It wasn’t easy for the Irish as Michigan State was a much tougher task than anticipated. It was a game where starting pitcher John Michael Bertrand was once again at the top of his game, going seven strong innings allowing just one run while striking out four batters.
The Spartans finally got the the Irish ace during his final inning, almost preventing him from securing the victory. Reliever Ryan McLinskey picked Bertrand up, facing six batters and retiring each of them, while striking out four as the Irish scored in the bottom of the seventh to get Bertrand the win.
The batters struggled for the most part, mustering just two hits all game, but making them count. TJ Williams’ single led to Brooks Coetzee’s sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fifth. The winning hit was by Jack Brannigan, his solo homer put the Irish ahead 2-1 and finished out the game.
𝙇𝙚𝙛𝙩 𝙉𝙤 𝘿𝙤𝙪𝙗𝙩@JBrannigan06 got all of the ball and then some for the go-ahead home run in Notre Dame's 2-1 win!#GoIrish pic.twitter.com/7xvvmTHBOb
— Notre Dame Baseball (@NDBaseball) March 5, 2022
The Irish look for the sweep of their weekend Big Ten foes as they face host Minnesota tomorrow at 6pm EST on Big Ten Network Plus.
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