April 10, 2018
Box Score (PDF)
EAST LANSING, Michigan — The Notre Dame baseball team jumped out to an early lead behind a great start from Zack Martin before the bullpen slammed the door in an 8-7 win at Michigan State on Tuesday afternoon.
Kicking-off a five-game week at Michigan State, Martin worked in the seventh inning, allowing four hits and two earned runs. Andrew Belcik worked a stellar 1.2 innings in relief to stem a Spartan rally and Cole Kmet earned his sixth save of the season, recording the final two outs.
David LaManna was 1-for-2 with three RBI, while Matt Vierling knocked in a pair. Cole Daily and Daniel Jung added RBI for the Irish. Eric Gilgenbach was 2-for-4 and scored twice.
How It Happened
Notre Dame opened a 3-0 lead after an inning and a half. Kerschner, Kavadas, Gilgenbach and Jung delivered four straight singles, with Kavadas getting thrown out at the plate on the final base hit. LaManna then drilled a double into the gap in left-center, scoring Gilgenbach and Jung. Mokma worked out of the jam, keeping the Irish from adding on to the three-spot.
The Irish added two more in the fourth. Gilgenbach started things off with a walk before Jung followed with a single, sending Gilgenbach to third. LaManna did his job with a fly ball to right, scoring Gilgenbach. Jung was thrown out trying to advance to second on the throw home. Daily followed with a homer over the fence in right to make it 5-0.
Michigan State miscues led to the sixth Irish run. Matt Vierling reached on an error by the shortstop before advancing to second on a wild pitch and third on a throwing error when the catcher’s throw to second bounced into left-centerfield. After a Kerschner walk, Kavadas hit into a double play, scoring Vierling.
Notre Dame added two more runs in the sixth on a one-out, two-run double by Vierling.
Michigan State climbed back in the game with a seven-run seventh. A walk and double chased Martin from the game before Anthony Holubecki allowed a three-run homer and single before making a fielding error to put two men on. After a flyout and popout, a double and homer ensued to cut it to 8-7. Belcik came in to get the third and final out to send the Irish to the eighth with a one-run lead.
The Spartan rally was stifled by Andrew Belcik, who threw 1.2 hitless innings before giving way to Kmet, who retired both hitters he faced to end the ballgame.
Player Of The Game
Zack Martin had arguably the best start of his career. The sophomore worked 6-plus innings, allowing two runs on four hits while striking out three and walking one. He threw 108 pitches and induced nine groundball outs.
Coach Aoki’s Thoughts
On Zack Martin…
“Zack’s been pitching really well all year. I don’t know if he got a little fatigued in that last inning, but he did a teriffic job. He’s been really good all year long.
On the bottom half of the batting order…
“Those guys were good today. LaManna executed some stuff. Jung swung the bat really well down there.”
On Andrew Belcik…
“Belcik coming in settling it back down is such a difficult thing to do. When the momentum is rolling against you and you get that out, that was really, really big for us. Game Notes
Game Notes
- It was the 136th meeting between Notre Dame and Michigan State on the diamond, with the Spartans holding a 79-56 edge.
- The Irish have won four of the last five in the series with the Spartans.
- LaManna’s three RBI were a career high and it was his second career multi-RBI game.
Up Next
The Irish return home to Frank Eck Stadium on Wednesday, April 11, to host Northwestern. First pitch is set for 6:05 p.m. and the game can be seen live on ACC Network Extra and WatchESPN.