LOUISVILLE, Ky. – A back-and-forth game saw the Notre Dame baseball team come up just short in an 8-7 setback at Louisville.
The Irish got on the scoreboard first with two runs in the top of the second. Jayce Lee had a two-out single to center field, and Davis Johnson drove the second pitch of his at-bat well clear of the left field fence for a two-run home run for the Irish.
The Cardinals put a run up in the bottom half of the second while a strong 6-4-3 double play by the Irish limited the chances for Louisville in the inning.
In the third, Drew Berkland led off with a single before Bino Watters drew a two-out walk to put a pair on base. Parker Brzustewicz drove the first pitch he saw down the right field line for a double as Berkland and Watters both came in to score for a 4-1 advantage.
Mark Quatrani cut down a runner trying to steal second base in the bottom of the third as Caden Crowell faced the minimum in the inning.
The Cardinals, however, plated a pair of two-out runs in the bottom of the fourth to make it a 4-3 game. Louisville used another timely two-out hit in the fifth as they took a 5-4 lead into the sixth.
Jayce Lee led off the sixth with a single. With two outs gone, a hard-hit ball by Jamie Zee to the right-center gap led to a collision between two Louisville outfielders, and Lee came around from second to score on the play to knot the score at 5-5.
The Cardinals put a pair of runners in scoring position with two outs before Xavier Hirsch used a big strikeout looking to end the inning.
Noah Coy drew a lead-off walk, and Mark Quatrani was hit by a pitch to put the first two on base for the Irish in the seventh. Bino Watters used a groundout to advance the pair into scoring position. Parker Brzustewicz delivered his second two-RBI double of the game with a shot to right field to drive in Coy and Quatrani.
Xavier Hirsch retired the side in order with a strikeout, a groundout and a strikeout to flip the game over to the eighth inning.
Louisville scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth for an 8-7 lead heading into the ninth.
Bino Watters led off the top of the ninth by drawing a walk. Parker Brzustewicz had a great piece of hitting by going the other way with a single to right field. A pair of outs put runners on the corners before Mason Barth drew a walk to load the bases, but the comeback was stopped short in an 8-7 final.
Parker Brzustewicz went 3-for-5 with two doubles and four RBI. Mason Barth was 3-for-4 at the dish with a double and a walk. Noah Coy added a 2-for-4 effort with a double, a walk and a run. Davis Johson blasted a two-run home run, and Jayce Lee added two hits and two runs for the Irish. Drew Berkland had a hit and scored a run while Mark Quatrani and Bino Watters each scored once.
Caden Crowell went 5.0 on the bump and struck out a pair. Xavier Hirsch shouldered the loss in 2.2 innings of work with five strikeouts. Oisin Lee and Dylan Singleton combined for a third of an inning for the Irish.
The Irish (11-5, 3-2 ACC) and Louisville will meet with the ACC series on the line on Sunday. The rubber match for the series is set to begin at 1:00 p.m. ET at Jim Patterson Stadium.