Tag: Zack Prajzner

Notre Dame regular season comes to rough end against Boston College

Not a great night in Beantown.

BOSTON — Notre Dame didn’t plan on losing twice to Boston College in two different locations in one day, but it happened. With wet weather anticipated Saturday in Boston, the game scheduled for that day was moved up to Friday afternoon. The Irish lost that game, 7-2, and they hoped a shift in venues from that first game also would shift their luck. It didn’t happen in an 8-4 defeat at Fenway Park that closed the regular season.

The Irish (30-22, 15-15) ran into early trouble when Joe Vetrano put the Eagles (34-17, 16-14) on top in the first inning with a two-out, two-run homer to left-center. [autotag]Zack Prajzner[/autotag] got the Irish in the hit column with a leadoff double in the fourth, then scored on a [autotag]Vinny Martinez[/autotag] RBI single. That 2-1 score was as close as the Irish would get the rest of the evening.

After [autotag]Jackson Dennies[/autotag] pitched well for five innings, striking out six and walking nobody, [autotag]Caden Spivey[/autotag] relieved him in the sixth, and that’s when the wheels fell off. The Eagles lit Spivey up for six runs, three of which came on Vetrano’s second home run of the game, this one a three-run blast to right. Ten Eagles came to the plate in the frame, and Spivey recorded only two outs before [autotag]Shawn Stiffler[/autotag] gave him the hook.

If the Eagles’ offense hadn’t exploded, starting pitcher John West might have beat the Irish by himself. Over seven-plus innings, he gave up three hits despite striking out only four. Two of the three runs he allowed came during an eighth inning in which the Irish benefited from walks, hit batsmen and a wild pitch. He exited to an ovation after putting the Irish’s first two hitters on base in that inning.

The Irish did get one more run in the ninth on a pinch-hit home run by [autotag]Nick Juaire[/autotag], but all that did was make the game look closer than it was. The focus for Irish fans by that point was the ACC Tournament, which begins Tuesday in Durham. Between losing twice to the Eagles and the earlier loss this week to Northwestern at Wrigley Field, the Irish likely will need to win it or at least get to the title game to have a shot at the NCAA Tournament. Get those prayer circles going.

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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.

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Notre Dame takes a few for the team, wins again in Statesboro Regional

One win away from the Super Regionals

It has not been easy for the Irish so far, but you wouldn’t know it by the results. Once again, Notre Dame scored late and held off their opponent, this time host Georgia Southern feeling the luck of the Irish.

After falling behind by a run early, the Irish put together two runs, both solo home runs by [autotag]Jack Zyska[/autotag] and [autotag]Jack Brannigan[/autotag]. Georgia Southern would then battle back to take a 4-2 after top of the sixth. The Irish bats once again answered in the bottom of the inning, as [autotag]Zack Prajzner[/autotag] blasted a two-run home to even the score at four.

The Irish would then score two more runs in the bottom of the seventh in an unconventional way. Back-to-back hit-by-pitches with the bases loaded scored the go-ahead runs for the Irish, 6-4.

[autotag]Matt Bedford[/autotag] would then struggle but [autotag]Jack Findlay[/autotag] has his back. Bedford allowed back-to-back singles to put runners on first and third. Findlay relieved him and promptly struck out back-to-back batters and got a ground out to end the inning. That wasn’t the end of Findlay’s brilliance, he would then shut down Georgia Southern in the top of the ninth, securing the win for the Irish, 6-4.

[autotag]Link Jarrett[/autotag] has now lead this team to one win away from a return to the Super Regionals, NCAA Baseball’s version of the ‘Sweet 16’ for the second consecutive season.

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Four Reasons why Notre Dame Baseball advances to the Super Regionals

The post-season starts today for the Irish

The Irish are back on the diamond today, as the second seed in the Stateboro Regional of the NCAA Baseball Tournament. After last years amazing run to the Super Regionals, the expectations rose in [autotag]Link Jarrett’s[/autotag] first full season as the Notre Dame head coach. Another trip to the ‘Sweet 16’ won’t come easy, but here are four reasons why they will.

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Notre Dame outlasts Florida State, advances to ACC tournament semi-finals

A first for the Irish baseball program!!!

The Irish made history today and it wasn’t starting pitcher [autotag]John Michael Bertrand’s[/autotag] eight strike outs. It was the fact that [autotag]Link Jarrett’s[/autotag] team staved off a ninth inning comeback by Florida State to defeat the Seminoles 5-3 and advance to their first ever ACC Baseball semi-final round.

The Irish ace once again led the way for Notre Dame, going eight strong innings, allowing just one run and the aforementioned eight K’s. Offensively, the Irish were led by a barrage of home runs, which included long balls from [autotag]Zack Prajzner[/autotag], [autotag]Jack Zyska[/autotag], and [autotag]Brooks Coetzee[/autotag]. While Prajzner’s was a solo shot, both Zyska’s and Coetzee’s were two-run blasts which accounted for all the Irish runs.

It was a team effort that advanced the Irish to face off against Virginia, tomorrow with a berth to the championship round on the line. This season the Irish have yet to face the Cavaliers. First pitch is schedule for 11:00 am EST tomorrow.

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On the day of the Blue vs. Gold game, Notre Dame baseball wins by football score

This was certainly a football score

Notre Dame 21, Wake Forest 3. Sounds like a football score right? Well, that wasn’t the case as the Irish baseball scored three touchdowns worth of runs against the visiting Demon Deacons while allowing just a field goal.

