April 27, 2018
By Michael Scholl
NOTRE DAME, Indiana — The University of Notre Dame baseball team won its fourth-straight game in dramatic fashion. Niko Kavadas delivered a walk-off single in the 10th inning to give the Fighting Irish a 5-4 win over Boston College in game one of a three-game ACC set at Frank Eck Stadium.
Scott Tully was masterful, taking a shutout into the seventh inning before allowing a game-tying grand slam following two bunt singles to load the bases. Andrew Belcik and Cole Kmet combined to pitch 2.1 of one-hit, shutout relief work, with Kmet earning his first collegiate victory.
At the plate, Kavadas, Jake Johnson and Daniel Jung all had multi-hit games, with Kavadas knocking in three of the five runs for the Irish. Notre Dame’s first three runs were all via the long ball, as Kavadas delivered a two-run homer in the second and Johnson hit a solo shot in the third. Jung scored the game-tying run on a wild pitch as part of a two-out rally.
How It Happened
The Irish struck first in the second inning. Vierling led off the inning with a four-pitch walk before Kavadas drilled a 2-1 pitch beyond the wall in right to make it 2-0. Just an inning late, Johnson extended the lead to 3-0, sending a solo shot just beyond the yellow line in right for his third homer of the year.
Tully cruised into the fourth before allowing a hit when Gian Martellini served a single through the left side. Tully got a pair of strikeouts sandwiched around Martellini stealing second base. The threat then ended when Martellini was gunned down by LaManna trying to advance on a would-be wild pitch.
The Eagles finally solved Tully in the top of the seventh. Jake Palomaki drew a leadoff walk before Chris Galland laid down a perfectly placed bunt, forcing Jung to field it and beating it out before Podkul could cover the bag. The pressure turned up even more when Jack Cunningham laid down another bunt down the third baseline, beating Vierling’s throw to load the bases. Martellini then drilled a ball that went off the top of the wall and out of the ballpark to put the Eagles up, 4-3.
The Irish struck back in the bottom half of the seventh, all with two outs. First was a single through the right side by Jung before Myers went the other way with a double down the left field line. With LaManna up, Stevens sent a wild pitch to the backstop, allowing Jung to score and Myers to move up to third. LaManna then grounded out to end the inning with the score tied at four.
The bottom of the eighth saw the first two Irish batters reach as Daily bunted for a base hit before Johnson drew a walk. BC reliever Zach Stromberg then got Podkul to strikeout and Vierling to flyout before Kavadas grounded out to third to end the threat.
After two scoreless innings, the Irish collected the victory in the 10th. After a flyout by Daily, Johnson reached on an infield single before Podkul walked. After Vierling fouled out to the catcher, Kavadas drilled a single down the right-field line to score Johnson and win the game.
Game Notes
- The Irish are 4-0 in extra innings this season.
- Vierling extended hitting streak to nine games.
- Tully worked into the eighth for the second consecutive start and third time in his last five starts.
- It was game five of an 11-game homestand for Notre Dame.
- The Irish lead the all-time series with BC, 31-14.
Up Next
The Irish and Eagles meet for game two of the series on Saturday at 1:05 p.m. It will be Notre Dame’s annual Strikeout ALS Game to benefit the Pete Frates #3 Fund.
— ND —
Michael Scholl has been a member of the Fighting Irish Media communications staff at his alma mater since August 2016. He serves as the secondary contact for the Irish football and hockey teams while coordinating communications efforts for the women’s tennis program. Scholl has previously worked in communications at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Providence College, Vanderbilt University and the University of Cincinnati. The South Bend, Indiana, native earned a degree in political science from the College of Arts and Letters in 2009.