Irish Host Valparaiso for Midweek Tilt

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame baseball team returns to the friendly confides of Frank Eck Stadium this week to kickoff an 11-game homestand that will close out the regular season home slate. The Irish begin the stretch of home games with a midweek matchup with the Valparaiso Crusaders Tuesday night. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on the ACC Network Extra.

Valparaiso (8-26) vs. Notre Dame (16-22)
When:	Tuesday, April 23 | 6:00 p.m. ET
Where:	Notre Dame, Ind. | Frank Eck Stadium
Watch:	ACC Network Extra
Live Scoring:	Statbroadcast
Tickets:	Buy Tickets
Notes:	Notre Dame
Social:	Notre Dame Baseball Twitter Notre Dame Baseball Instagram

Know the Opponent: Valpo

• As the season begins to dwindle towards the final weeks, Notre Dame will host Valparaiso to begin an 11-game homestand at Frank Eck Stadium.
• The Irish and Crusaders will meet for the 101st time, with Notre Dame having won 17 of the last 18 games.
• The Irish hold a 79-21 record all-time against the Crusaders and are 54-10 in games at home.
• Last season, the Irish knocked off Valpo 6-5 at Frank Eck Stadium to win their third game in a row.
• Tommy Sheehan got the start for the Irish and he tossed six innings, allowing just one run while striking out four. It was his third quality start of the season.
• The Irish had five players record an RBI against Valpo and Nick Podkul reached base in all five at-bats after going 4-for-4 with one run, one RBI and one walk.

Irish Arms Have Prolific Week Against Northwestern & Pitt

• The Irish had a strong 3-1 week against Northwestern and Pitt and the Irish pitchers were a big reason for it.
• The Irish only used seven pitchers for the 35 innings over the week and had strong numbers across the board.
• The staff tallied a 1.29 ERA over the week, allowed only five earned runs and held opponents to a .164 batting average.
• Tommy Vail led all pitchers with 7.2 innings across three appearances and he had one win against Northwestern and a save to clinch the series against Pitt.
• The sophomore left-hander only allowed one run, one hit and two walks while striking out 11 over 7.2 innings.
• Vail was named the ACC Pitcher of the Week following his performances against Northwestern and Pitt.
• Over the weekend against Pitt, the Irish starters all went at least seven innings and the trio all recorded a quality start. (Sheehan 7 IP, 2 ER; Junker 7 IP, 0 ER; Brown 7.1 IP, 1 ER)
• It was the second series this season the Irish starters have all pitched seven innings with the last occurring against No. 12 Clemson. The Irish won both series when the starters went at least seven innings.

Brown’s Strong Performance Clinches Series Over Pitt

• After the Irish concluded the game two win almost 24 hours after the game began, the Irish and Panthers faced off for the rubber match of the series on Easter Sunday.
• Following the trend from the Irish starters all weekend, Cameron Brown had an exceptional start against the Panthers.
• He pitched 7.1 innings, the second most this season for the junior left-hander, allowed just one run and four hits while striking out nine.
• Zack Prajzner tied the game in the third with his first career home run and the Irish took the lead in the fifth with two runs.
• Left-hander Tommy Vail came in to record the final five outs to clinch the series for the Irish.
• He struck out four allowing just one walk and no hits to earn his third save of the season.

Junker Leads Irish to Shutout Win

• Cameron Junker continued his success on the mound this past weekend against Pitt.
• He pitched seven innings for the third straight start against the Panthers.
• Junker did not allow a run, scattered five hits and struck out four for his sixth quality start of the season.
• Daniel Jung broke the game open for the Irish in the fifth with his first career grand slam.
• After the game was suspended, Zack Martin took the mound for the final two innings on Sunday to close out the shutout for the Irish.