung hit a slow roller towards the right side and beat it out for an infield single to score Spencer Myers. Next up, Carter Putz drove a ball to the wall in right center to score Prajzner and Jung to tie the game at 4-4.
In the next inning at the plate for the Irish, they took the lead back thanks to another freshman. Jack Alexander ripped a line drive to the wall in left and with Myers running on the pitch, he scored the go-ahead run easily. Alexander ended up at second with his first career double and RBI.
After the second inning, Sheehan settled into a grove on the mound and did not allow the Buccaneers back in the game. He recorded five straight 1-2-3 innings and set down 17 consecutive batters from the end of the second up until the eighth inning. Sheehan struck out the final batter in the eighth and set a career high for innings pitched for the second straight week.
Cole Kmet came in to close down the ninth inning. He retired the Buccaneers in order for his first save of the season.
Game Notes
- One week after setting a career high with seven innings pitched, Tommy Sheehan went eight strong against Charleston Southern with six strikeouts.
- Sheehan retired 17 consecutive batters from the second to the eighth inning.
- Junior Daniel Jung continued his season-long hit streak with a single to right field in the bottom of the first.
- After a leadoff single, Ryan Cole stole second for his fifth stolen base of the season, which leads the team.
- Freshman Carter Putz tallied his first career RBI in the bottom of the second with a two-run double to right center. He finished 2-for-4 from the plated with two doubles and two RBI.
- Fellow freshman Jack Alexander recorded his first career double and RBI in the bottom of the third.
- Cole Kmet recorded his first save of the season after setting Charleston Southern down in order in the ninth. It is Kmet’s fourth-consecutive outing without allowing a hit.
Up Next
Notre Dame will play twice tomorrow for the second day of action at the Swig & Swine Classic. The Irish will square off with Ball State at 11 a.m. ET at Shipyard Park and then take on Charleston Southern for the second game on campus at CSU Ballpark, which is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. ET. The second game of the day against Charleston Southern will be streamed on ESPN+.
For a behind-the-scenes look at the Irish baseball program, follow @NDBaseball on Twitter and @NotreDameBaseball on Instagram. For tickets to an Irish baseball game, click here.
–ND–