HOUSTON, Texas – Notre Dame (3-0) secured the series sweep over Rice (0-3) with a thrilling 13-10 win in Houston on Sunday. Notre Dame hit five home runs in the outing, and scored five runs in the seventh inning to come from behind for the win. The Irish also scored five runs in the ninth.
INF Simon Baumgardt and OF David Glancy hit their second home runs of the weekend, both taking solo shots out of the park on Sunday. INF Connor Hincks posted his first-career home run, also a solo shot, and C Carson Tinney hit it out of the park in the ninth inning for his first-career hit and homer. To cap it off, OF Tito Flores hit Notre Dame’s first grand slam of the season in the ninth.
Sunday marked the first game since 2021 that the Irish have hit five or more home runs in a game. It last happened vs. Central Michigan (Carter Putz (2), Ryan Cole, Brooks Coetzee, Niko Kavadas) on June 6, 2021.
OF Drayk Bowen and RHP Jack Radel made their first-career collegiate baseball appearances. Bowen scored Notre Dame’s eighth run to take the lead, while Radel pitched a scoreless seventh inning, earning the last two outs with bases loaded.
RHP Matt Bedford started on the mound for the Irish and pitched three innings with a strikeout, while RHP David Lally entered in the fourth inning for 2.1 innings of work and two strikeouts. RHP Bennett Flynn followed in his second appearance for the Irish for .2 innings, noting a strikeout. Radel had 1.1 innings of work, and LHP Ryan Lynch entered in the eighth. RHP Ricky Reeth closed it out for the Irish in the ninth.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Irish loaded the bases in the first thanks to three Rice walks, but were unable to convert. Rice placed a runner on base due to an error, and a subsequent home run put Rice up 2-0 in the first.
The Irish again loaded the bases in the second, but a scoring play was overturned upon review and Notre Dame was unable to score in the second. Rice tacked on another run on a sac fly to extend the lead to 3-0.
Notre Dame bats came alive in the third, as Baumgardt hit his second homer of the weekend, a solo shot to get the Irish on the board. Hincks stepped up to the plate immediately after and sent a first-pitch homer, the first home run of his career, over the wall to end the top half with two runs. Rice added a run thanks to two consecutive hits, extending the lead to 4-2.
With no runs in the fourth for Notre Dame, Lally Jr. took the mound to begin the bottom of the fourth for the Irish. Lally earned a strikeout and picked a runner off at second before a flyout ended the inning, holding at 4-2.
In the fifth, Notre Dame went three up, three down. With two batters on base and one out, Lally delivered a strikeout, and took the next ground ball himself to get the out at first.
In the sixth, Hincks drew a walk, advancing to third on an Estevan Moreno single. After a strikeout, OF T.J. Williams dropped a sac bunt to score Hincks, bringing the Irish within one at 4-3. In the bottom of the inning, Lally forced a flyout, and after two walks, Flynn took the mound in relief. Rice hit a three-run homer with two outs to extend the lead to 7-4 before a groundout ended the inning.
The seventh inning was a huge one for the Irish, as Glancy led off the seventh and hit the first pitch out of the park for a solo homer, his second home run of the weekend. Jack Penney, Flores and Baumgardt walked, and Hincks grounded out to score Penney. Flores got home on a wild pitch, and C Joey Spence stepped up to deliver a double down the left line, scoring Baumgardt. Bowen entered to run for Spence, and made it home on a Williams single, beating the throw in dramatic fashion to score. Notre Dame batted through the lineup in the seventh, and took the field up 8-7.
Radel took the mound for his first-career appearance, and after a single and foul-out, Rice loaded the bases. Radel forced two flyouts to hold Rice scoreless in the seventh.
Notre Dame went scoreless in the eighth, and after an out in the bottom of the inning, Lynch entered to relieve Radel. Rice delivered a sac fly to score the tying run, and Glancy took care of the final out to send the game tied to the ninth inning.
Tinney led off for the Irish in the ninth and delivered a full-count solo homer, the first hit and home run of his career. Williams singled and stole second, and DM Jefferson walked. After a strikeout, Rice intentionally walked Penney, and Flores stepped to the plate to deliver Notre Dame’s first grand slam of the season to put the Irish up 13-8 heading to the bottom of the ninth.
Reeth took the mound to start the ninth, and Rice hit a two-run homer to cut the lead to three, but a strikeout and groundout ended it for the Irish to secure the sweep.
UP NEXT
The Irish will go on the road again next weekend, visiting FIU for a four-game series Feb. 23-25 (doubleheader on Saturday, Feb. 24).