March 14, 2017
By Michael Scholl
DAVIDSON, North Carolina — Looking for some momentum as it played its first midweek game of the season, the Notre Dame baseball team held the Davidson Wildcats to three hits in a 2-0 Irish victory on Tuesday night.
Scott Tully got the start as he, Charlie Vorsheck, Sean Guenther and Matt Vierling combined to allow three hits and two walks over nine innings. Behind their pitching staff, the Irish did not commit an error for the third consecutive game.
Notre Dame did all its scoring in a two-run third. Kyle Fiala had an RBI single, while Vierling drew an RBI walk.
Key Innings
Bottom First
With Tully making his first start since March 20, 2016, a solid start was important. He allowed a walk and single to open the frame, but induced a double-play ball from Alec Acosta, then a groundout from Brian Fortier to escape damage and keep the game scoreless.
Top Third
Notre Dame scored the only runs of the game in the third inning, doing most of the damage with two outs. Ryan Lidge opened the rally with a one-out single. After Jake Shepski flew to left for out number two, Jake Johnson and Fiala delivered consecutive singles to score Lidge. Nick Podkul bunted for a hit to load the bases, as Davidson went to Evan Roberts out of the bullpen. The southpaw came in and walked Vierling to score the second run before Daniel Jung flew out to end the threat.
Bottom Third
Shutdown innings have been a point of emphasis for Mik Aoki and Tully delivered just that. He struck out the first two Wildcats and allowed a walk before getting a flyout to keep the score at 2-0 after three innings.
Bottom Sixth
The Wildcats threatened again in the sixth. Acosta reached on a one-out single and Aoki called Guenther in from the pen to replace Vorsheck. Guenther allowed a double to Forcier before striking out Eric Jones to keep it at 2-0 Irish. From there, Davidson was retired nine-up, nine-down.
Game Notes
- Tully, recovering from Tommy John surgery, saw his first action at the USA Baseball-Irish Classic before starting against Davidson. His last start had been March 20, 2016, when he threw 2.2 innings in a loss at NC State. His last victory in a start came on April 8, 2015, a 6-0 win over Valparaiso.
- Jung failed to reach base for the first time in seven games. He had reached base in every start, with a hit in six of those seven contests.
- The save was the second of the season and his career for Vierling. He has had a hit in every game which has seen him also take the mound, with an RBI in three of the four games which saw him pull double duty.
On Deck
The Irish make the trip to Pitt for a three-game ACC set at Cost Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Friday’s game begins at 3 p.m. ET, with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. All three games can be seen on ACC Network Extra (via WatchESPN), with audio on WatchND and 103.1 FM in South Bend.
— ND —
Michael Scholl joined Fighting Irish Media in August 2016, coordinating communications for the baseball program and assisting with the football team at his alma mater. The South Bend native earned a degree in political science from the College of Arts & Letters in 2009 before going on to work in athletics communications at Providence College, Vanderbilt and Cincinnati.