Ouch. After Notre Dame swept the Clemson Tigers last month, the Irish entered the Top 25 as the #23 ranked team in the country. As good as that felt, it’s been all downhill since then. Well, I guess they got a win over Western Michigan right after, but THEN Notre Dame was swept by North Carolina, and followed that up by being swept Easter weekend by NC State.
We knew things would get dicey with a tough schedule ahead of them, but the sweeps are very demoralizing.
Notre Dame Baseball: Irish Make Late
Rally But Fall in Series Finale at NC State
RALEIGH, N.C. – The Notre Dame baseball team battled back to take a lead in the ninth, but a pair of runs by NC State saw the result go to the Wolfpack in a 7-6 final on Saturday afternoon.
NC State posted four unearned runs in the bottom of the first to take the early lead.
The Irish got on the scoreboard in the top of the fourth. Mason Barth reached on a fielder’s choice and stole second base with two outs gone. Dylan Passo then laced a double to the right-center gap as Barth came around to score to make it a 4-1 game.
Noah Rooney entered the game in the fourth and got the Irish out of a jam as his back-to-back strikeouts stranded runners at the corners. Rooney got another punch-out in the bottom of the fifth to leave a Wolfpack runner on third.
The score remained unchanged until the bottom of the eighth when NC State used a solo home run to make it a 5-1 score.
Bino Watters led off the top of the ninth with a solo home to left-center field to keep things going for the Irish. Jayce Lee drew a four-pitch walk, and Mason Barth hit a double off the left field wall to put two into scoring position. Dylan Passo muscled a single into the outfield to plate Lee as Notre Dame made it a 5-3 score. Jamie Zee then drove a double the other way as Barth and pinch-runner Caleb Ricks both came in to score to tie things up at 5-5. Brandon Logan used a sacrifice bunt to move Zee to third, and a passed ball allowed Zee to come in to score the go-ahead run for the Irish.
Brandon Logan made a highlight-reel diving catch in center field to record the first out of the bottom of the ninth. The Wolfpack, however, used a trio of hits to plate two runs in the 7-6 final.
Dylan Passo went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI. Jamie Zee added a double, two RBI and scored a run. Bino Watters was 2-for-3 with a home run and a walk. Mason Barth added a double and scored twice for the Irish. Brandon Logan had a double, and Noah Coy posted a hit. Jayce Lee and Caleb Ricks each scored a run.
Ty Uber went 3.1 on the mound after getting the start. Uber had a strikeout and did not allow an earned run in a no-decision outing. Noah Rooney posted 2.2 innings of work with three strikeouts. Dylan Singleton shouldered the loss after 2.1 innings with a pair of strikeouts.
The Irish (15-12, 6-9 ACC) are back at home when they host Michigan State on Wednesday, April 8 for a midweek matchup starting at 5:00 p.m. ET.
