HOLLY SPRINGS, NC – The Fighting Irish advanced to 8-6 on the season as they took down Saint Joseph 10-9 on Wednesday, March 15 at Ting Stadium in Holly Springs, NC. Notre Dame is on a three-game winning streak after defeating Georgia Tech on Saturday and going 2-0 against the Hawks in the midweek matchup.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Freshman David Lally Jr. had his first career start, picking off the runner at second and following the play with a strikeout to close the top of the first.
While the Irish had two hits in the bottom of the first from Zack Prajzner and Brooks Coetzee, it was a scoreless first inning across the board for the Irish and the Hawks.
The Irish would put their first run on the board in bottom of the second as DM Jefferson would reach after a walk and proceed to steal second, putting himself in scoring position. Estevan Moreno singled up the middle in his first at bat of the day to send Jefferson home. Penney would follow with a base hit, but was left on base to close out the second as the Irish led 1-0.
The Hawks tied it up in the top of the third with a base hit and an RBI double. The Irish went three up and three down to finish the third, followed by another scoreless inning from both Notre Dame and Saint Joseph’s.
The Hawks took the lead 2-1 to start the fifth after doubling to left field and scoring on a sac fly to center field. The Irish responded with their best offensive production of the day, scoring four runs in the bottom of the fifth. After Coetzee was hit by the pitch and Juaire reached on a walk, TJ Williams doubled down the left field line to score Coetzee and advance Juaire to third.
Dani Neri stepped up to the plate and smashed a ball into deep right field for his third home run of the season as he scored Juaire and Williams to take the lead 5-2.
The Hawks homered to left center to score two more in the top of sixth and closed the gap to one 5-4. The bottom of the sixth started with a double down the left field line from Prajzner and was followed by Coetzee being hit by the pitch for the second time. Putz had a base hit to right field to make it bases loaded with Juaire up to bat. Juaire reached on a fielder’s choice, scoring Prajzner to make it a 6-4 ballgame.
The top of the seventh started with back-to-back walks, putting runners on first and second for the Hawks. Two base hits and one home run later, Saint Joseph’s five runs in the seventh gave them the 9-6 advantage heading into the eighth.
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