EVANSTON, Ill. — The eighth-ranked Notre Dame baseball team (32-11) finished off their non-conference schedule with an emphatic 14-4 run-rule victory over Northwestern (22-26) Tuesday afternoon at Rocky & Berenice Miller Park. The Irish finished with a 17-2 record in non-conference games this season with the win and were 6-1 against Big 10 opponents.
The Irish broke the game open with four-straight crooked numbers starting in the second inning. They scored four in the second, three in the third, four in the fourth and two in the fifth to put the game out of reach early. All nine starters had hits for the Irish and David LaManna led the team with three hits for the game. LaManna, Jack Zyska and Jack Brannigan led the team with three runs and Zack Prajzner had a team-high four RBI.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Irish got the scoring going in the second as four runs crossed the plate in the frame. The Irish began the inning with four-straight hits to score the first run of the game. Jack Penney singled to left with the bases loaded to score Jack Zyska and open the scoring. After the first out of the inning, Spencer Myers singled to left and scored two runs on the play. Ryan Cole pushed the final run of the inning home after his single to left scored Penney. The Irish finished with six hits in the inning and led 4-0.
The bats stayed hot in the third as they put three more runs on the scoreboard. After a leadoff walk to Zyska, LaManna doubled down the right field line and Zyska scored from first. Jack Brannigan doubled into the gap in right center and LaManna easily scored from second. The final run of the inning came from Brannigan as he stole home for the third time of his career. It was his eighth stolen base of the season and the Irish led 7-0.
Northwestern got a run back in the fourth but Matt Bedford came on from the pen and limited the damage. He struck out two to get out of the inning and the Wildcats only mustered one run in the inning.
Another big inning was in store for the Irish in the bottom of the fourth. With two runners on, Penney doubled into the gap in left center and both runners came home to score. Zack Prajzner stepped into the box and unloaded on a two-run home run over the wall in left to increase the Irish lead. The Irish scored four runs in the inning and led 11-1 after four.
Two more runs came home in the top of the fifth. LaManna singled to center for his third hit of the game to score Carter Putz. Later in the inning, Zyska scored on a sacrifice fly from Prajzner and the Irish led 13-3.
The final run of the game for the Irish came in the top of the seventh as Prajzner drove in his fourth run of the game with a single to left that scored DM Jefferson. The Irish did not allow a run in the bottom of the seventh to end the game via run rule at 14-4.
UP NEXT
The Irish head south for their final ACC series of the regular season. They head into the final weekend with a showdown between the two division leaders in the ACC. The Irish lead the Atlantic Division and will square off with Miami, the leaders of the Coastal Division, in Coral Gables. The series gets under way Thursday night at 7 p.m. ET and the game will be aired nationally on ACC Network.
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