Irish Drop Game One, Game Two Suspended in the Eighth

NOTRE DAME, Ind. –  The University of Notre Dame baseball team dropped the first game of the doubleheader to Pitt 4-2 and game two was suspended in the middle of the eighth. The Irish held a 9-0 lead over the Panthers in game two before it was suspended due to rain and it will be resumed Sunday at noon ET.

The Irish offense broke game two open in the middle innings. With a 2-0 lead in the fifth, Daniel Jung blasted his first career grand slam to right field to give the Irish a comfortable lead.

Cameron Junker continued his strong stretch on the mound against the Panthers in game two. He went seven innings without allowing a run for his third straight quality start and team-high sixth of the season.

How It Happened – Game 2

Similar to game one, the Irish jumped out in front first this time in the third inning. Jared Miller led the inning off with a single and stole second to get into scoring position. After a sacrifice bunt to move Miller over, Zack Prajzner singled to right field and Miller scored the first run of the second game for the Irish.

The Irish added to their lead in the top of the fourth. Carter Putz singled to reach base and came all the way around to score on the double ro right center from Jack Alexander. It was Alexander’s third double of the season and the 19th run scored for Putz.

The Irish broke the game open in the top half of the fifth. The bases were loaded with one out for Daniel Jung and he crushed an 0-1 pitch to right field that easily cleared the wall for Jung’s first career grand slam and his third home run of the season. The Irish added another run with Alexander’s second RBI single of the game that scored Putz.

The seven runs lead was more than enough for Junker who had been on a roll during ACC play. Heading into his start, Junker has pitched at least six innings in four of his last five starts. The junior right-hander hit that mark again with seven innings against the Panthers without allowing a run. It is his third-straight start to go seven innings or more.

The Irish added insurance runs in the sixth and seventh and held a 9-0 lead going into the bottom of the eighth before the game was suspended.

How It Happened – Game 1

Both offenses got off to a slow start in game one, as the starters for each team kept the batters guessing at the plate. Neither team scored through the first five innings of action.

Tommy Sheehan tossed three 1-2-3 innings and had timely defensive plays to get out of innings. In the third, he induced a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning and in the fifth got a fly out to end the inning with a runner left on third base.

The game remained scoreless until the top of the seventh when the Irish strung together a few hits. Niko Kavadas led the inning off with a single and Jack Zyska hit a double to center. After a walk to Eric Gilgenbach, Jung stepped to the plate with the bases loaded. He hit a high fly ball to center that easily scored Kavadas on the sacrifice fly for the first run of the game. The Irish added another run when Zyska scored on Putz’s ground out.

The Panthers also got on the scoreboard in their half of the seventh inning. Kyle Hess hit a two-out double to deep center that scored Connor Perry for the Panthers first run of the afternoon.

In the bottom of the eighth, the Panthers rallied to take the lead after loading the bases and scoring three runs in the inning.

The Irish got the tying run on base in the top of the ninth but were unable to mount a comeback and dropped game one.

Game Notes

• Cameron Junker tossed seven innings in game two for his third straight start and his sixth quality start of the season.
• Daniel Jung recorded his first career grand slam in the fifth inning of game two for his third home run of the season.
• Tommy Sheehan tossed seven innings and allowed two runs for his fourth quality start of the season.
• It is his fifth game this season he has pitched seven or more innings and three of those games have been during conference play.
• Niko Kavadas recorded two hits in both games of the doubleheader for his eighth and ninth multi-hit games of the season.
• Jack Alexander set a career high with three RBI and tied a career high with two hits in game two.
• Carter Putz tied a career high with three hits during game two. It is his fourth game this season with three hits.

Up Next

The Irish will finish the suspended game Sunday at noon ET. Then the two teams will close out their series with game three starting 45 minutes after the conclusion of game 2. Both contests tomorrow will be aired on the ACC Network Extra.

For a behind-the-scenes look at the Irish baseball program, follow @NDBaseball on Twitter and @NotreDameBaseball on Instagram. For tickets to an Irish baseball game, click here.