SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Notre Dame baseball team came back from an early deficit to earn a 6-2 win over Stanford on Friday night at Frank Eck Stadium.
Stanford used back-to-back two-out doubles to plate a run in the top of the first. Jack Radel struck out a pair in the second to force the Cardinal into stranding a runner on first base.
The Cardinal scored a run in the top of the third with a pair of hits and a ground out.
Drew Berkland reached on an infield single, and Mark Quatrani singled through the left side to put runners on the corners with one out gone. A double steal saw Berkland score on the play to get the Irish on the scoreboard.
Radel and the defense had a three-up, three-down top of the sixth. Parker Brzustewicz reached on an error, and Andrew Graham drew a two-out walk for the Irish in the bottom half of the inning. Drew Berkland then drove a single to left-center to drive in Brzustewicz to knot up the game at 2-2.
Jack Radel then struck out the side in the top of the seventh to reach 12 Ks on the night, tying his career-high mark. The Irish carried that momentum into the bottom half of the inning. Jayce Lee drew a walk, and Parker Brzustewicz reached on an error. Mason Barth then delivered an opposite-field home run to put the Irish ahead 5-2.
The Cardinal put a pair of runners on base in the top of the eighth with a walk and a single, but Noah Rooney induced a fly out and a broken-bat groundout to end the inning.
Drew Berkland led off the bottom of the eighth with a single and advanced on an error, and a hard grounder by Bino Watters moved Berkland to third. A hard-hit sacrifice fly by Mark Quatrani allowed Berkland to score for a 6-2 Irish advantage.
Noah Rooney then retired the side in order in the top of the ninth to preserve the win and earn the save on the hill.
Mason Barth was 1-for-2 at the dish with a three-run home run and two walks. Drew Berkland was 3-for-5 with two runs and an RBI, and Mark Quatrani went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Parker Brzustewicz had a hit, drew a walk and scored twice. Jayce Lee added a double and a run, and Andrew Graham tallied a hit.
Jack Radel tied his career-high mark with 12 strikeouts in a quality start while earning the win after going 7.0 innings on the mound. Noah Rooney closed out the final 2.0 innings with a strikeout, a hit and no runs allowed for the save.
The Irish (22-20, 9-16 ACC) host Stanford for game two of the three-game series starting at 2:00 p.m. ET on Saturday at Frank Eck Stadium.