Game Thread | (G1) Notre Dame at Pitt

Notre Dame (15-11, 5-7) at Pitt (13-13, 4-6) 

When: April 6th

Time: 3:00 PM ET 

Where: Charles L. Cost Field | Pittsburgh, Pa.

Watch: ACC Network Extra

QUICK FACTS

- Notre Dame leads the all-time series 51-25. 

- The Irish have dominated Pitt at home, but Notre Dame holds a record of 17-17 at Pitt. 

- Notre Dame won the series last season winning 8-3 and 8-1 before dropping game three 5-2. 

- The Irish are 5-0 this season in midweek games following the 12-0 win over Northwestern on Tuesday. 

PROBABLE STARTERS
Thursday

Friday

Saturday

WHAT TO WATCH 

- Notre Dame has found its offense in the last few weeks and it was highlighted over the last six days as the Irish scored over eight runs in three of the last four games. Now, the Irish haven’t arrived at the plate just yet as Notre Dame ranks last in batting average in the ACC at .222, but Shawn Stiffler’s club has momentum and confidence. 

Notre Dame lost the series against No. 13 North Carolina, but won game three 9-1 and then dusted Northwestern 12-0 on Tuesday night. Carter Putz leads the Irish with a .305 batting average and has come up with big hits on a regular basis this month. 

Catcher and DH will be key decisions for Stiffler this weekend as Vinny Martinez got hot last weekend by hitting three home runs against the Tar Heels. Danny Neri has been more consistent at the plate batting .250 and he’s a better catcher, but riding Martinez’s hot streak seems smart, especially against Pitt as its pitching staff ranks last in ERA (6.87) in the ACC. Now, Stiffler could keep both in the lineup as one could work at DH. 

The DH spot has been held by a few players in Nick Juaire (.250), Jack Zyska (.149), Martinez (.200) and DM Jefferson (.238) has slid in there a few times. 

Left field has also been a revolving door as Casey Kmet started the season there, but Zyska, Jefferson and Brady Gumpf have seen more action there as of late. Jefferson seems to have played the best to date and he needs as many innings as possible. 

- On the mound, Notre Dame seems to have found a groove with its starters as Jackson Dennies, Jack Findlay and Blake Hely have settled in over the last few series. Findlay will enter his Saturday start No. 5 in the ACC in strikeouts as he sits at 50. If you were wondering, Wake Forest’s starting rotation holds the top three spots in that category: Josh Hartle (64), Sean Sullivan (63) and Rhett Lowder (54), which is just ridiculous. 

LHP Aidan Tyrell has been phenomenal out of the pen as he leads the ACC in ERA at 1.24 and owns a 5-1 record in eight appearances. Freshman RHP Caden Spivey has continued to impress as he sits at a 1.64 ERA in six appearances, which would rank No. 5 in the ACC if he qualified. 

RHP Carter Bosch struggled on Friday as he gave up six runs in the top of the ninth against North Carolina, but I love what Stiffler did with him on Tuesday. Northwestern had the bases loaded in the fourth inning with no outs and Stiffler put Bosch into the game. Bosch responded with two strikeouts and then got a fly ball for the final out. It was a great performance by Bosch, but also a moment to give him a shot on confidence. 

The Irish have also needed RHP Matt Bedford to get back on track and he threw one inning on Tuesday and didn’t give up a hit. LHP Ryan Lynch also continued his rise up the depth chart over his last two appearances of scoreless baseball. For the year, Lynch’s ERA sits at 2.25 with six punch-outs in 4.0 innings. 

It’s also worth noting star freshman David Lally Jr. had his best performance (and start) of the year on Tuesday as he went 3.0 innings giving up four hits and no runs while striking out three. 

- This weekend is big for Notre Dame as taking the series would be productive, but a sweep would be huge for this team. 

OFFENSIVE STATS (Entering the series)

PITCHING STATS (Entering the series) 

Notre Dame Lineup

Pitt Lineup

Vineyard Vines Navy Notre Dame Fighting Irish Bradley Stripe Sankaty Polo