No. 7 Cardinals Edge Irish, 2-0

NOTRE DAME, Ind. –  The University of Notre Dame baseball team fell on the wrong side of a pitcher’s duel Friday night at Frank Eck Stadium. The Irish (19-24, 12-13 ACC) were edged by the seventh-ranked Cardinals (37-9, 16-6) 2-0 in the series opener.

How It Happened 

After both teams went down in order in the first inning, the Irish looked to survive the second inning without any damage as Zach Britton grounded out to the first baseman to end the inning with a runner on third. It was a bang-bang play at first and Louisville asked for a review. The umpires overturned the call on the field and the inning continued as a run scored on the play and the Cardinals led 1-0.

Tommy Sheehan settled in after the second inning and immediately responded with a 1-2-3 inning in the third. Sheehan also did not allow a run in the fourth inning with the help of a double play after hitting the leadoff batter with a pitch.

The Cardinals scraped together a run in the fifth after a two-out single through the right side scored the second run of the game. Louisville was still threatening with runners on the corners but Sheehan got Logan Wyatt to strikeout looking to end the threat.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Irish got two runners in scoring position after a hit by pitch to Niko Kavadas and a walk to Jake Singer. Carr pinch ran for Singer and moved to second on a throwing error by the right fielder to set up the runners for Daniel Jung. Jung turned over a 2-1 pitch to the second baseman and grounded out to end the inning.

The bullpen kept the Irish in the game as they continued to keep the Cardinals offense at bay. The combination of Evan Tenuta, Anthony Holubecki and Shane Combs tossed 3.2 innings of relief and did not allow a hit while walking just one.

In the eighth and ninth inning, the Irish had the tying run at the plate but couldn’t bring the run around to score. 

Up Next

The Irish will continue their series with Louisville Saturday afternoon at Frank Eck Stadium. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on the ACC Network Extra.

For a behind-the-scenes look at the Irish baseball program, follow @NDBaseball on Twitter and @NotreDameBaseball on Instagram.