SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The Notre Dame baseball team finished up their fall practice segment over the weekend with an intra-squad double-header scrimmage. The Navy and Green teams, which were managed by the players, played an eight inning and seven inning game in the final practice of the fall season.
The Navy team, managed by graduate students John Michael Bertrand and Jared Miller, won both games over the Green team, managed by graduate student David LaManna and senior Aidan Tyrell.
“Our guys competed very well in our final team scrimmage Saturday,” said head coach Link Jarrett. “Bertrand and Miller managed a well played game by their Navy squad. Tyrell and LaManna drafted a very competitive Green team, however it was clearly the Navy team’s day.”
Both teams were able to load the bases at the start of one of their innings in each game to work on situational aspects that they will run across when the season gets started.
“The 8-inning and 7-inning double header included an inning where each team loaded the bases at their discretion to begin the inning,” said Jarrett. “In game one, it did not factor in to the extent it did in game two. We had some outstanding pitching performances, showed some very athletic defense, and had flashes of above average at-bats. Nice to see the makings of a complete team, however there were also periods of time we did not play clean enough.”
Bertrand tossed two innings of scoreless and hitless ball for the Navy team, which included a strikeout on the afternoon. Junior Liam Simon also threw two innings and did not allow a hit. Freshman Caden Aoki tallied five strikeouts in two innings. At the plate, Miller went 3-for-6 with a home run and two walks on the day. Carter Putz also hit a home run after going 2-for-5 with two walks. Brady Gumpf went 2-for-3 at the dish with two free passes.
“Reflecting on the fall, the consistent performance of (Radek) Birkholz, Aoki and (Roman) Kimball is promising on the mound looking ahead,” stated Jarrett. “Bertrand continued to show efficiency. Simon and (Jack) Brannigan flashed exceptional raw stuff and we must continue to harness consistent pitchability. (Will) Mercer, (Alex) Rao and Tyrell continue to develop their craft and (Matt) Bedford has made nice strides.”
For the Green team, Birkholz threw two innings of hitless ball with three strikeouts on the day. Graduate student Austin Temple had two strikeouts over two innings on the mound. LaManna went 3-for-5 with a sac fly and a walk.
“Obviously we return a lot of position players, I felt the returners worked hard and performed well,” said Jarrett. “Miller stood out with consistency of at-bats and base-running. Freshman infielder Jack Penney and freshman outfielder DM Jefferson both showed very well this fall in their own skill sets. LaManna continued to grind out at bats and had a good fall at the plate. TJ Williams always plays so aggressively in the OF and he hit many balls on the button. Nick Juaire was consistent from both sides of the plate and Gumpf showed an increase in power production.”
The Irish will have individual skill work the rest of the fall semester before heading home for the semester break in December.
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