Tag: Notre Dame baseball

Former Notre Dame star 1B, Niko Kavadas, traded in one of MLB’s deadline deals

The former Irish star has been dealt in a trade deadline deal

Although former Notre Dame baseball star first baseman [autotag]Niko Kavadas[/autotag] lasted until the 11th round of the MLB draft, he was seen as a solid piece for the Boston Red Sox.

Unfortunately for the slugger, he won’t get to say that Fenway Park is his MLB home (at least right now), as on Tuesday he was included in a deal that sent him to the Los Angeles Angels.

This season Kavadas has been crushing the ball, hitting .281 with 17 home runs and 63 RBI. With first baseman Nolan Schanuel already making his debut with the Angels and sticking around with the big league club, there isn’t a natural fit for him at the big league level unless it’s as a designated hitter.

Hopefully Kavadas can force his way onto the 40-man roster, and make his Major League debut soon for the rebuilding Angels.

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Notre Dame baseball adds Lucas Jones to its coaching staff

Welcome to Irish Nation Lucas!

During his first two seasons with Notre Dame baseball, [autotag]Shawn Stiffler[/autotag] has led the Irish to a 57-49 record.

He knows this isn’t good enough for the program and with that made a move on Thursday to bolster his coaching staff. [autotag]Lucas Jones[/autotag] was hired as an assistant coach as he will help on the infield along with base-running.

Jones previously was at the University of Lynchburg, where he had been the head coach since 2017. He was extremely successful in his tenure, as he was named the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 2021.  In 2023, Jones guided his team to a National Championship.

The hope is that Jones experience will help the Irish get over the hump and return back to the NCAA Tournament.

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Another Notre Dame baseball player heads to the MLB

Congrats Bennett!

Although Notre Dame baseball’s [autotag]Bennett Flynn[/autotag] didn’t hear his name called during the MLB draft, he will still get to live out his lifelong dream.

Since the baseball draft has now changed, cutting multiple later rounds out of the process, the undrafted free-agent market has changed the way teams go about adding players to their organizations.

Flynn was signed by the [autotag]Toronto Blue Jays[/autotag] on Wednesday as a relief pitcher, after a very impressive collegiate career. He was a Freshman All-American in 2020, made the Atlantic 10 first-team in 2022 and was on the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award preseason watch list this past season.

Although Flynn didn’t have his best final season, a 5.40 ERA, he showed a great ability to strike out hitters. Over 40 innings, the righty amassed 53 strike-outs. He’ll need to cut down his walks as a professional, but Flynn has plenty of upside, which is why Toronto took a chance on him.

Congrats Bennett, we wish you the best in your MLB journey.

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Former Notre Dame tight end throws out first pitch for Chicago Cubs

Dude still can throw off a mound.

Former Notre Dame tight end [autotag]Cole Kmet[/autotag] is entering his fifth season with the Chicago Bears. He’ll look to add to his 15 career NFL touchdowns with rookie quarterback Caleb Williams added to the mix. Training camp definitely will help with that.

But Kmet and the Bears had a day off, so Kmet, who grew up in nearby Lake Barrington, Illinois, decided to have some fun. Specifically, he decided to say yes to throwing out the first pitch before the hometown Chicago Cubs battled the Milwaukee Brewers. Luckily for us, the whole thing was captured on video:

As you can gather, Kmet threw it a little outside to Clark the Cub. Here’s a closer view of the pitch:

If he looks like he could have gone for a baseball career, it’s true. Many Irish fans probably know that Kmet also was on Notre Dame’s baseball team. In two seasons with that team, he recorded 10 saves and accumulated a 2-7 record along with a 4.43 ERA over 34 games.

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Notre Dame baseball commit Brendan Tunink gets selected in MLB draft

Tunink has a big decision ahead of him

It’s always great to see Notre Dame baseball players get drafted into the MLB, but what isn’t as good is when one of the high school commits getting selected.

That happened on Monday as Illinois outfielder and pitcher [autotag]Brendan Tunink[/autotag] was selected in the eighth round by the [autotag]Los Angeles Dodgers[/autotag], and now he has a big decision ahead of him.

Many high school players drafted have spurred the professional ranks and headed off to college to improve their stock. Tunink now is in that position, as the decorated two-way player could go either way. On his X account, the website formerly known as Twitter, he seemed to be very excited about the opportunity with the Dodgers.

