Game Thread | (G2) Notre Dame at Pitt
Notre Dame (16-11, 6-7) at Pitt (13-14, 4-7)
When: April 7th
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 52-25.
- The Irish have dominated Pitt at home, but Notre Dame holds a record of 17-17 at Pitt.
- Notre Dame took game one 10-8 after scoring six runs in the first.
PROBABLE STARTERS
Friday
| SCHOOL | NAME | RECORD (APPEARANCES) | ERA | IP | STRIKEOUTS |
| Notre Dame | RHP Jackson Dennies | 0-2 | 3.04 | 26.2 | 30 |
| Pittsburgh | RHP Kyle Mosley | 0-3 | 7.71 | 25.2 | 18 |
Saturday
| SCHOOL | NAME | RECORD (APPEARANCES) | ERA | IP | STRIKEOUTS |
| Notre Dame | LHP Jack Findlay | 4-1 | 2.73 | 33.0 | 50 |
| Pittsburgh | RHP Logan Evans | 1-1 | 8.53 | 6.1 | 4 |
WHAT TO WATCH
- Notre Dame’s offense seems to be coming around as the Irish scored six runs in the first on Thursday to set a strong tone in Pittsburgh. In fact, every Irish batter minus Brooks Coetzee recorded a hit and all reached base during the game.
The Irish also got home runs from Jack Penney, Zack Prajzner and Danny Neri along with two RBIs from Vinny Martinez, who hit in the DH in game one. Shawn Stiffler has used several players in the DH spot and Martinez has certainly made his case for the spot when he’s not behind the dish the last two weekends.
- On the bump, Notre Dame was up and down. Starter Blake Hely provided a solid start given the six run advantage as he gave up three runs, five hits and struck out five in four innings. Radek Birkholz provided a solid two innings and he’s very close to cracking into the consistency the Irish need from him. He struck out three in 2.1 innings, but he allowed three hits and two walks to force a little extra pressure.
Ryan Lynch only faced two batters and it didn’t go well as he gave up a hit and then a long ball before being replaced by Will Mercer. Mercer struck out five batters in a row and looked like he was rolling, but the final frame has been trouble for Notre Dame as of late. The veteran pitcher gave up a single and then Estevan Moreno committed an error in the shift to allow Pitt two runners. Mercer then walked and hit a batter before Sammy Cooper replaced him to get a ground ball to Jack Penney who proceeded to complete the double play to end the game.
- Jackson Dennies will make the start on Friday and he’s really settled into his starting role. The Louisiana native went 4.2 innings on Sunday giving up just two hits, no runs, no walks and struck out seven.
OFFENSIVE STATS (Entering the series)
| STAT | Notre Dame | Pittsburgh |
| Batting Avg. | .222 | .264 |
| Runs | 142 | 198 |
| Hits | 187 | 233 |
| 2B | 32 | 51 |
| 3B | 4 | 6 |
| Home Runs | 29 | 36 |
| RBI | 130 | 181 |
| SLG% | .373 | .457 |
| Walks | 98 | 182 |
| Hit by Pitch | 50 | 22 |
| Strikeouts | 242 | 257 |
| OB% | 0.337 | 0.398 |
PITCHING STATS (Entering the series)
| STAT | Notre Dame | Pittsburgh |
| ERA | 4.30 | 6.87 |
| Hits | 195 | 269 |
| Runs | 128 | 189 |
| ER | 108 | 172 |
| Walks | 97 | 138 |
| Strikeouts | 231 | 249 |
| Opponent Batting Avg. | .230 | .294 |
Notre Dame Lineup
| NAME | POSITION | BATTING AVERAGE |
| Jack Penney | 3B | .219 |
| Zack Prajzner | SS | .262 |
| Carter Putz | 1B | .303 |
| Brooks Coetzee | RF | .241 |
| Vinny Martinez | DH | .208 |
| DM Jefferson | LF | .244 |
| Estevan Moreno | 2B | .171 |
| Danny Neri | C | .265 |
| TJ Williams | CF | .189 |
Pitt Lineup
| NAME | POSITION | BATTING AVERAGE |
| Sky Duff | 3B | .274 |
| Jack Anderson | DH | .310 |
| Kyle Hess | CF | .290 |
| Noah Martinez | 1B | .310 |
| CJ Funk | RF | .276 |
| Justin Acal | 2B | .224 |
| Jayden Melendez | C | .219 |
| Anthony Lasala | SS | .205 |
| Dom Popa | LF | .189 |
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