Category: Notre Dame Baseball

Former Notre Dame 3B/P Brannigan signs with Pittsburgh

Congrats Jack!

One of the most electric players in Major League Baseball is Anaheim Angels pitcher, outfielder, designated hitter Shohei Ohtani. With an fastball that touches 100 miles-per-hour and prodigious power, Ohtani has changed the way many teams view two-way players.

Notre Dame’s [autotag]Jack Brannigan[/autotag] is one of those, the regular Irish third-baseman over the last two seasons and occasional pitcher will get his opportunity to do what Ohtani does, play both ways. When drafted in the 3rd round by the Pittsburgh Pirates, Brannigan wasn’t given one position description, he was labeled as both, leading many to wonder if he will be able to do that at the highest level. After officially signing with the Pirates, it seems like Brannigan will.

It will be interesting to watch Brannigan during his professional career, especially how long the Pirates will allow him to play both ways and how they will handle it. Either way, the former Irish star will get his chance to play both ways at the professional level.

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

Which Notre Dame Baseball stars got selected in MLB Draft on day two

The Irish continue to show why this past season was so productive

The Irish saw the first day of the MLB Draft go without a current player on the roster selected, although Illinois signee [autotag]Owen Murphy[/autotag] was selected by the Atlanta Braves with the 20th overall pick. The second day of the draft saw a few current Irish stars get selected. Find out who and where they were selected below.

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

Notre Dame Baseball commits goes higher than anticipated in MLB Draft

Congrats young man!

Many of the MLB Draft experts saw this draft as a weak one for pitching, which was enough for them to drop many of the pitching prospects down their boards. When the draft commenced on Sunday night, most of the industry’s best, looked a bit foolish as multiple pitchers were drafted higher than they were mocked.

The same went for Notre Dame Baseball signee Owen Murphy, who was selected by the Atlanta Braves with the 20th overall selection in the first round. The consensus was that Murphy would get drafted early, but not this early, often falling to a team starting around the compensation picks.

The defending World Series Champions went heavy on the pitching side, with each of their first four selections highlighted by Murphy. As for his career with the Irish, at this moment it is unknown what he will do but if I had to guess, we unfortunately won’t ever see Murphy in the Blue and Gold.

[lawrence-related id=58297]

[lawrence-related id=58034]

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

Watch: New Notre Dame Baseball coach Stiffler introduced

Welcome coach!

The Irish are coming off a stretch over the last three seasons where they were one of the best teams in the country. [autotag]Link Jarrett[/autotag] did what many didn’t think was possible, making a Midwest baseball team into a perennial contender. Unfortunately for Notre Dame, the timing of Jarrett’s alma mater having an opening and his success with the Irish saw him leave to return home and take over the Florida State opening.

The Irish needed to find his replacement, which they did in [autotag]Shawn Stiffler[/autotag], who for the past 15-years was at the helm of the VCU program. It was tough for him to leave, but taking over a program that is coming off a College World Series berth was too much to pass up. Take a look at Irish AD [autotag]Jack Swarbrick[/autotag] introduce the newest Notre Dame Baseball head coach.

[lawrence-related id=58256]

[lawrence-related id=58206]

[listicle id=57754]

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

Could Notre Dame Baseball signee spur the Irish for the MLB?

The allure of being a 1st-round pick is tempting

There is a lot to be said about potentially going in the first round of any draft, let alone the MLB Draft. That is exactly the scenario for Irish verbal [autotag]Owen Murphy[/autotag] of Riverside Brookfield High School in Illinois.

Currently the right-handed pitcher is viewed as a potential supplemental first-round selection, most recently by ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel (insider). He could end up going the same route as current Notre Dame two-way star Jack Brannigan, but that’s only if he actually ends up in South Bend.

Committing to [autotag]Link Jarrett[/autotag], who now has gone back to his alma mater Florida State to be their head coach, Murphy will have a massive life choice in front of him. It is entirely possible that due to the uncertainty of who the Irish manager will be, that Murphy could skip college and get his professional career started.

On the other hand, he could get drafted by a team he may not want to play for, decided that his draft stock and subsequent signing bonus could improve and make more money while getting close to completing a degree in three-years.

At this point it’s an unknown what Murphy’s intentions will be. What we do know is that he is a highly-thought of prospect, the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year, that will be an asset wherever he lands next.

