Notre Dame sigh of relief on Brannigan, more ACC Tourney notes
Notre Dame’s worst fear was wiped away by a clean MRI.
After Jack Brannigan was feared lost for both the remainder of this season and perhaps 12 or more months to a potential Tommy John injury, Link Jarrett on Wednesday said that Brannigan had received a clean bill of health when examined in Charlotte, N.C., by Atlantic Coast Conference medical staff in advance of this week’s league tournament.
“Brannigan, he’s fine,” Jarrett said. “He felt something he’d never felt. Everything is clean as a whistle. (The ACC) did all the imaging, which is great. They had medical staffing so he could get an MRI, which is awesome.
“He’s fine. We’ll get him back in the fold.”
The Irish (33-13, 16-11), Atlantic Division runners-up after winning the overall ACC crown in 2021, are again seeking to end the program’s torturous streak of absences in the ACC Tournament’s semifinals. They’ll face Florida State and Virginia across the next two days, with a weekend berth in the league semis hanging in the balance.
“The advantage we have in this tournament, as the higher seed, you get to decide which team forces you to beat them, and we’ll see what happens today (in the Florida State-Virginia matchup),” Jarrett said. “We’ll decide on pitching today (after the results of that game).”
It either will be All-ACC performer John Michael Bertrand opening Notre Dame’s portion of the ACC Tournament, or surging transfer right-hander Austin Temple. The duo combined to go 11-3 in 24 starts. They teamed for 156 strikeouts, 86 of those belonging to Bertrand, and foes hit just .176 against Temple.
Because of the ACC’s pool-play format, Jarrett knows it is incumbent upon his squad to defeat the winner of the FSU-UVA game. That’s the certain path into the ACC semifinals, a territory the Irish have never reached as an ACC member.
Notre Dame has been in the Charlotte-area since late Saturday night, after it lost the series to Miami, and practiced Monday at an area high school before logging workouts the past two days at UNC-Charlotte.
It’s a long gap between games, but Jarrett believes his team is well-positioned for its path ahead.
“Our guys are very disappointed,” Jarrett said of the Irish’s inability to either win the Atlantic Division or repeat as ACC champs. “We had too many games along the way that just slipped away. Having (Matt) Bedford back now I think actually gives us another bullet in the bullpen, wish we had had it along the way; we didn’t. You’re a half-game short and that’s frustrating for everybody.
“You now turn your attention to the postseason. I think through the battles, some of them won, some of them lost, we’ve positioned ourselves pretty well for postseason even though last weekend, obviously you want to win the series, and we came up a little short.”
Jarrett expects that his squad will face FSU ace Parker Messick in its Thursday tournament opener (3 p.m., ESPN3). Messick stymied the Irish during regular-season ACC play, though Notre Dame busted through against the Seminoles’ bullpen to win that Friday affair en route to the three-game sweep of Jarrett’s alma mater.
If FSU loses today to Virginia, Messick’s presence on the mound isn’t a major concern; but if the Noles beat the Cavaliers, tomorrow’s game is must-win.
COLE, MILLER HEALTH UPDATES
Ryan Cole, the Irish’s All-ACC outfielder, is considered a game-time decision for Thursday’s contest, according to Jarrett, after Cole tweaked a hamstring last weekend against Miami.
Additionally, Jared Miller remains out indefinitely with a separated shoulder he suffered against Pittsburgh in the penultimate weekend of regular-season play.
But overall Jarrett was optimistic about his team’s health.
“Miller, when you have that shoulder pop out, he’s not ready to play this weekend and that’s OK,” Jarrett said. “It gives (Jack) Penney a chance to continue to grow out there, and he’s been out there grinding for us.
“Ryan Cole’s hammy is coming along; we’ll see where we are after everything today, and we’ll let Phil (Montano) evaluate him tonight, and we’ll be smart about what we’re doing with him.
“We’re obviously trending in the right direction. Everybody takes on water this time of year; I don’t think any team is 100%, and we’re not. I think we dodged some major issues, and we’ve been OK.”
If Brannigan can only hit or is limited at third base, and with Miller out for the tournament and Cole’s status unknown, Jarrett is turning to the trio of Penney, Jack Zyska and Nick DeMarco to complement their availabilities.
Penney scored four runs and had two hits while DeMarco logged his first career home run last weekend in the Miami series. Zyska’s .311 batting average was third-best for the Irish and he tied for the second-most home runs this season with nine.
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