WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — The University of Notre Dame baseball team took care of business at the plate Sunday afternoon en route to a 10-0 win to clinch the series over No. 16 Wake Forest (3-4, 1-2 ACC). With the series win, the Irish (2-1, 2-1 ACC) have won their last two ACC road series and five of their last seven dating back to 2019.
“So proud of how the way our team responded after a tough game one,” said head coach Link Jarrett. “Wake is an explosive team with some great arms. Our guys battled, adapted and played a sound road ACC series to open 2021. I think we were the only ACC team who hadn’t played and to perform well out of the gate with zero innings under our belts is impressive.”
The Irish jumped out to a three-run lead in the first inning and did not look back as the bats continued to add crooked numbers on the scorecard throughout the day. The Irish scored two or more runs in four of the first six innings. Brooks Coetzee was a big part of those innings as he had two doubles that brought in a career-high 5 RBI. Jared Miller also set a career high with four runs and David LaManna tied career highs with three hits and 3 RBI.
“Our staff adjusted with Rich calling most of the pitches, Chuck zooming in pre-and-post game with insight from his watching on TV,” stated Jarrett. “The toughness of our guys with some key two-out hits and timely defense showed itself in a big way today.”
On the mound, graduate student Christian Scafidi and junior Alex Rao paced the Irish throughout the day. They held the Demon Deacons scoreless and allowed just four hits. It is the fewest hits allowed in a conference road game since April 21, 2019 when they allowed four in a 4-1 win over Pitt.
“The rhythm and momentum for the team begins with the starting pitcher,” said Jarrett. “Scafidi was outstanding, and Rao followed suit with his own great performance”
HOW IT HAPPENED
Just as they had done in both games of the doubleheader, the Irish jumped out in front in the first inning.
Spencer Myers battled in his first at-bat and reached via a walk. He was moved over to third after a single from Carter Putz. Myers scored on the next at-bat as Miller singled through the left side. Another run came in after LaManna ripped a single down the first base line to score Putz. One more run came in during the inning when Miller scored on Alex Brait’s groundout to second and the Irish led 3-0 after the opening frame.
The Irish kept it coming in the third inning after singles from LaManna and Miller and a walk to Kavadas loaded the bases. Stepping to the plate with two outs, Coetzee got a hold of a breaking ball and sent it to the wall in left field. All three runners came home to score and the Irish increased their lead to 6-0.
Making his first start in an Irish uniform, Scafidi was dominant early on for the Irish. He kept the Demon Deacons off the scoreboard over the first four innings, allowed just one hit and didn’t have a runner reach past second base as the Irish built their lead.
Coetzee was not done at the plate when he came back up in the fifth with two runners on and two outs. He hit an identical double down the left field line that made it to the wall and scored Miller and Niko Kavadas.
The Irish bats continued to stay hot at the plate in the sixth as they got the bases loaded once again. LaManna stepped into the batter’s box with two outs and deposited the ball through the left side to score Miller and Putz. The two runs got the Irish over the double-digit mark as they held a 10-0 lead.
Rao came on in relief in the middle of the fifth and kept it rolling on the mound for the Irish. He finished the final 4.2 innings of the game and allowed just three batters to reach base. Rao earned the first win of his career to secure the series for the Irish.
STATS OF THE GAME
- The Irish did not commit an error over the course of the series. It is the first series without committing an error since Feb. 16-18, 2018 against No. 9 LSU.
- It was the first time the Demon Deacons have been shut out since April 27, 2018 against Georgia Tech.
- It is the first time the Irish have shut out a conference opponent on the road since April 20, 2019 in a 9-0 win at Pitt.
- The Irish just allowed four hits to the Demon Deacons, the fewest allowed in a conference road game since April 21, 2019 when they allowed four against Pitt.
- Brooks Coetzee set a career high with five RBI and tied a career high with two hits.
- Jared Miller set a career high with four runs scored.
- David LaManna tied career highs with three hits and three RBI.
- Alex Rao earned his first career win after tying a career high with 4.2 innings pitched.
UP NEXT
The Irish will continue their early season road swing next weekend when they travel to Clemson. The Irish and Tigers will begin a three-game series at Doug Kingsmore Stadium on Friday March 5. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. ET and the entire series will be broadcast on the ACC Network Extra.
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