SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Notre Dame baseball team took a 15-5 in eight innings over Oakland on Saturday afternoon at Frank Eck Stadium on Degree Day. Eleven members of the team – three managers and eight players – were recognized prior to the start of the game as they complete undergraduate and graduate degrees at Notre Dame this spring.
The Golden Grizzlies plated an unearned run in the top of the first for the early lead. Oakland added three runs in the top of the third to make it 4-0.
Shane Miranda drew a walk, and Bino Watters added a one-out walk of his own in the bottom of the third. Mark Quatrani had an infield single to load the bases. Dylan Passo then drove in Miranda with a sacrifice fly to center field to put the Irish on the scoreboard.
Bino Watters led off the bottom of the fifth with a seeing-eye single to the right side, and Mark Quatrani reached first after getting hit by a pitch. Two batters later, Jayce Lee went the other way with a single through the right side, and Bino Watters came around to score to make it 4-2. Andrew Graham drew a walk to load the bases. Mason Barth then drove in Quatrani with a sacrifice fly to right field as the Irish made it a one-run game. Jamie Zee laced a single to left field, and Lee raced around from second base to score easily as Notre Dame knotted the game up at 4-4. Shane Miranda delivered a two-out RBI single to right field to drive in Graham for the 5-4 Irish lead. Drew Berkland kept the offense going with an RBI single to left field to drive in Zee to make it 6-4. Watters walked in his second plate appearance of the inning, and Quatrani drove in Miranda and Berkland with a rocket single up the middle for an 8-4 advantage. A bases-loaded walk by Lee pushed Watters across home as the Irish went ahead 9-4.
The Golden Grizzlies plated a run in the top of the seventh, but Drew Berkland responded immediately with a first-pitch, no-doubt solo homer to left field for a 10-5 score. Bino Watters drew a walk, and Dylan Passo had a single to put two on base. A flyout allowed Watters to tag up to third, and a double steal saw Watters come in to score for the 11-5 Irish lead.
Mason Barth drew a walk, and Shane Miranda hit a double to put a pair of runners in scoring position in the top of the eighth. Bino Watters then lofted a two-out ground-rule double to left-center field to drive in the pair for a 13-5 Notre Dame advantage. Mark Quatrani singled through the left side to score Watters. Dylan Passo was hit by a pitch, and Jayce Lee went the other way with a single to drive in Quatrani with the game-ending run in a 15-5 final.
Shane Miranda went 4-for-4 with two doubles, three runs and an RBI. Mark Quatrani posted a 3-for-5 effort at the dish with three RBI and a pair of runs. Jayce Lee tallied two hits, three RBI and a run, and Bino Watters added two hits with a double, two RBI, three walks and four runs. Drew Berkland had two hits including a home run, drove in a pair and scored twice. Dylan Passo had two hits and an RBI, and Jamie Zee had a hit, an RBI and scored a run. Mason Barth drove in a run and scored once, and Andrew Graham added a run and walked twice.
Ty Uber went 3.0 on the mound and struck out one. Eli Thurmond went 2.2 in relief and earned the win after striking out two and allowing just two hits with no runs. Radek Birkholz registered a strikeout in 1.1 innings of work, and Will Jaisle added an inning on the hill with a strikeout and no runs allowed.
The Irish (26-20) close out their home regular season schedule on Sunday when they host Oakland for game three of the series starting at 1:00 p.m. ET. A ceremonial first pitch for Mother’s Day will take place prior to the game.