Game Thread | (G1) Notre Dame at Georgia Tech

Notre Dame (5-4) at Georgia Tech (11-2) 

When: March 10th

Time: 6:00 PM ET 

Where: Russ Chandler Stadium | Atlanta, Ga. 

Watch: ACC Network Extra

QUICK FACTS

- Georgia Tech leads the all-time series 12-11 over the Irish. 

- Notre Dame is 6-10 at Russ Chandler Stadium. 

- The first time the two programs met was April 12, 1924 and the Irish won 4-3. 

- Georgia Tech and Notre Dame did not play last year and the Irish took the series 2-1 in 2021. 

PROBABLE STARTERS

Friday 

Saturday 

Saturday 

WHAT TO WATCH 

- Notre Dame has started to find its offense over the last two weekends as there have been flashes of what the Irish can be, but Shawn Stiffler’s club is still looking to find consistency at the plate. The Irish have just two batters batting over .300 (Nick Juaire and Danny Neri) and just two others batting over .200 in Zack Prajzner and Brooks Coetzee.

At this point, Notre Dame doesn’t need to hit the panic button, but entering ACC play it’s concerning as the competition ramps up quickly. Carter Putz, TJ Williams and Jack Penney need to raise their games as all three are proven bats, but have struggled this spring. 

Putz
2022: .342
2023: .182

Penney
2022: .288
2023: .071

Williams:
2022: .254
2023: .184

The Irish staff expected there to be growing pains with the inexperienced players, but the veterans struggling at the plate has been an issue. If Penney, Putz and Williams can get things turned around, Notre Dame becomes very dangerous at the plate and will take some of the pressure off the Irish pitchers. 

- On the flip side, Georgia Tech’s lowest batting average from its every day starters is .209 and they have five players batting over .333 and three players topping .415. Jackson Finley is the guy to watch as he’s batting .471 with 16 hits, six home runs, 1.088 slugging % and he’ll start on the mound on Sunday. If you thought his batting was impressive, Finley is 1-0 with a 1.38 ERA in 13.0 innings. 

- Notre Dame’s pitchers have done a nice job through three weekends as opponents are batting .208. The 3.86 ERA is No. 8 in the ACC, so that can be improved, but it’s also not a concern. Notre Dame currently is probably about average when it comes to strikeout/walk ratio as the Irish have struck out 82 and walked 35. 

- Friday night’s pitching rotation will likely be something to watch considering the Irish haven’t named a starter for Saturday. LHP Jack Findlay has been reliving the Friday starter, but could that change in ACC play if Stiffler needs his sophomore to start on Saturday? 

- It will be interesting to see how the Irish compete this weekend as the ACC is absolutely loaded and a good start in conference play is always important, but this year could be more important as every program enters this weekend above .500. 

Irish Sports Daily

ACC Standings 3.10 

Notre Dame Lineup

Georgia Tech Lineup

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