March 25, 2018
By Megan Golden
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The University of Notre Dame baseball team fell 9-3 to Wake Forest in the finale of a three-game series on Sunday afternoon at Frank Eck Stadium.
Notre Dame (10-12, 4-5) concluded its first Atlantic Coast Conference home series taking two of three against Wake Forest (11-13, 5-4).
How It Happened
Wake Forest scored first, connecting for back-to-back singles with one out in the first inning and scoring on a double from Bobby Seymour to open a 2-0 lead.
The Demon Deacons loaded the bases with one out in the second inning, and Cameron Junker walked in the next two runs of the game.
Jake Mueller and Johnny Aiello hit back-to-back doubles in the fourth, adding a run for Wake Forest and extending the lead to 5-0.
Junker handed the ball over to Jack Sheehan in the fourth, when the Demon Deacons tacked on two runs and controlled a 6-0 advantage.
With two outs in the fourth, Eric Gilgenbach knocked a single to left field and scored on Niko Kavadas‘ double to the wall in right field. The run put the Irish on the board, making the score 6-1.
The Demon Deacons extended their lead to 8-1 with a sacrifice fly in the sixth and a walk issued with the bases loaded in the eighth. In the ninth, the Demon Deacons scored on a sacrifice fly to take a 9-1 lead.
With one out in the bottom of the ninth, Notre Dame’s Kavadas and David LaManna hit back-to-back singles. Pinch-hitter Alex Kerschner doubled to left field and drove in Kavadas to cut the deficit to 9-2. Cole Daily walked to load the bases, and Jake Johnson was hit by a pitch to bring home LaManna and make it 9-3.
That was all for the Irish offense, which fell to Wake Forest in the series finale.
Game Notes
- The Irish own a 7-14 record against Wake Forest all-time and have gone 5-7 at home.
- Notre Dame moves to 2-2 at home in 2018.
- Jake Johnson finished the series versus Wake Forest going 5-for-14 (.357) at the plate with a double, a triple, a walk, five RBI and three runs scored.
- Jack Sheehan made his first appearance on the mound since March 13. Sheehan allowed one run over 2.0 innings.
Up Next
Notre Dame opens a two-game midweek series versus Kent State, beginning at 6:05 p.m. ET on Tuesday. The game will be streamed on ACC Network Extra and on 103.1 FM (South Bend)/WatchND.
For a behind-the-scenes look at the Irish baseball program, follow @NDBaseball on Twitter and @NotreDameBaseball on Instagram. For tickets to an Irish baseball game, click here.
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Megan Golden, athletics communications assistant director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since August of 2016. In her role, she coordinates all media efforts for the Notre Dame baseball and women’s soccer programs. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Golden is a 2014 graduate of Saint Mary’s College and former Irish women’s basketball manager. Prior to arriving at Notre Dame, she worked in public relations with the Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox.