NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame baseball team was all over the base paths Tuesday night in its 6-3 win over Chicago State at Frank Eck Stadium.
The Irish were patient at the plate all night and ended up with 12 walks and once they got on base, they made the Cougars pay. Notre Dame was aggressive all night in picking up extra bases and ended the game with 14 stolen bases, the most in a single game by any team in the NCAA this season.
The Irish recorded at least one steal in every inning except the first and five players had multiple steals on the night.
How It Happened
Notre Dame got behind early after Chicago State scored three runs in the top half of the first. The Irish looked to get out of the inning without any damage but the final out of the inning was overturned by video review and the Cougars plated three more runs as the inning continued.
The Irish got on the board in the second after manufacturing a run. Jared Miller worked a leadoff walk and stole second during the next at bat. He moved over to third on a fly out to left field and scored on Jack Zyska’s first career hit, a single to right field.
The Irish scored again in the third and took the lead in the fourth. The game was tied after David LaManna worked a bases-loaded walk and then Eric Gilgenbach brought home the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly to right field.
Zack Martin came into the game and kept the Cougars bats quiet after they scored three in the first. Martin went four innings, struck out three and allowed just one hit and no walks. He allowed the Irish to get back in the game while logging his longest outing of the season.
Andrew Belcik followed Martin out of the pen and recorded his longest outing of season. Belcik went three innings without allowing a run or a walk and gave up just three hits as the Irish extended their lead in the later innings.
Notre Dame added to its lead with runs in the seventh and eighth inning. Ryan Cole singled up the middle in the seventh to score Jared Miller. Niko Kavadas added a run in the eighth with a sacrifice fly to score Carter Putz.
Joe Boyle came on in the ninth and set the Cougars down in order to pick up his first save of the season.
Game Notes
- Notre Dame recorded 14 steals against the Cougars, the most in a game by any team in the NCAA this season.The previous NCAA single game high this season was 10.
- It was the most steals by a Division I team since George Washington had 15 against Coppin State on April 18, 2017.
- The 14 steals also sets an ACC record which was previously held by NC State who had 12 steals against William & Mary on April 17, 1990.
- Eric Gilgenbach (3), Jared Miller (3) and Carter Putz (2) set career highs in steals while Ryan Cole (2) and Spencer Myers (2) tied their career highs.
- The Irish had a season-high 12 walks at the plate.
- The pitching staff did not issue a walk the entire game, the first game this season without allowing a walk.
- Zack Martin picked up his first win of the season after pitching a season-high four innings.
- Andrew Belcik also tallied a season high with three innings pitched in relief.
- Mitch Megias earned his first career start on the mound, Carter Putz made his first career start at first base.
Up Next
Notre Dame will head back on the road to continue ACC play against Georgia Tech this weekend. The three game series between the Yellow Jackets and Fighting Irish will start Friday at 6 p.m. ET and all three games will be broadcast on the ACC Network Extra.
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–