Relentless Approach Paying Off for Notre Dame
Notre Dame (25-17, 13-11) took its fourth ACC series of the year as the Irish won games two and three against Florida State over the weekend.
The return of Seminoles head coach Link Jarrett to South Bend had attendance numbers (by Notre Dame standards) up at Frank Eck Stadium as there was a solid showing by Notre Dame and Florida State fans despite the weather.
Attendance
Game One: 575
Game Two: 710
Game Three: 434
Notre Dame head coach Shawn Stiffler was pleased with his club’s ability to play at a high level despite the distractions of Jarrett’s return.
“I did address it the day before,” Stiffler stated. “I said, ‘Look I can’t hide you from awkwardness, familiarity, whatever you want to call it. It’s going to be here this weekend. Let’s point it out and say what it is, but it’s a very big series for us. You gotta go play.’
“They never brought it up to me and I didn’t hear another word about it after that.”
The Fighting Irish fell in game one 3-2, but Stiffler felt Notre Dame might have played its best game of the weekend despite the loss.
“Not much I’m not happy about, to be honest with you,” explained Stiffler. “I thought the best game we played might have been Friday. I thought we played tremendously on Friday. They hit one more ground ball through the hole to score one more run than we did. It was a very, very well-played game - two really good No. 1s going at it on a Friday night in late April. I thought it was awesome. We lost a tough one. I told them the team they played really well and lost. Sometimes the game gets you and the game got us that night.”
Notre Dame’s veteran club may have been tight or adjusting to the emotions of the series, but they responded in a big week on Saturday and Sunday. In fact, it was a response fans have seen from the Irish over the last two seasons as Notre Dame took game two 12-2 and game three 12-8.
“The way we responded (Saturday) was picture-perfect,” said Stiffler. “Unbelievable start by (Blake) Hely and the way the offense responded when down 1-0 on the first at-bat of the game. Just continued to respond throughout the rest of the day.
“(Sunday), to grab the lead, give it up and come back, we got some leadership in the older guys on this team that just won’t let us fall away.”
PITCHING
Seth Voltz’s pitching rotation has gone through a couple transitions this season and the latest is figuring out life without All-American LHP Jack Findlay, who had Tommy John surgery last week in New York.
Davidson grad transfer Blake Hely has stepped up big the last two weekends as Stiffler and Voltz have made it clear they need more from him. Last weekend against, then No. 8 Virginia, Hely went 7.1 innings giving up six hits, two runs, three walks while striking out eight and then followed it up going 7.0 innings allowing five hits, two runs, one walk and eight strikeouts against Florida State.
What has led to Hely’s rise? Belief and comfort, but also the fact Hely knows his team needs him to come through with big innings.
“We’re short-handed a little bit right now, so we as coaches have to believe in him a little more,” Stiffler explained. “The leash is a little longer and he’s responded with that. He’s just not coming out of the game. He just refuses. Innings 4-7, he gets better in my opinion. The ball sinks a little bit more and he gets some easy outs. He’s been an unbelievable shot in the arm the last two weekends.”
Notre Dame RHP Jackson Dennies suffered an arm injury against Clemson, the same weekend Findlay was injured, which left the staff seriously concerned as the Irish were down two starters, but it appears there is good news on the horizon for the Louisiana native.
Dennies could return to the lineup this weekend as the Irish host NC State if all goes to plan. It would be a significant boost to the rotation as Dennies boasts a 2.80 ERA and has recorded 38 strikeouts in 35.1 innings while starting 10 games.
”We’re expecting him to be back by next weekend,” stated Stiffler. “He’s feeling better every day. Look, we’re gun-shy right now. We’re super cautious. I’m not the type of coach that runs the bullpen. I’m very cautious when it comes to arms.”
The Irish were projected as a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament last week, so while Dennies return is crucial for the long-term, Notre Dame also isn’t going to rush him given the stakes coming in May and potentially June.
One reason why the Irish can be a little patient despite being down a starter is the emergence of true freshman Caden Spivey. The Vidalia (Ga.) native has been a pleasant surprise from the pen as Spivey holds a record of 3-0, 2.13 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 25.1 innings while giving up just nine runs on the year.