Getting selected by a great organization definitely factors into one’s decision, and Tunink has that advantage. We will continue to monitor what his choice will be, but it seems like either one will be prosperous for him.

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Jack Findlay of Notre Dame baseball gets taken in the 8th round of the MLB draft

Another member of the Irish off the board

Notre Dame baseball made its mark in the MLB draft on Monday, with two players getting selected by the eighth round.

First it was infielder Jack Penney getting taken in the fifth round by the Detroit Tigers. It was pitcher [autotag]Jack Findlay[/autotag]’s turn as he was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the eight round.

The lefty missed this past season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, which is a bit of a risk for the Cardinals. They liked what they saw during his previous two seasons, and must have believed that he’ll make a full recovery. It will be interesting to see what their plan is for him.

Either way, congrats to Jack on accomplishing a huge milestone. We look forward to watching a prosperous MLB career.

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Notre Dame baseball star 3B Jack Penney gets drafted in the 5th round

Congrats Jack!

Notre Dame baseball’s team has had some recent success with getting its players drafted into the MLB.

The 2024 draft took a bit longer than normal for a member of the Irish team to hear his name being called, but it finally happened in the fifth round. Infielder [autotag]Jack Penney[/autotag] was selected by the Detroit Tigers with the 147th overall pick.

During this past season, Penney hit .269 with 4 homers and 34 RBI, while getting on base 32.4% of the time. His calling card was his defense, as he handled 204 attempts, and made just 4 errors on the season. Penney stared 37 double plays as well.

We wish Jack the best while he begins his MLB journey.

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Notre Dame pitcher David Lally Jr to enter transfer portal

Hopefully, a different program can help him figure it out.

David Lally Jr. likely isn’t a name you saw come up too often with Notre Dame, at least not for the right reasons. But you won’t hear his name in South Bend any longer. Lally, a sophomore pitcher for the Irish this past season, announced on social media that’s entering the transfer portal, even making his phone number public to any interested program:

To say Lally had a trying experience with the Irish would be an understatement. In two seasons, he accumulated an 0-1 record with a 7.04 ERA, 30 strikeouts and 31 walks in 22 appearances.

This past season was particularly awful for Lally as his 9.22 ERA was the worst among any Irish pitcher with at least 10 appearances. In 2023, he started in six of his nine appearances but didn’t record a decision en route to a 5.29 ERA.

Hopefully for Lally, this simply is a case of needing a change of scenery. We wish him the best wherever he pitches next.

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Notre Dame baseball takes weekend series from Pittsburgh

The Irish take the ACC weekend series from Pitt

The weekend didn’t start out great for Notre Dame baseball, but it sure finished that way.

The Irish started their weekend series at home against Pittsburgh with a 3-1 loss, but rebounded the next two day with wins. On Saturday, Notre Dame brought out the sticks, as they scored 15 runs and defeated the Panthers 15-8.

It was a bit closer on Sunday, but the Irish found a way to win. Notre Dame jumped out to an early 8-0 lead after two innings, but couldn’t get the bats going for the rest of the contest. Pittsburgh chipped away at the lead and got the game within two runs, but the Irish prevailed 8-6.

The series brings the Irish’s record to 25-21 on the year, 9-18 in ACC play. They are back on the diamond on Friday as they host Toledo in a weekend series.

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Notre Dame baseball walks-off No. 8 Wake Forest, takes series from Demon Deacons

A fun weekend for the Irish

It was a weekend to remember for Notre Dame baseball as they hosted national ranked Wake Forest.

The Demon Deacons came into the series ranked as the No. 8 team in the country, only to see them lose two-of-three games to the Irish. Notre Dame didn’t start the weekend like they would have liked, dropping the first game on Friday night 4-3.

Although they didn’t come out victorious, the confidence they could play with Wake set them up for Saturday and Sunday. Notre Dame brought out the bats during game two, as they slugged three homers in the first, and never looked back.

Game three was won in dramatic style, as TJ Williams blasted a homer in the bottom of the ninth to walk it off for the Irish.

The series victory gives the Irish a 22-20 overall record, 7-17 in ACC play. They return to the diamond on Tuesday to make up the previously cancelled game against Michigan State.

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