CHARLOTTE — The top-seeded Notre Dame baseball team continued its winning ways in the first game of the ACC Championship with a 8-0 win over 12-seed Virginia Tech Wednesday at Truist Field.
Jared Miller and Zack Prajzner were the stars at the plate for the Irish against the Hokies, as Miller finished the day with two extra base hits and two RBI. He led off the sixth inning with his fourth home run of the season and then hit an RBI triple the very next inning. Prajzner set a career high with four hits with an RBI and a run scored.
On the mound, Will Mercer had one of his best performances of the season to start the Irish off. He tied a career high with five innings pitched, did not allow a run and scattered three hits. Alex Rao came on from the pen for the next three scoreless innings without allowing a hit. Then Liam Simon finished the shutout off with a scoreless ninth inning.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Offense was at a premium early on as both pitching staffs were putting together a strong game through the first four innings.
The Irish broke through in the fifth inning as the bases were loaded with just one out. With Carter Putz at the plate, the ball got away from the Hokie catcher and Prajzner scampered home for the first run of the game.
Mercer was on it for the Irish after working around a few errors in the first inning. The Hokies loaded the bases but Mercer got a fly out to end the frame without any damage. After that inning, he retired 10 Hokies in a row between the first and fourth inning. After five innings of work, the Irish held a 1-0 advantage.
The Irish continued to work in the sixth, this time with a leadoff home run. Miller crushed a ball 420-feet over the center field wall for his fourth home run of the season. Later in the inning, Brooks Coetzee scored on a fielder’s choice from Spencer Myers. Myers also came home to score in the inning after an RBI single by Ryan Cole to left field.
Notre Dame kept the offense rolling in the seventh inning and Miller was the catalyst once again. He tripled down the left field line to score Jack Brannigan from first. Miller came home on the very next batter as Coetzee tallied an RBI single to left. After seven innings of play, Notre Dame led 6-0.
The Irish added two insurance runs in the ninth when Carter Putz scored on a sacrifice fly and Prajzner tallied an RBI single.
UP NEXT
Pool A will be on the line on Friday when the Irish face the eight-seed Virginia Cavaliers. The winner of the game will move onto the semifinals on Saturday against the winner of Pool D. Friday’s matchup between the Irish and Cavaliers will start at 11 a.m. ET from Truist Field and will be aired on RSN (check your local listings) and the ACC Network Extra.
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