[lawrence-related id=57894]

[listicle id=57754]

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

Notre Dame’s ace adds another pair of honors to his fantastic season

Surprised?

It didn’t end how everyone wanted, but what the Irish baseball team did this spring will be remembered for a long time. A massive part of their success, breaking a 20-year drought and making it to the College World Series was ace pitcher [autotag]John Michael Bertrand[/autotag].

The graduate senior was excellent all year, pitching 109-innings, striking out 111-batters, winning 10 games with his stellar 2.81 ERA. When you’re the best pitcher on one of the best teams in the country, you’re going to get noticed. That’s exactly what happened with JMB, after being named to Baseball America and D1Baseball’s All-American teams, it made five different outlets giving Bertrand the distinction.

The lefty will now move on to the professional ranks, but his Irish legacy will live on.

[lawrence-related id=57894]

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

Three factors for Notre Dame Baseball to return to College World Series

Can the Irish return to Omaha next season?

The bar has been set for Irish baseball and it’s high. In the two full seasons that [autotag]Link Jarrett[/autotag] has been at the helm, Notre Dame has made it to the Super Regionals last year and this year the College World Series. Although neither trip resulted in hardware being brought back to South Bend, the play has set a standard for the Irish. Here are three factors for the Notre Dame Baseball team to make a return to Omaha next season.

[listicle id=57619]

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

Notre Dame’s comeback falls short, fall to Oklahoma in College World Series

The Irish are still alive….

The Irish were in a tight contest against Oklahoma, but the Sooners broke open the game during a three-run rally in the bottom of the fifth. Although the Irish responded, with a [autotag]David LaManna[/autotag] two-run homer, it wasn’t enough.

The Irish would give up one more run to Oklahoma and wound up losing the contest 6-2, their first loss in Omaha. Fortunately, [autotag]Link Jarrett[/autotag] and his squad will play another day, as they will have to defeat Texas A&M in the loser’s bracket for another shot at defeating the Sooners. The win puts Oklahoma in a very advantageous position, needing just one more win to advance to the championship series.

The Irish and the Aggies will have a day-off before they take the field in an elimination game on Tuesday, at 2pm EST on ESPN.

[lawrence-related id=57663]

[lawrence-related id=57657]

[listicle id=57619]

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

Watch: Notre Dame gets on the board with a LaManna homer

Is this the start of another Irish comeback?

Throughout the [autotag]Link Jarrett[/autotag] era of Irish baseball, his teams have shown a propensity to never give up, to play to the last out. That is exactly what they will need for a comeback victory against Oklahoma in their second game of the [autotag]College World Series[/autotag].

Down five run entering the top of the sixth inning, the Irish needed a spark. It was [autotag]Carter Putz[/autotag] that started the rally, singling to lead off the inning. [autotag]Jack Zyska[/autotag] would then strike out, bringing up David LaManna to the plate. On a one-strike count, LaManna blasted a long home run over the left field wall to get the Irish on the board.

Although the Irish didn’t get any more runs during the inning, they still cut into the Sooner lead as they game gets later and later.

[lawrence-related id=57657]

[listicle id=57619]

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

Watch: Notre Dame gets outs on two crazy plays against Oklahoma

They happened in the same inning!!!

The Irish are in a battle, as the Oklahoma offense had seemingly solved lefty hurler [autotag]Aiden Tyrell[/autotag]. Then some very weird plays happened, both in the bottom of the fourth and both revolving around third baseman [autotag]Jack Brannigan[/autotag].

First, it was a fly-ball towards left fielder [autotag]Ryan Cole[/autotag], who dove but came up a bit short and the ball went past Cole to the wall. He quickly got up, gather himself, found [autotag]Zack Prajzner[/autotag], his cutoff man, who then fired to Brannigan and go the runner at third.

That wasn’t the end of the odd defensive plays during the inning. This time it was right fielder [autotag]Brooks Coetzee[/autotag] gunning out the baserunner at third only to see Brannigan lose the ball on the tag, hit the Sooners third-base coach and the Irish third baseman quickly grabbed the ball and tagged out the runner.

It was two crazy sequences that happened which has kept the Irish deficit at just two runs as they continue to battle against Oklahoma in the winners bracket in the College World Series.

[listicle id=57619]

[lawrence-related id=57647]

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