NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The seventh-ranked Notre Dame baseball team had a tough day at the plate and dropped the middle game of the series 5-2 to NC State Saturday afternoon at Frank Eck Stadium.
NC State (16-12, 9-11 ACC) jumped in front early with runs in the first three innings. The Irish (17-7, 15-7 ACC) clawed back in the sixth with two runs of their own but that was all the offense they could put together on the afternoon. Carter Putz drove in both runs for the Irish and had two hits for the game.
HOW IT HAPPENED
NC State scored first once again, this time coming in the game’s opening frame. The Wolfpack scored two runs in the top of the first and held an early 2-0 lead. The Wolfpack scored another run in the second and the third inning to increase their lead to 4-0 after three innings.
The score stayed 4-0 until the bottom of the fourth when the Irish mounted a rally all with two outs. Ryan Cole singled through the right side and Niko Kavadas worked a walk to get two runners on. Putz smacked the first pitch of his at-bat off the wall in right center to score both runs and cut the deficit in half at 4-2 after six innings.
NC State added an insurance run in the eighth off a solo home run from Devonte Brown. The Irish were unable to muster a comeback over the final two innings as the Wolfpack evened the series.
UP NEXT
The series will be on the line Sunday when the two teams meet for the rubber match. Sunday’s game is set for a 1 p.m. ET start and will be aired on the ACC Network Extra. The Irish have not named a starter for Sunday’s game but will carry a 3-0 record in rubber games this season into the final game of the series.
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