STATESBORO, Ga. — The No. 2 seed Notre Dame baseball team (38-14) is moving on to the super regionals as they defeated No. 3 seed Texas Tech (39-22), 2-1, Sunday night at J.I. Clements Stadium. The Irish advance to the Super Regionals for the second-consecutive season for the first time in program history.
“Our games were three tough, grinding, competing for every pitch of all of the games we played,” said head coach Link Jarrett. “You expect that coming in, but there are times games open up a little more. The poise, composure, that we pitched with and the way our team defended was exceptional in all facets of that.”
John Michael Bertrand carried the Irish on the mound as he made his second start of the regional after the delay on Friday. He tossed 7.2 innings of one-run ball with seven strikeouts and no walks. Jack Findlay came on in the eighth with the bases loaded and got the Red Raiders to strike out to end the inning.
Texas Tech loaded the bases in the ninth but Findlay got a ground out to Carter Putz to end the game and finish off the regional for the Irish. Notre Dame finished the Statesboro Regional 3-0 on the weekend, the second-straight season the Irish went 3-0 in the regional round.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Texas Tech was threatening in the first as they got runners at second and third with two outs. Bertrand worked his way out of the jam with a strikeout to end the inning and keep the Red Raiders off the scoreboard.
The Irish got the scoring started in the third as Spencer Myers doubled down the left field line. Ryan Cole found a hole in the left side and Myers came all the way home to score. The Irish held a 1-0 lead after three.
In the fourth, the Irish added another run and it was Cole who did the damage. Zack Prajzner just missed a home run by inches and ended up with a stand-up double at second. He advanced to third on a ground out and came home as Cole beat out an infield single to second. Cole’s second RBI of the day gave the Irish a 2-0 advantage.
The score stayed that way until the eighth inning when the Red Raiders broke through for their first run of the game. They had the tying run 90 feet away as they loaded the bases with two outs as Findlay came on from the pen. He struck out Owen Washburn on three-straight pitches to end the inning and keep the Irish ahead.
In the ninth, the bases were loaded with two outs once again but Findlay stayed composed and forced a ground out to end the game. He earned his second-straight save as the Irish advanced to the Super Regional round.
ALL-REGIONAL TEAM
The Irish had five members named to the Statesboro All-Regional team. David LaManna, Zack Prajzner, Jack Brannigan, Ryan Cole and John Michael Bertrand earned the honors. Bertrand was named the Regional’s Most Outstanding Player.
UP NEXT
The Irish are heading to Knoxville to face the top-ranked Tennessee Volunteers next weekend. Tennessee finished off the Knoxville Regional on Sunday to set the matchup for the Super Regional. An official date for the series will be announced on Monday once all the regionals have been completed. Stay tuned to und.com and Notre Dame Baseball social channels for all updates.
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