PITTSBURGH, PA – The Fighting Irish take the series against Pitt after defeating the Panthers in game two on the road at Charles L. Cost Field on Thursday, April 7. The 11-2 victory puts the Irish on a four-game winning streak as they advance to 17-11 on the year and 7-7 in the ACC.
HOW IT HAPPENED
It was scoreless frames to start game two as both the Irish and Panthers hung zeros on the board in the first two innings. Notre Dame struck first after Danny Neri was able to reach via a walk and advanced to second on a sac bunt from TJ Williams. A base hit to center field from Jack Penney scored Neri and put the Irish on the board. The RBI single from Penney gave Notre Dame the 1-0 advantage heading into the fourth.
Jackson Dennies started on the mound for the Irish and recorded his fifth strikeout of the day in the bottom of the fourth as Notre Dame held Pitt scoreless for another frame. Dennies would record his sixth strikeout in the bottom of the fifth before he was relieved by Aidan Tyrell. Dennies finished the day pitching 4.2 innings, recording six strikeouts, and allowing no runs and just one hit.
After a scoreless sixth, the Irish would extend their lead in the seventh. Neri led off for the Irish and reached via a walk before he advanced to third on a William’s double to left field. With two of the Irish in scoring position, Zack Prajzner sent it to deep left for a 2-RBI double to make it a 3-0 ballgame.
The Panthers recorded their first run of the day on a solo home run to start the bottom of the seventh and closed the gap at 3-1. The Irish responded with a solo run of their own. Jefferson singled and stole second. He took third on a wild pitch and scored on the same play as the catcher couldn’t locate the ball.
Leading 4-1 heading into the top of the ninth, the Irish offense dominated in the final inning. After back-to-back base hits from Putz and Coetzee, pinch hitter Nick Juaire doubled to left field to score the pair of runs and extend the Irish lead 6-1. Moreno recorded an RBI single and Williams recorded a 2-RBI single as the Irish took the 9-1 advantage. Putz would close out the scoring frenzy with a 2-RBI single to center field as he scored Neri and Williams.
Scoring seven runs off of six hits in the frame, Notre Dame extended their lead to 11-1 heading into the bottom of the ninth. The Panthers recorded another solo home run, but the Irish would take home the 11-2 victory and Tyrell would record his sixth win of the year.
UP NEXT
The Irish will take on Pitt in game three tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. at Charles L. Cost Field. Notre Dame is back at home on Tuesday, April 11 to take on Michigan State at Frank Eck Stadium before resuming conference play at Clemson for a three-game series starting on Friday, April 14.