Notre Dame got back in the win column and got a little revenge on Wednesday. The Irish traveled north to take on the Michigan State Spartans, and left with a 3-2 win.
Notre Dame Baseball: Irish Take Road Win Over Spartans
EAST LANSING, Mich. – The Notre Dame baseball team held off Michigan State by shutting out the Spartans
over the final seven innings of play to take a 3-2 win on Wednesday evening.
The Irish struck right away in the top of the first inning. Drew Berkland and Bino Watters started off with back-to-back singles, and Noah Coy used a sacrifice bunt to move the pair into scoring position. A failed pick-off attempt allowed Berkland to score for a 1-0 advantage. Dylan Passo then used a sacrifice fly to drive in Watters to make it 2-0. Parker Brzustewicz drove a single up the middle, and Mark Quatrani came in to score to give the Irish a 3-0 lead.
Ty Uber retired the Spartans side in order in the bottom half of the inning. Michigan State broke through for a pair of runs in the bottom of the second to make it a 3-2 game.
Eli Thurmond shut down the Spartans over the third and fourth innings, and Caden Crowell had a three-up, three-down effort in the fifth. Crowell capped off another quick inning with a strikeout to continue to keep Michigan State at bay. The freshman lefty repeated his cadence with a third three-up, three-down inning in the eighth as Crowell tacked on back-to-back strikeouts to end the seventh.
Oisin Lee needed just 10 pitches to retire the side in order in the bottom of the eighth for the Irish. Will Jaisle then came on in the ninth inning and used a pair of strikeouts to record his second save of the season to preserve the 3-2 Irish victory.
Drew Berkland was 3-for-5 at the dish with a double and a run. Bino Watters went 3-for-5 and scored once while Parker Brzustewicz had a 2-for-3 effort at the plate with an RBI and a walk. Mark Quatrani walked once and scored. Jayce Lee had a triple and two walks, and Dylan Passo added a hit and drove in a run. Shane Miranda notched a hit in the victory.
Ty Uber went 2.0 innings and struck out three after earning the start. Eli Thurmond added 2.0 innings while forcing the Spartans into stranding a runner in scoring position. Caden Crowell earned the win in relief after a perfect 3.0 innings on the hill while adding three strikeouts. Oisin Lee retired all three batters he faced in an inning of work, and Will Jaisle earned the save with two strikeouts in a shutout inning of work.
The Irish (18-18) start an 11-game homestand on Friday when they host Boston College for a three-game ACC series. Game one of the series is slated to start at 6:30 p.m. ET.
