NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The 15th-ranked Notre Dame baseball team kept its winning ways going with a 6-2 victory over the Duke Blue Devils Saturday afternoon at Frank Eck Stadium. With the win, Notre Dame (9-2, 9-2 ACC) has won its seventh-game in a row and its fourth-straight series to start the season.
“Bertrand has been awesome at every phase of his game,” said head coach Link Jarrett. “From his plays in the field to the pickoff to end the game, he is so prideful in how hard he works and it shows.”
John Michael Bertrand was stellar on the mound for the Irish. He had pitched seven innings in his previous two starts and he one-upped himself with his second career complete game against Duke (7-8, 3-5 ACC). He allowed just two runs and five hits while striking out six batters to collect his third win of the season.
“It was a great response in the sixth with Putz’s triple, Miller getting on and Niko staying back on one and taking it the other way.” said Jarrett. “Then we had Cole with his inside the park home run, it was just an exciting inning.”
At the plate, home runs were the recipe for the Irish once again. After falling behind in the top of the sixth, the Irish jumped on the Blue Devils for five runs in the sixth. Niko Kavadas regained the lead with a three-run home run to left for his third homer in as many games. The day after hitting a walk-off home run, Ryan Cole rounded the bases for a two-run inside-the-park home run to put the game out of reach.
“I am proud of the fight and the variety of things we have done well so far,” stated Jarrett. “It has been really impressive.”
HOW IT HAPPENED
The bats were quiet early on as both pitchers had good control of the game. Each pitcher allowed just one hit through the first three innings of play.
In the bottom half of the fourth, the Irish broke through. A heady play by Jared Miller got him in scoring position after stretching a single into a double with one out. Miller got to third on a balk and Kavadas was at the plate. He hit a high fly ball to the warning track in left that was caught but plenty deep for Miller to score the first run of the game.
Duke responded with a two-run blast by RJ Schreck in the sixth inning to take a 2-1 lead. The lead was not held for long as the Irish immediately bounced back in the bottom half of the inning.
Carter Putz led the inning off with a triple and after Miller got hit by a pitch, Kavadas had runners on the corners and no outs. The runners came home after Kavadas took a pitch the other way over the wall in left for his seventh home run of the season and the Irish regained the lead. Two batters later, Cole laced a liner to center field that was misjudged and made it all the way to the wall. Cole was on his horse and slid under the tag at the plate for an inside-the-park home run. His second home run in as many games put the Irish lead at 6-2.
After the big inning, Bertrand shut the Blue Devils down the rest of the way. He allowed just two hits over the final three innings to secure his first career complete game.
STATS OF THE GAME
- Ryan Cole hit the first Irish inside-the-park home run since Cole Daly against Florida State on March 17, 2018.
- John Michael Bertrand tossed his second career complete game in the win. It is the first complete game by an Irish pitcher since Tommy Sheehan on April 5, 2019 in the 5-2 win over Virginia.
- Niko Kavadas hit a home run in his third straight game and has seven home runs in 11 games this season.
- The Irish have won seven games in a row for the second straight season.
UP NEXT
The Irish will go for the series sweep on Sunday afternoon when the two teams meet for the final game of the series. The game will be aired nationally on ACC Network and is set for a 2 p.m ET start. The Irish have not named a starter for Sunday’s matchup yet.
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