Game Thread | Notre Dame at Michigan State

Notre Dame (23-15) at Michigan State (24-13)

When: April 25th

Time: 6:00 PM ET 

Where: McLane Stadium | East Lansing, Mich. 

Watch: B1G+

QUICK FACTS

- Notre Dame fell to Michigan State 7-6 in 11 innings on April 11th. 

- The Irish are fresh off a sweep of No. 8 Virginia 

- Tuesday’s game against the Spartans will be the final game before Link Jarrett and Florida State return to Notre Dame for a weekend series. 

PROBABLE STARTERS

Watch to Watch 

- Notre Dame has momentum heading into a key stretch this week where they’ll face Michigan State and Florida State. It’s been no secret Shawn Stiffler’s club has been up and down at the plate this spring, but over the weekend, the Irish came alive. Notre Dame recorded 35 hits and 10 home runs over the three-game sweep, including long balls from Estevan Moreno on Friday night. 

The Irish have needed someone to take the DH spot and Vinny Martinez has made his case over the last few weeks and likely solidified it over the weekend. In three games against Virginia, Martinez batted .700 with seven hits, six RBI, three runs, two doubles and one home run.

Notre Dame also has every starter hitting over .200 for the first time this season. Sophomore DM Jefferson has also been on a hot streak as he’s raised his batting average to .278 and hit his first home run over the weekend. 

- On the mound, freshman RHP David Lally Jr. will get his fifth start of the season as he returns to his home state on Tuesday. Lally has started to settle in as he went 3.0 innings giving up five hits, 1 run, one walk and four strikeouts on 63 pitches in last week’s win against Western Michigan. 

It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Notre Dame get RHP Justin Moore (0-0, 2.00) and RHP Sammy Cooper (3-1, 5.60) some work as they didn’t throw this weekend. The Irish could also look at stealing an inning or two with LHP Ryan Lynch (0-1, 5.68), Matt Bedford (1-2, 7.20) and Ricky Reeth (1-0, 7.00). 

- As it relates to the NCAA Tournament, Notre Dame moved up 17 spots in the RPI to No. 36 with the sweep of Virginia. Notre Dame is 5-4 against Top 25 RPI teams and 8-7 against Top 50 RPI programs, which are quality marks. D1Baseball believes the Irish would be in the NCAA Tournament if it started today, but Notre Dame is on the bubble with several ACC foes: Boston College, Clemson and Duke

And as previously noted, Stiffler’s teams at VCU have gotten hot at this point in the year. A year ago, VCU won 17 straight games before falling to North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament regional play. In 2021, Stiffler led VCU on a 22-game winning streak before falling to Mississippi State in the NCAA Tournament. 

Notre Dame Lineup

Michigan State Lineup

Under Armour Navy Notre Dame Fighting Irish School Logo Raglan Long Sleeve Hoodie