April 25, 2018
By Megan Golden
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The University of Notre Dame baseball team won its third consecutive game, topping Valparaiso, 6-5, on Wednesday night at Frank Eck Stadium.
Notre Dame (18-23) won its seventh straight versus Valparaiso (14-21), moving above .500 (8-7) on its home turf in 2018.
How It Happened
Notre Dame got off to an early lead in the first inning, when Cole Daily walked from the lead-off spot. Jake Johnson doubled to left center, allowing Daily to score and give the Irish a 1-0 advantage. Nick Podkul and Matt Vierling followed with back-to-back walks to load the bases. Eric Gilgenbach grounded into a fielder’s choice to third, driving in Johnson. Vierling and Alex Kerschner went for the double steal, and Vierling scored just before Kerschner was tagged out by the Valparaiso first baseman.
In the second inning, Ryan Cole singled to center and stole second base easily. Two at-bats later, Daily reached on an error by the left fielder, allowing Cole to score for a 4-0 Irish lead.
Valparaiso’s Sam Shaikin answered, crushing a solo homer to right field in the top of the third to cut the deficit to 4-1.
Podkul doubled to center in the third inning and came around to score Notre Dame’s fourth run of the game on a single from Kerschner.
The Crusaders answered once again with back-to-back singles off reliever Anthony Holubecki. Shaikin hit into a fielder’s choice to record his second RBI of the contest, making it a 6-2 ballgame. Holubecki hit Giovanni Garbella to put two runners on base, and Zack Leone knocked a two-out, RBI-double to right.
Cole Kmet entered in the eighth and induced a strikeout to end the inning. In the top of the ninth, Kmet allowed a double to left, followed by an RBI-single to make the score 6-4. Leone doubled to the gap in right center to put two runners in scoring position with one out. Garbella came around to score on a sacrifice fly, but the Crusaders rally fell short in a 6-5 Irish win.
Player of the Game
Notre Dame starter Tommy Sheehan worked 6.0 innings and held the Crusaders to just one run on four hits with four strikeouts. Sheehan recorded his third quality outing of the season.
Notes
- Notre Dame leads the all-time series, 79-21, including a record of 54-10 at home.
- Notre Dame is 8-7 at Frank Eck Stadium in 2018.
- Tommy Sheehan started and worked 6.0 innings, allowing one run on four hits.
- Nick Podkul collected his 150th career hit with an RBI-single in the sixth inning.
- Cole Kmet worked 1.1 innings and earned his eighth save of the season.
- Jake Johnson owns a 14-game on-base streak and a five-game hitting streak during which he is batting .373 (19-51) with 11 walks, seven runs scored and six RBI.
- Eric Gilgenbach has collected six multi-hit games in the month of April (15 games). During that span, the outfielder is batting .333 (18-for-54).
- Matt Vierling extended his hitting streak to eight games, batting .406 (13-32) with one double, one homer, six runs scored and six RBI in those contests.
- Alex Kerschner owns a modest five-game hitting streak, going 8-18 (.444) over that span.
Up Next
Notre Dame returns to action on Friday at 6:05 p.m. ET, when it plays host to Boston College at Frank Eck Stadium.
For a behind-the-scenes look at the Irish baseball program, follow @NDBaseball on Twitter and @NotreDameBaseball on Instagram. For tickets to an Irish baseball game, click here.
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Megan Golden, athletics communications assistant director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since August of 2016. In her role, she coordinates all media efforts for the Notre Dame baseball and women’s soccer programs. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Golden is a 2014 graduate of Saint Mary’s College and former Irish women’s basketball manager. Prior to arriving at Notre Dame, she worked in public relations with the Cleveland Indians and Chicago White Sox.