Moving up the ACC standings
Notre Dame has had a tough college baseball season so far despite their above .500 record. ACC play has been,of course, their biggest obstacle. The Irish have not won an ACC series all season, and have been swept twice. Over the Easter weekend, the Irish flipped that narrative on its head a little bit by sweeping the Stanford Cardinal out in California.
From the ND press release:
GAME 2
Irish Clinch Series with Run-Rule Win Over Cardinal
STANFORD, Calif. – Carson Tinney drilled two home runs and Rory Fox was dominant on the mound as the Notre Dame baseball team took an 11-0 win in seven innings at Stanford to clinch the ACC series against the Cardinal on Saturday afternoon.
Carson Tinney hit a one-out double in the top of the first inning for the Irish. Parker Brzustewicz drew a four-pitch, two-out walk to put runners on the corners, and Connor Hincks laced a first-pitch single to center field to drive in Tinney with the first run of the game. Rory Fox then retired the side in order in the bottom of the first to make quick work of Stanford early.
Jayce Lee led off the second with a single to center field, and Nick DeMarco drew a full-count walk to put a pair aboard. Brady Gumpf used a sacrifice bunt to advance Lee and DeMarco, and a hard ground out ball hit by Jared Zimbardo drove in Lee for a 2-0 Irish lead. The Cardinal got a runner on in the bottom half of the inning before a strikeout by Fox stranded the Stanford runner at third.
Davis Johnson laced a lead-off single in the third, and Connor Hincks used a ground-rule double to right field to drive in Johnson for the third run of the game for the Irish. Fox continued to deal and retired the side in order with a ground out and back-to-back strikeouts.
The Cardinal put their lead-off man on base in the bottom of the fourth with a single. Rory Fox induced a foul pop up to Parker Brzustewicz and dialed up a big strikeout to record a pair of kick outs. Carson Tinney then cut down the runner trying to steal second – his fourth caught stealing effort of the weekend – to close out the scoring threat.
Carson Tinney crushed a lead-off solo home run in the top of the fifth 415 feet over the left-center wall as the Irish offense kept steady. Fox and the defense again shut down a Stanford scoring chance by retiring back-to-back batters with a runner on base to maintain a 4-0 lead heading into the sixth.
Notre Dame capitalized on a pair of errors early in the sixth inning to add to the lead. Jayce Lee reached second base safely on an error to begin the inning, and a sacrifice bunt turned error on a ball put in play by Nick DeMarco allowed Lee to come around to score. Brady Gumpf reached on a fielder’s choice before walks by Jared Zimbardo and Carson Tinney loaded the bases. A sacrifice fly from Davis Johnson drove in Gumpf to make it a 6-0 lead for the Irish. Parker Brzustewicz drew a walk to keep things going, and Connor Hincks powered a single to right field, which allowed Zimbardo and Tinney to come in to score for the 8-0 lead.
Rory Fox again had a three-up, three-down effort in the bottom of the sixth as the junior right-hander scattered three hits in a quality start for the Irish.
Nick DeMarco drew a one-out walk, and Jared Zimbardo bounced a two-out single to shortstop. Carson Tinney had his second no-doubt-about-it home run as the Irish pushed the lead to 11-0 going into the bottom of the seventh.
Rory Fox closed out the seven-inning complete game shutout effort on the hill for the Irish. The junior right-handed pitcher induced a trio of fly ball outs after the lead-off man for Stanford reached base to secure the 11-0 win for the Irish in seven innings.
Fox earned the win by scattering four total hits and striking out six with no walks, no extra-base hits, and no runs in his longest outing of his career – seven complete. The junior needed just 96 pitches to pick up the victory on the mound for the Irish.
Carson Tinney went 3-for-4 with two home runs, a double, four RBI, four runs, and a walk. Connor Hincks added a 3-for-4 effort with a double, a walk, and four RBI. Jared Zimbardo had a hit, drove in a run, and scored twice. Davis Johnson added a hit, an RBI, and a run. Jayce Lee collected a hit and scored twice. Nick DeMarco and Brady Gumpf each scored a run in the win.
The Irish (19-17, 6-14 ACC) look to sweep the series at Stanford on Sunday in the final game of the weekend. The series finale begins at 1:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT.
GAME 3
Irish Prevail in Back-and-Forth Battle to Sweep Stanford
STANFORD, Calif. – Carson Tinney was perfect at the plate and Bino Watters hammered a go-ahead home run in the top of the ninth as the Notre Dame baseball team fought off host Stanford for a 10-9 win on Sunday to sweep the ACC series against the Cardinal.
