SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Notre Dame baseball team tallied 18 runs on 17 hits and earned an 18-4 win in seven innings over Butler in the home opener for the Irish on Tuesday evening.
Butler got on the scoreboard first with a run in the top of the third, but the Irish used a double play with bases loaded to limit the Bulldogs’ offense in the frame. Notre Dame came right back in the bottom half of the inning. Noah Coy reached on an error, and Bino Watters laced a home run over the right field fence to put the home side up 2-1. Estevan Moreno then punched a single through the left side and stole second base to get into scoring position. Davis Johnson bounced a single up the middle, and Moreno came around to score from second for a 3-1 advantage.
The Bulldogs drew even in the top of the fourth with a pair of runs to knot the score at 3-3.
The bottom of the fourth saw DM Jefferson draw a walk before stealing second, and Noah Coy drew a four-pitch walk to put a pair on base for the Irish. Jared Zimbardo was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Bino Watters punched a single through the left side of the infield to beat the shift and drive in a pair for the Irish. Estevan Moreno then laced a double to the right-center gap to plate Zimbardo for the 6-3 lead. Davis Johnson blasted an opposite-field three-run home run to continue the scoring onslaught for the Irish. Connor Hincks nearly went yard as a triple hit off the wall in the right-center gap to drive in Brady Gump, and a wild pitch allowed Hincks to score for an 11-3 advantage after four innings.
The defense made quick work of Butler in the top of the fifth, and the offense put six runs on the scoreboard in the bottom half of the inning to pull away. Bino Watters and Estevan Moreno blasted back-to-back home runs to start the inning for the Irish. Davis Johnson notched a single and moved to second on a passed ball. Nick DeMarco drove in Johnson with a single, and DM Jefferson added a single to move DeMarco to second. Noah Coy drove a double to the right-center gap to drive in the pair, and Jared Zimbardo laced a single to left field to drive in Coy for the 17-3 lead.
The Bulldogs got a run back in the top of the sixth with a home run, but the Irish responded with a run of their own in the bottom half of the inning. Estevan Moreno led the inning off with a triple to complete the cycle. Moreno scored later in the inning on a wild pitch to make the score 18-4.
Jack Walker closed out the game by striking out three of the four batters he faced in the inning to end the game in seven innings.
Dylan Heine had a no-decision after going 3.1 innings with four strikeouts and just one earned run. Brady Koester earned the win in relief after posting 1.2 innings of work with a strikeout and no hits allowed. Sammy Cooper went an inning and struck out a batter, and Jack Walker posted an inning on the mound and struck out three.
Every starter in the lineup for the Irish registered at least one hit and scored at least once in the victory.
Estevan Moreno became the first player to hit for the cycle since Zak Kutsulis accomplished the feat on March 11, 2016 at No. 4 Louisville. Moreno went 4-for-4 with two RBI, four runs scored, and was hit by a pitch. He collected the cycle with a single, double, home run, and triple. Bino Watters went 3-for-5 with two home runs, five RBI, and three runs. Davis Johnson added a 3-for-5 effort with a home run, four RBI, and two runs. DM Jefferson was 2-for-4 with a pair of runs. Connor Hincks had a triple, and Noah Coy picked up the first extra-base hit of his career with a double.
The Irish (12-6) return to ACC action this weekend when they host Georgia Tech for a three-game series starting on Friday at 4:30 p.m.