Game Thread | Michigan State at Notre Dame

Michigan State (18-10) at Notre Dame (17-12) 

When: April 11th

Time: 6:00 PM ET 

Where: Frank Eck Stadium | South Bend, Ind.

Watch: ACC Network Extra

QUICK FACTS

- Michigan State leads the all-time series 81-59. 

- The Irish are 35-38 at home against the Spartans. 

- Notre Dame took two of three games from Michigan State in 2022. 

- Shawn Stiffler is 5-0 in midweek games this season. 

- The two teams will also square off on April 25th in East Lansing. 

PROBABLE STARTERS

WHAT TO WATCH 

- Notre Dame looks to continue momentum following the Easter weekend series win over Pitt as Shawn Stiffler will start RHP Blake Hely for Tuesday’s non-conference clash with Michigan State. The Spartans will arrive in South Bend after taking a weekend series against Ohio State. 

There is a little bit of pressure on Notre Dame as it relates to postseason play following the up-and-down start to the season. The good news is Notre Dame has started to find some consistency at the plate and now Stiffler’s club will need to take that to the next level over the next month. 

- Sophomore DM Jefferson appears to have locked down the starting job in left field and had a solid weekend at the plate. The DH spot is still an interesting one as Vinny Martinez seems to be the favorite as he has hit four home runs on the year, but he’s batting just .189. Notre Dame has done a nice job of getting Nick Juaire to pinch hit at timely spots, which is an excellent role for the switch hitter. Juaire isn’t going to hit for power or extra bases, but he’ll get on base and move runners in high-pressure situations. 

Jack Penney has also started to come around at the plate as he’s moved his batting average up to .226. Now, Notre Dame needs its leadoff batter on base more, but Penney has done some nice things in recent weeks and leads the team in home runs with seven. 

- As for Michigan State, the Irish will need to slow down Brock Vradenburg and Trent Farquhar. Vradenburg enters Tuesday batting .430 with seven home runs and 34 RBI while Farquhar has recorded 12 doubles, 18 RBI and is batting .393. 

The Spartans pitching seems to be the weak link here as they have a team ERA of 5.66, including a team-best ERA of 3.90 from Andrew Carson. Adam Berghorst will start for Michigan State and he’s given up 18 hits and nine runs in 18.0 innings. 

- Notre Dame’s game plan for Tuesday will be similar to ACC play. They’ll have a chance for big innings given Michigan State’s pitching situation and if the pen can keep the runs down, the Irish should be in good shape. Aiden Tyrell and Will Mercer could potentially be fresh for innings as they threw on Thursday and Friday.

OFFENSIVE STATS 

PITCHING STATS 

Notre Dame Lineup

Michigan State Lineup

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