Notre Dame Baseball escapes with a win against Michigan State

Timely hitting and great pitching are a winning combo for the Irish

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.

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.

[lawrence-related id=52907]

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Mike on Twitter: @MikeFChen