Spivey’s ERA would be No. 3 in the ACC, but doesn’t qualify for the category due to innings pitched, but it still speaks for itself.
“I think we got him an opportunity right as ACC play started and he’s really been good ever since,” said Stiffler. “He does two things really, really well. He’s aggressive with his fastball and he is able to throw his breaking ball behind in the count. He got into a little bit of trouble there in the seventh, but he has that slider and gets that comeback. He’s a very confident kid. He’s a tough kid. He’s a competitor.
“We love having him out there. I really do.”
Junior RHP Matt Bedford hasn’t had the season he expected, but the staff continues to have faith in the Staten Island native. Bedford came on strong at the end of last year as he made 10 appearances following the conclusion of the academic semester and was on track to be a key piece of the Irish bullpen this season.
Life changes quickly as Bedford had to have surgery on his hip, which caused him to miss fall ball and then get a late start throwing during winter workouts.
”We’re going to have to keep pressing it,” Stiffler said. “I believe in Matt’s stuff. We didn’t know what we had in Matt because he played a key role at the end and then he had his hip surgery this offseason. He didn’t pitch in the fall and he really didn’t pitch until two weeks before the season. We didn't know what we were getting. Coach Voltz has never had an opportunity to really work with him because you’re into the season. We didn’t know what we were getting.”
Bedord’s velocity and strikeout ability is needed and getting him work during midweek games could be an option.
“We love the arm,” stated Stiffler. “We love the fastball and he’s super competitive. He wants to be better than he was today and today he played a significant role for us. He wants to be better and we would love for him to - I think you saw early on, I tried to start him and I tried to close him. Hoping something will click here down the stretch.”
OFFENSE
It’s not a secret Notre Dame has been inconsistent at the plate this season as the Irish have scored just 254 runs on the year, which is No. 13 in the ACC, but there have been signs of life over the last month.
The improvement at the plate starts with DH/catcher Vinny Martinez, who is batting .281 with nine home runs, six doubles and 29 RBI. In fact, Martinez is almost good for a big performance at Frank Eck as eight of his long balls have come at home this year.
Carter Putz added two home runs in game three and Jack Penney hit a grand slam on Saturday, but the story of the weekend was the gritty performance of graduate student Brooks Coetzee. The right fielder was also injured during the Clemson series, but Coetzee wasn’t going to miss the Florida State series.
“How about having Brooks Coetzee back,” laughed Stiffler. “He broke his hand against Clemson. We’re literally finding everything we can to tape his hand to the bat. He can’t physically close his hand on the bat all week. Our trainer did an unbelievable job with him. That’s as good of a weekend as he’s had.
Stiffler admits Coetzee will likely see his innings dial back when possible to give him time to recover, but the veteran is in it for the long run and his team has noticed.
“When guys come back and do things like that, that just charges the rest of your team,” explained Stiffler. “You build off that energy. You could see me maybe lessening him midweek and stuff like that. It’s just going to be a pain tolerance thing for him right now.”
POSTSEASON
There is certainly no guarantee Notre Dame would be in the Field of 64 given the selection committee's track record of hosing the Irish over the last two seasons, but it’s also worth tracking as Stiffler’s group is now fighting for second-place in the ACC Atlantic.
Notre Dame will enter this weekend with a record of 13-11 in ACC play while Boston College sits at 13-10. It’s safe to say neither team is catching Wake Forest at 16-4, but the NCAA Tournament resume can be built over the next month.
Stiffler hasn’t let his mind go to postseason play yet, but if the Irish keep taking series, the first-year coach will have to think about it.
“To be honest with you, I have not even looked at the RPI,” Stiffler said. “We have to qualify for the ACC Tournament and play good against the back nine. I’m one of those guys - I can’t even get my mind around that right now. I know we’re not in a host situation right now, so I’m not even going get my mind around that. We need to go play good baseball. We’re still very thin on the mound right now. That can catch up. I don’t know if we had three more outs in us (Sunday).”
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