BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Notre Dame Fighting Irish fell in the final game of the series at UAB in a 5-2 battle and dropped to 5-4 on the season. The Irish took home the series after winning game one 7-2 on Friday and game two 7-3 on Saturday, but were able to take the sweep today.
How it Happened
While the Irish recorded two singles in the first three innings, Notre Dame struggled to get runs on the board. The Blazers would strike first in the bottom of the third after a strong offensive outing with two doubles and a single that gave UAB a 2-0 edge over the Irish heading into the top of the fourth.
In the top of the fifth, Danny Neri had his second hit on the day with a triple to right field and scored after Estevan Moreno reached first on a UAB error. The Irish closed the gap within one at 2-1 heading into the bottom of the fifth, but a Blazer home run would extend the lead to three at 4-1.
After a scoreless sixth, Neri would get his bat going again in the top of the seventh as he homered to right field and added another run to the board for the Irish to make it a 4-2 ballgame. The Blazers responded with a run of their own in the bottom of the seventh to take the 5-2 advantage heading into the eighth.
Notre Dame was in scoring position in the top of the ninth after Jack Penney reached via a walk and Nick Juaire recorded an infield single. With one last chance to close the gap and two outs in the innings, the Irish couldn’t connect at the plate and the Blazers would go on to take game three win 5-2.
Up Next
The Irish are back in action on Friday, March 10 for the ACC opener at Georgia Tech. The three-game series will take place in Atlanta, Georgia at the Mac Nease Baseball Park at Russ Chandler Stadium.