Game Thread | (G3) Notre Dame at UNC Greensboro

Notre Dame (2-3) at UNC Greensboro (2-4) 

When: Feb. 26th

Time: 12:00 PM ET 

Where: UNCG Baseball Stadium | Greensboro, N.C.

Watch: ESPN+

QUICK FACTS

- Notre Dame took game one 6-5 and UNCG rebounded for a dominating 12-0 win on Saturday afternoon. 

- The Irish went 3-for-29 at the plate on Saturday. 

- Danny Neri (.333) and Nick Juaire (.333) are the only two playing batting over .300 on the season. 

- Notre Dame pitchers walked seven UNG batters and then hit four other batters during Saturday’s loss. 

- Irish pitchers have struck out 39 batters through five games, but they have also walked 16 and hit an alarming 10 batters to start the season. 

PROBABLE STARTERS

Saturday 

WHAT TO WATCH 

- Defense and pitching were staples during Notre Dame’s last two seasons where they made deep runs in the NCAA Tournament. Neither have been consistent through five games in 2023. On Saturday, Notre Dame committed five errors, walked seven batters and then hit four more batters. To make matters worse, UNCG scored four runs with two outs and went 14-for-21 at the plate in advancement opportunities. 

- Notre Dame rolled out five different pitchers in the 12-0 loss on Saturday and all gave up at least one run. UNCG went to bat in eight innings and scored in seven. Irish starter Jackson Dennies (0-1) gave up three runs in his 2.0 innings of work and was replaced by freshman Rory Fox. Fox struck out four in 2.0 innings, but gave up back-to-back home runs in the third inning as UNCG pushed its lead to 5-0. 

Fellow freshman David Lally Jr. pitched one inning and gave up three runs, including walking in back-to-back runs. They were hardly the difference in the game and while it was a tough watch, Shawn Stiffler leaving Lally on the bump will likely benefit the RHP down the line as he needed to work through a pressure situation. 

- The self-inflicted wounds are perhaps the most alarming part of Notre Dame’s first five games. Catcher Danny Neri and Carter Putz each recorded two errors on Saturday. Neri’s come down to him trying to do too much as balls sailed into the outfield when UNCG tried to steal. Putz just had mental errors on ground balls. The good news is the errors are correctable, but Stiffler needs to tighten the ship sooner than later.

- Notre Dame is experiencing growing pains of inexperienced players and adjusting to a new staff. 
The downside of Notre Dame’s run to Omaha last year was Link Jarrett didn’t get his young guys much experience and the program is working through that now. Stiffler is figuring out his team as they are with him, but it’s also not wise to forget he led VCU to a 17-game winning streak a year ago that carried into the Regional Final of the NCAA Tournament after starting the season 3-8. 

- That said, Notre Dame needs a win on Sunday in the worst way. The Irish can’t afford to start the season dropping series to mid-major programs as the ACC looks as deep as ever. 

UNCG Lineup

Under Armour Green Notre Dame Fighting Irish Iconic Block All Day Pullover Hoodie