PITTSBURGH — The 12th-ranked Notre Dame baseball team could not get the bats going on Sunday and fell 3-2 to No. 17 Pitt at Charles L. Cost Field. The series is even at 1-1 as the two teams will battle it out in the rubber match set for Monday afternoon.
Graduate transfer John Michael Bertrand was on his game once again for the Irish (12-5, 11-5 ACC). He pitched into the eighth inning and allowed just three hits with seven strikeouts to keep the Irish in the game. It is the fifth straight start for Bertrand that he has pitched seven or more innings.
Unfortunately for the Irish, they could not get it going at the plate and the Panthers (13-9, 9-8 ACC) evened the series heading into the series finale on Monday.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Another pitchers duel was on tap as both starters limited the number of hits early on. Neither team scored a run until the bottom of the fourth when Pitt broke through. Bertrand had retired the previous nine batters when Ron Washington Jr. hit a solo home run to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead.
The Irish offense remained dormant until the top of the seventh and it all got started with an infield single by Spencer Myers. He was moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Zack Prajzner and then came home on Ryan Cole’s two-out RBI single to right center. The hit tied the game at 1-1 through seven innings.
The Panthers got back in front in the eighth. Nico Popa hit a two-run home run to right field to regain the lead for the Panthers with just one inning remaining.
In the ninth, the Irish got a run back after Myers scored on a sacrifice fly from Prajzner. That is all the Irish could muster in the ninth and they fell in the second game of the series.
UP NEXT
The series will be on the line when the two teams meet on Monday afternoon. The final game of the series will start at 1 p.m ET and will be aired on the ACC Network Extra. The Irish have not named a starter for the rubber match.
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