SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The top-ranked Notre Dame baseball team is back on campus and set to open its home slate with a midweek contest against regional foe Valparaiso. It will be the first of two trips for the Beacons to Frank Eck Stadium this season and Tuesday’s contest is set for a 4 p.m. ET first pitch and it will be aired on ACC Network Extra. Admission is free for all fans on Tuesday and all regular season home games this season.
The Irish vaulted to No. 1 in the Baseball America and Perfect Game polls this week, the first time the program has been ranked No. 1 since the 2001 season. The Irish reached as high as No. 2 last season and also reached No. 2 earlier this season in the Baseball America poll.
| Midweek Preview | |
|---|---|
| Matchup: | Valparaiso (5-6) vs. No. 1 Notre Dame (11-1) |
| When: | Tuesday, March 15 |
| Probable Starters: | RHP Zach Fricke (0-1, 18.00 ERA) vs. LHP Jack Findlay (1-0, 0.00 ERA) |
| Where: | South Bend, Ind. | Frank Eck Stadium |
| Admission: | Free for all fans |
| Watch: | ACCNX |
| Live Scoring: | StatBroadcast |
| Notes: | Notre Dame |
| Social: | @NDBaseball @NotreDameBaseball |
| BY THE NUMBERS | |
|---|---|
| .778 | The Irish are 56-16 (.778) since the start of the 2020 season. That winning percentage ranks second in the NCAA over the past three seasons and trails only Tennessee (.792). |
| .917 | The Irish are 11-1 (.917) to begin the 2022 season. It is the best start to a season for the Irish since 2015 when they also went 11-1 (.917) to begin the year. |
| 0.92 | Notre Dame leads the nation with a 0.92 WHIP this season. They have surrendered 69 hits and 33 walks in 110.1 innings pitched. |
| .991 | Notre Dame leads the NCAA in fielding percentage with a .991 mark this season. The Irish have committed only four errors in 331 putout opportunities this season. |
| 1 | The Irish allowed only one hit in the 3-1 win over Minnesota on March 6. It is the fewest hits allowed in a game since April 18, 2007, when the Irish surrendered one hit in a 1-0 win over Purdue in 10-innings. |
| 1.71 | The Irish rank second in the NCAA in team ERA with a 1.71 through 12 games. The Irish pitching staff has allowed four runs or less in 11 of the 12 games this season. |
| 5.63 | The Irish also lead the NCAA with 5.63 hits allowed per nine innings. They have given up 69 hits in 110.1 innings pitched this season. |
| 7 | With the 11-4 win over #17 NC State on Mar. 13, the Irish have won seven-consecutive ACC road games dating back to Apr. 23, 2021. |
| 8 | The Irish scored eight unanswered runs in the 8-4 comeback win over #17 NC State on March 11. It was the most unanswered runs in a game since Game 2 of the Super Regional when the Irish scored nine unanswered runs to beat #7 Mississippi State. |
| 8 | The Irish have won their last eight ACC road series dating back to the 2020 season. It sets the program record for most consecutive conference road series wins. |
| 9 | The Irish have won nine games in a row dating back to Feb. 20. It is the longest win streak under head coach Link Jarrett and the longest win streak for the Irish since 2015 when they won 10 in a row from Feb. 14 to Mar. 6. |
| 10 | The Irish are 10-0 in road series under head coach Link Jarrett’s tenure. The Irish have won all eight ACC series in Jarrett’s three seasons and two non-conference road series against UAB and Presbyterian back in 2020. |
| 15 | In the 20-2 win over Marist, 15 different Irish players recorded a hit. It is the most players with a hit in a game for the Irish over the past 16 years. The previous record was 13 against Georgetown in 2008. |
| 56 | Outfielder Spencer Myers has 56 steals in his Irish career and ranks eighth all-time in program history for most career steals. He trails AJ Pollock by four for seventh place in program history. |
| 72 | Head coach Link Jarrett has coached 72 games with the Irish since the start of the 2020 season and has not lost back-to-back games during that span. |
Irish Open Home Slate With Valparaiso
- Notre Dame opens the 2022 home slate with a midweek matchup with regional foe Valparaiso.
- This will be one of two times the Irish square off with the Beacons at Frank Eck Stadium after facing them three times in 2021.
- Last season, the Irish won all three matchups against Valparaiso by the scores of 6-3, 8-7 and 7-4 with the last matchup coming on the road at Emory G. Bauer Field.
- The Irish were 16-6 at Frank Eck Stadium in 2021 and it was the most wins at home since the 2017 season.
