Feb. 17, 2017
Guess what we get to do today…
We get to play baseball. pic.twitter.com/duKpw9GBPt
— Notre Dame Baseball (@NDBaseball) February 17, 2017
By Michael Scholl
SAN ANTONIO — The University of Notre Dame baseball team opened its 2017 campaign against Lafayette College on Friday afternoon at the Alamo Irish Classic in San Antonio, falling to the Leopards, 10-2.
The Irish had RBI from Cole Daily and Kyle Fiala in the effort. Lafayette was paced by a pair of three RBI performances from the heart of its order in Alex Woinski and John Slesor, while the Leopards’ Trevor Houck did not allow an Irish base runner until the sixth inning and conceded just two runs on one hit in eight innings of work.
Key Innings
Top First
The Leopards jumped out to a 1-0 lead despite Bielak striking out the first three hitters of the game. The second hitter in that progression, Dan Leckie, reached on a fielding error by the Irish first baseman after a dropped third strike. He advanced to second on a wild pitch before scoring on an RBI single by John Selsor.
Top Third
Selsor again provided the big blow, connecting for a two-run homer to right, before Quentin Bubb added an RBI single to make it 4-0 Lafayette.
Top Fifth
With the Leopards lead now 5-0, Alex Woinski pulled a ball down the left field line for a three-run home run to push the lead to 8-0.
Bottom Sixth
Notre Dame finally got to Houck in the sixth, with Eric Gilgenbach getting hit by a pitch to break up the perfect game before Ryan Lidge walked and Daily sent a double down the left field line to score Gilgenbach and get the Irish on the board. Kyle Fiala added a sacrifice fly to score Lidge as the Irish cut the deficit to 9-2.
Game Notes
- Notre Dame is now 85-35-2 all-time on opening day after opening its 122nd baseball season.
- Under seventh-year head coach Mik Aoki, the Irish are now 5-2 in lid lifters, with Friday afternoon’s defeat the first since Aoki’s Notre Dame debut. In 2011, Michigan State took a 2-1 decision at the BIG EAST/Big 10 Challenge.
- Notre Dame suffered a defeat in the first game of the Alamo Irish Classic for the second season in a row. Last year’s club lost the opener to Bradley, 4-3, before rebounding with wins over Texas Southern, Incarnate Word and Gonzaga to capture the tournament title.
On Deck
Notre Dame will play two on the second day of the 2017 campaign. First will be a Noon ET start against Saint Louis before a scheduled 4 p.m. ET contest with Incarnate Word. Both games can be heard on WatchND.
— 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.