STATESBORO, Ga. — The No. 2 seed Notre Dame baseball team (37-14) battled back from two separate deficits to defeat the No. 16 national seed Georgia Southern (41-19), 6-4, Saturday night at J.I. Clements Stadium. The Irish once again had to deal with a rain delay before they could get started but they came back from a deficit in the third and the sixth to advance to the regional final.
“Great game, the atmosphere was fantastic and the crowd was into it,” said head coach Link Jarrett. “Both teams clearly into it. Proud of the way our guys continue to just grind through. Didn’t know how this was going to shake out.”
The Irish faced their first deficit of the weekend heading into the fourth but solo home runs from Jack Zyska and Jack Brannigan pushed the Irish in front. After giving up three runs in the top of the sixth to relinquish the lead, the Irish tied it right back up in the bottom of the sixth. Zack Prajzner hit a two-run bomb to tie things up.
The game stayed tied until the seventh when the Irish scored two runs after consecutive hit-by-pitches with the bases loaded. The Eagles brought the go-ahead run to the plate in the eighth but Jack Findlay came on and got the final six outs of the game to close the door and advance the Irish to the regional final.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The game stayed scoreless until the top of the third when Georgia Southern struck first. With two away in the inning, the Eagles hit a solo shot over the wall in right to take a 1-0 lead after three.
The Irish answered in a big way in the bottom of the fourth. Zyska unloaded on a 1-0 fastball and easily cleared the fence in left to level the game. It was his 11th home run of the season to tie Brooks Coetzee III for the team lead. Later in the inning, Brannigan took a pitch the other way and cleared the wall in right center for another solo shot. His 10th home run of the season gave the Irish their first lead at 2-1 after four.
Georgia State fired back in the top of the sixth. The Eagles got a single through the right side and scored the tying run from second on the play. Later in the inning, they loaded the bases with two outs and got another single through the right side. Two more runs scored and the Eagles regained the lead at 4-2.
The lead did not last long as the Irish tied the game up in the first two batters in the bottom of the sixth. Brannigan legged out an infield single and Prajzner uncorked a hanging breaking ball over the wall in left to tie the game. Prajzner’s sixth home run of the season tied the game at 4-4 after six.
The Eagles were threatening again in the seventh. They got two runners into scoring position with two outs but Matt Bedford got a strikeout to end the inning and end the threat.
The Irish got the lead back in the bottom of the seventh. With the bases loaded and two outs, Notre Dame scored two runs on consecutive hit-by-pitches. Carter Putz scored the first run after Prajzner got hit. Then Zyska scored after Jack Penney got hit at the plate. After seven frames, the Irish led 6-4.
Georgia Southern fought right back and got the go-ahead run at the plate in the top of the eighth. The Eagles led the inning off with two-straight singles and had runners on the corners with two outs. Findlay came on from the pen and stuck out the first two batters he faced to get two quick outs. Then he induced a ground out to Prajzner to end the inning and eliminate the threat.
In the ninth, Findlay set the Eagles down in order to earn his first career save.
UP NEXT
The Irish advance to the regional final after winning their first two games of the Statesboro Regional. They will face the winner of the Georgia Southern and Texas Tech game that is set for 2 p.m. ET. The Irish will play at 7 p.m. ET and are one win away from another trip to the Super Regionals. The TV designation is still to be determined for the Irish tomorrow night. Stay tuned to social channels for the opponent and TV information on Sunday.
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