Irish Fall in Rubber Match to Eagles

Box Score (PDF)

BRIGHTON, Mass. – The Notre Dame baseball team fell in a 4-3 final in the rubber match of the ACC series at Boston College on Sunday afternoon.

The Irish got on the scoreboard first in the top of the second. Connor Hincks beat out a bunt single, and Brady Gumpf was hit by a pitch with two outs to put a pair of runners on base. Nick DeMarco powered a single to left field to drive in Hincks from second while putting runners on the corners. Jared Zimbardo added an infield single to plate Gumpf for the 2-0 advantage.

The Eagles put a run on the scoreboard in the bottom of the second, but the Irish countered right away in the top of the third. Carson Tinney led off with a double off the left field wall and advanced to third on a grounder the other way. Parker Brzustewicz used a single to right field to drive in Tinney for a 3-1 lead. Connor Hincks was hit by a pitch, and a wild pitch allowed Brzustewicz and Hincks to move up 90 feet. Back-to-back outs, however, kept Notre Dame from adding to the lead as the game moved to the bottom of the third.

The Notre Dame defense made quick work of Boston College in the third. Brady Gumpf made a solid catch on the run in the right-center gap to record the first out. Estevan Moreno had a web gem at shortstop as the junior made the diving stop into the five-six hole, got to his feet, and fired the throw across in time to cut down the next batter for an out. Dylan Heine then dialed up his fourth strikeout of the day to sit down the side.

Brady Koester came on in relief in the fourth and struck out back-to-back batters to force the Eagles into stranding a runner on base. In the fifth, Massachusetts native Oisin Lee entered the game with bases loaded and dialed up a full-count strikeout to shut the door on the Eagles. The Irish used an unconventional double play in the bottom of the sixth as Jared Zimbardo collected a catch in center field and cut down the runner, who had hesitated momentarily, trying to tag up to third for the first two outs of the inning. The Eagles, however, pulled even with a single and a double to make it 3-3. Lee used a strikeout to close out the inning on the defensive end for Notre Dame.

The Irish defense retired the Eagles in order in the bottom of the eighth as the game still stood at 3-3 heading into the ninth. Notre Dame threatened in the top of the ninth. Bino Watters laced a two-out single to left and advanced on an error. Carson Tinney then drew a full-count walk to put a pair on base, but the Irish were unable to convert the two-out rally into runs.

Boston College started the bottom of the ninth with a lead-off single while an error allowed the runner to advance to second. The Eagles used a sacrifice bunt to move the runner to third, and a deep-hit ball fell for a single as the game ended by the 4-3 final.

Ricky Reeth shouldered the decision on the mound in 2.1 innings of work with a strikeout. Dylan Heine had four strikeouts and went 3.1 with the start on the bump. Brady Koester struck out the two batters he faced for the Irish. Chase Van Ameyde went two-thirds of an innings on the hill, and Oisin Lee struck out two in 1.1 innings.

Connor Hincks was 2-for-3 at the plate with a run. Bino Watters added a pair of hits, and Carson Tinney was 1-for-3 with a double and a run to go along with a pair of walks. Jared Zimbardo, Parker Brzustewicz, and Nick DeMarco each had a hit and an RBI. Brady Gumpf scored once for the Irish.

Notre Dame (16-17, 4-14 ACC) are back home on Tuesday, April 15 when they host Valparaiso at 5:30 p.m. The team will be recognizing the Foundry Giants to celebrate the history of baseball in South Bend. All home regular season baseball games are free.