Link Jarrett, No. 4 Notre Dame continue Big Ten dominance

Perhaps, at the very least, the Big Ten Conference should request to temporarily borrow Notre Dame’s baseball program.

Then, this year anyway, the league would have at least one team undefeated amongst its conference brethren.

Because Link Jarrett’s Fighting Irish have flat-out owned the conference on the diamond in 2022. Tuesday night proved no different.

Led by resurgent Spencer Myers’ second-inning grand slam, part of a 10-hit barrage, No. 4 Notre Dame shellacked visiting Michigan, 14-5, at Eck Stadium.

The victory, No. 9 in a row for the Fighting Irish (21-5), marked their fourth in as many tries this season against Big Ten foes; Notre Dame swept past Michigan State, Illinois and Minnesota earlier this season in the Cambria College Classic.

Myers’ slam helped stake the home team to a 5-0 lead in the second; the two frames that the Wolverines (17-15) scratched runs across against the Irish, they answered with a pair of four-run frames.

“You learn that they have the uncanny ability to do that,” said Jarrett, “I don’t know if it’s a team that has a heightened sense of focus or toughness or determination when something like that happens. If it was that easy, you’d think you would think you would score every inning; it’s not.

“They seem to raise the level of focus a little bit at times, and you saw it in every case today when they scored.”

Jackson Dennies got the win for the Irish, one of five pitchers who combined to strike out nine. Starter Jack Findlay lasted just 1.2 innings, but he showed considerable moxie when helped Notre Dame twice escape bases-loaded jams.

“Some of the defensive play that blends in at this point, it just continues to build momentum,” Jarrett said. “There were some good plays all over the field. …

“The guys clearly know what they’re trying to do when they get out here. It doesn’t mean that that we always do it. Today I look at some of the younger arms. Findlay, obviously he’s learning his way. Jackson’s going to help us this year, you’ve seen it. He’s going to help us down the road. We’ve got to figure Liam (Simon) out. We knew AT (Aiden Tyrell), we didn’t want to overdo it but he was fresh enough to help. We didn’t want to just hold him for the weekend, this was an important game. You’re playing a good team. He settled the game like we would have expected. And then Radek (Birkholz), you can sense the stuff is good. The fastball is lively. He was good. That side of it, using some of those younger guys to try to groom them for what’s coming down the stretch is really important.”

Myers, who banged out five hits in 10 trips to the plate in last weekend’s sweep of Clemson, walked in addition to his opposite-field slam that snaked inside the left-field pole. Carter Putz, he of an 11-game hitting streak, added two more hits, as did both Jack Brannigan and Brooks Coetzee.

Notre Dame’s offensive barrage, which also included the patience to draw a dozen walks, taxed eight different Michigan pitchers – five of whom gave up at least one earned run.

Now the Irish prepare to depart Wednesday for this weekend’s series at Duke, where they’ll put their overall nine-game winning binge, six of them in ACC play, on the line beginning with Thursday’s series opener. Jarrett isn’t yet settled on his opening starter, keeping ace John Michael Bertrand in his traditional Friday slot and expecting to start Austin Temple in Saturday’s finale.

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