- In the all-time series between the two schools, Notre Dame holds an 83-21 advantage and are 56-10 in games play at home.
- The Irish have won 11 straight against the Beacons and 21 of the last 22 dating back to the 2001 season.
- This season, Valparaiso enters the game with a 5-6 record with all their games being played on the road this season. The Beacons are coming off a weekend where they were swept by Southeast Missouri State in Cape Girardeau.
- In 2021, Valparaiso finished 16-35 overall and 9-19 in conference play.
- The Irish are 11-1 this season and have won their last nine games in a row. They are off to the best start to a season since 2015, when they also went 11-1 to begin the year.
Irish Sweep #17 NC State with 11-4 Win
- The Irish brought the brooms out when they took down #17 NC State 11-4 on Mar. 13 to sweep the weekend series (two games).
- Notre Dame took advantage of a number of Wolfpack miscues as six of the 11 runs for the Irish were scored on errors or wild pitches.
- The Irish plated 11 runs in the game, the fifth time this season they have scored 10 or more runs.
- Carter Putz led the Irish at the plate with a season-high three hits and Jared Miller added a season-high three runs.
- The Irish used big innings in the opening and closing sets of innings against the Wolfpack. They scored three runs in the first inning and scored seven runs over the final two innings.
- On the mound, the duo of John Michael Bertrand and Austin Temple never allowed the Wolfpack to take the lead on the afternoon.
- Bertrand tossed 5.0 innings as he earned his fourth win in as many starts this season.
- Temple pitched 4.0 of relief and tallied his first save with the Irish.
- The Irish allowed only four runs and they have allowed four runs or less in 11 of the 12 games this season.
Irish Score Eight-Unanswered in 8-4 Comeback Win Over #17 NC State
- The Irish faced their biggest deficit of the season when they opened ACC play against No. 17 NC State but battled back to win, 8-4, in 12 innings.
- The Irish trailed 4-0 heading into the seventh but scored three runs in the seventh and tied the game with a run in the eighth.
- Carter Putz got the scoring started with a solo home run, Jack Brannigan scored on a wild pitch and Zack Prajzner drove in Brooks Coetzee III to bring the Irish within one.
- In the eighth, Brannigan tied the game with a two-out RBI single that scored Jared Miller after his lead-off double.
- The bullpen kept the Irish in it as Alex Rao, Radek Birkholz, Ryan McLinskey and Brannigan tossed eight innings of scoreless relief as the Irish built the comeback.
- In the 12th, Zack Prajzner launched a solo home run to left to give the Irish their first lead of the game. They added three more runs in the inning to build out the lead.
- Brannigan came on for the final two outs in the 11th and shut the door in the 12th as he picked up his first win of the season. Four of his five outs that he recorded came via the strikeout.
Among the Nation’s Best
- Since the start of the 2020 season, the Irish have been one of the most consistent teams over the past three seasons.
- Notre Dame is 56-16, good for a .778 winning percentage over that period.
- That ranks second overall in the NCAA, trailing only Tennessee.
| School | Record Since 2020 | Win Pct. |
| Tennessee | 80-21 | .792 |
| NOTRE DAME | 56-16 | .778 |
| Arkansas | 72-21 | .774 |
| Old Dominion | 69-21 | .767 |
| Texas | 77-24 | .762 |
| Vanderbilt | 75-25 | .750 |
| Texas Tech | 69-23 | .750 |
| Ole Miss | 74-26 | .740 |
| UC Santa Barbara | 64-25 | .719 |
| East Carolina | 66-26 | .717 |
- Among ACC teams, the Irish have the best winning percentage over the past three seasons.
| School | Record Since 2020 | Win Pct. |
| NOTRE DAME | 56-16 | .778 |
| NC State | 60-28 | .682 |
| Virginia | 64-32 | .667 |
| Miami | 56-29 | .659 |
| Louisville | 52-30 | .634 |
Road Warriors
- The Irish have been known to be a tough out on the road under head coach Link Jarrett.
- Notre Dame is a combined 29-7 on the road and have won every regular season road series since Jarrett came to South Bend in 2020.
- In Jarrett’s tenure, the Irish have won all eight ACC road series, while also winning non-conference road series against UAB and Presbyterian in the 2020 season.
- The Irish have won eight-straight ACC road series over the past three seasons to set a program record for most consecutive conference road series wins.
- It breaks the previous record set by the 1991-93 squads that won seven-consecutive conference series while in the Mid-Western Collegiate Conference.
—ND—