The offensive outburst was the highest run total of the year for Link Jarrett’s team as they were led by catcher David LaManna, who had two hits, one for a home run, and drove in five. Jack Brannigan, Brady Gumpf and Zack Prajzner also hit long balls for the Irish, who scored in every inning except for the fifth with multiple runs in the first, third, fourth, sixth, and seventh.

Starter Austin Temple wasn’t as sharp as we have seen him, but he didn’t need to be. He allowed two runs spanning 4.1 innings and then the bullpen took over. Another unearned run charged to Jack Findlay would be the only other damage the Irish pitchers would allow.

It was a great win for the Irish, who pushed their winning streak to four games and their record to 25-8. They improved to 10-7 in ACC as well. The win gives Notre Dame a series win but they will go for the sweep tomorrow as the start time has changed and first pitch at Frank Eck Stadium will be at 11am EST.

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Notre Dame Baseball beats Michigan, keeps winning streak alive

The winning streak is just short to two handfuls

For the most part, midweek home games shouldn’t be much of a challenge, they’re set up to get the younger players and pitchers some playing time. That’s not always the case, especially when you are hosting a team that went to the College World Series finale just two seasons ago.

For the Irish baseball team, over the last two seasons, they have emerged as the Midwest baseball power, overtaking Michigan for that honor. Those two teams faced off against each other on Tuesday night at Frank Eck Stadium, and Irish slugged their way to a 14-5 victory, extending their winning streak to 9 games.

The Irish bats stayed hot all game, Spencer Myers hit a homer and drive on four runs, Brooks Coetzee had two hits and 3 RBI, while Zack Prajzner had just one hit but also drove in three.

The Irish used five pitchers on the day, with Jack Findlay, Aidan Tyrell and Radek Birkholz each having clean outings. Jackson Dennies and Liam Simon struggled but the Irish hitters picked them up.

The Irish have yet to lose in the month of April, racking up nine straight wins to run their record to an impressive 21-5. The winning streak goes on the road this weekend as Link Jarrett’s team heads to Durham, North Carolina to face Duke this weekend in ACC conference play.

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Notre Dame Baseball keeps rolling, winning steak extends to five games

The streak is not a handful

The Irish have found their groove again and they are really starting to play some great baseball. After enduring a four-game losing streak, which started with a Louisville swept and extended with the one-game series loss to Virginia Tech, Link Jarrett’s team has caught fire once again.

A mid-week win against Northern Illinois got them back into the win column, then a sweep against #5 Florida State in Tallahassee really propelled the Irish again. They kept the good times going today, as they welcomed in Butler and surprising had a battle on their hands. Eventually the Irish overcame the Bulldogs and won 5-2.

Offensively it was two-way star Jack Brannigan, who launched his fourth homer of the year. Spencer Myers, Nick Juaire and Zack Prajzner also added RBI on the day. Although Radek Birkholz struggled on the mound, giving up two runs, his teammates picked him up. Relievers Ryan McLinksey, Jack Findlay, Jackson Dennies and Austin Temple collectively allowed no runs.

The win puts the Irish record at 17-5, with an upcoming series at home against ACC foe Clemson. Notre Dame will look to extend their winning streak to six games Friday night as first pitch is scheduled for 5:00pm EST.

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Notre Dame Baseball comes back against NC State and wins in extra innings

Eight in a row, this time with some dramatics

It wasn’t a game that the Irish were accustomed too, coming from behind has not been something this team has done much of this season. That was the case on Friday night however, as the Irish saw a late 4-0 deficit entering the seventh inning.

That’s when the bats came alive and the Irish scratched out three runs in the seventh and the tying run in the eighth to even the score at four and force extras. It was Carter Putz’s solo home run to start the scoring for Notre Dame and Jack Brannigan finished off the comeback.

The game would extend into the twelfth inning when the Irish bats once again came alive. Four runs in that inning once again highlighted by a long ball, this time by Zack Prajzner.

The story wasn’t just about the Irish bats, it was the bullpen. Starter Aidan Tyrell wasn’t his sharpest, giving up four runs over four innings. Then Alex Rao, Radek Birkholz, Ryan McLinskey and Brannigan took over. They combined for nine innings without allowing a run and striking out 11 batters.

Although the win improved the Irish to 10-1, this game could be looked at as the starting point to another run at the ACC regular season title. If the Irish were to repeat as regular season champs, it would be the first time in program history that feat was accomplished. They have won consecutive conference tournament championships, the last time being the stretch from 2002-2006 when they won the Big East Conference tournament title every year.

The Irish continue their three-games series against the the Wolfpack this afternoon as they try and keep their 8-game winning streak alive.

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Notre Dame baseball blanks Monmouth, sweeps double-header

The Irish get another series win with one left to play

The Irish once again will go into a Sunday series finale knowing that they have won the series. The two games on Saturday were blowout by the Irish, first the 16-2 win then the nightcap, a 9-0 blanking of Monmouth.

Pitching was the story all day, first John Michael Bertrand spinning a gem, then in the second game, four Notre Dame pitchers combined for the shutout. Starter Austin Temple went five strong innings, allowing just two hits while striking out five. The Irish’s Ohtani, Jack Brannigan, was next on the mound, striking out each of the three batters he faced. Then Ryan McLinskey and Alex Rao finished out the game, with seven strikeouts between them. During the second game, Irish pitchers struck out a total of 15 Hawks.

Offensively, it was Zack Prajzner and Danny Neri, who each made their lone hit count, each racking up 3 RBI. Jared Miller and TJ Williams each had two hits for the Irish.

Link Jarrett’s team will conclude the series tomorrow, as they face off against Marist. The getaway day game will start at 12pm EST as the Irish look to complete the series sweep and improve on their 5-1 record.

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