Carson Tinney drilled a one-out double off the wall in the top of the first to continue a hot weekend at the dish for the Irish. Back-to-back grounders, however, stopped the scoring chance short in the opening at-bats for Notre Dame. Jackson Dennies retired the side in order to make quick work of the Stanford bats in the first inning.
Estevan Moreno put the Irish on the scoreboard in the top of the second with a no-doubt home run over the left field wall. Dennies continued to be efficient on the bump as the grad student had his second three-up, three-down effort in the second inning.
Jared Zimbardo dropped a one-out single to center field, and Carson Tinney drilled a single up the middle to put runners on the corners in the third. An infield ground out by Bino Watters drove in Zimbardo to put the Irish up 2-0. Parker Brzustewicz went the other way with a single through the right side for a two-out RBI single as Tinney came around to score for a 3-0 lead. Dennies struck out the first two batters in the bottom of the third, and Jared Zimbardo tracked down a warning track catch to end the inning to roll the game over to the fourth.
Moreno led off the fourth with a double down the left field line, but the Irish were unable to capitalize on the chance in the inning. The Cardinal got on the scoreboard in the bottom half of the inning with a pair of runs to make it a 3-2 game through four.
Jared Zimbardo led off the top of the fifth with a single and stole second to get into scoring position. Carson Tinney punched a single through the five-six hole to put runners on first and third for the Irish. Parker Brzustewicz drew a one-out walk to load the bases. After a Stanford pitching change, Connor Hincks drilled the first pitch of his at-bat down the right field line for a bases-clearing triple to put the Irish ahead 6-2. Moreno then used a sacrifice fly to drive in Hincks to extend the advantage to 7-2. Stanford countered with a run in the bottom of fifth to make it a 7-3 contest.
The Cardinal pushed four runs across the plate in the bottom of the sixth to knot things up at 7-7 heading into the seventh inning.
Carson Tinney would not be denied as the catcher drilled his fourth home run of the weekend to quickly get the lead back for the Irish in the top of the seventh. Stanford put a pair of runs on the scoreboard in the bottom half of the inning to go ahead 9-8.
Stanford put a pair of runners on base in the bottom of the eighth, but Jayce Lee ran down a fly ball in left field to record the second out before Estevan Moreno collected a soft fly in right on the shift to keep it a one-run game going into the ninth.
Carson Tinney led off the top of the ninth with a rocket single to left field for the Irish. Bino Watters then went opposite field with the first pitch he saw for a two-run, go-ahead home run to put the Irish ahead 10-9. The Cardinal put a pair of runners on with just one out gone in the bottom of the ninth. Tobey McDonough induced an infield grounder for the second out, and a soft fly ball in center field was collected by Estevan Moreno to give the Irish the 10-9 win and the ACC series sweep.
Jackson Dennies went three-complete and struck out a pair after starting the contest for the Irish. Kellan Klosterman, Chase Van Ameyde, Dylan Heine, and Oisin Lee all saw action on the bump in relief on the day before Tobey McDonough closed out the final 2.2 innings. McDonough struck out two and did not surrender a run on his way to earning the win.
Carson Tinney had a massive day at the plate to cap off a stellar series. Tinney was 5-for-5 with a double, a home run, an RBI, and four runs scored. It marks new career-highs for the sophomore catcher for hits and runs scored in a game. Additionally, he is the first Irish hitter since 2011 to go 5-for-5 in a game. Tinney hit .750 for the weekend with nine hits, two doubles, four home runs, seven RBI, and 10 runs scored. The sophomore posted an .800 on-base percentage with a 1.917 slugging percentage and caught all four Stanford base runners trying to steal against the Irish on the weekend.
Estevan Moreno was 2-for-4 with a home run, a double, two RBI, and a run. Jared Zimbardo added a pair of singles and scored twice. Bino Watters walked once and hit the go-ahead home run to cap off a three-RBI day at the plate. Connor Hincks had a triple and three RBI with a run, and Parker Brzustewicz had a hit, an RBI, and a run. Davis Johnson belted a double in his lone at-bat of the game in the win.
The Irish (20-17, 7-14 ACC) return home to host Purdue Fort Wayne for a midweek matchup on Wednesday, April 23. The game is slated for 5:30 p.m. Admission is free for all home regular season baseball contests.