Game Thread | (G2) NC State at Notre Dame

NC State (30-15, 9-13) at Notre Dame (26-17, 14-11) 

When: May 5th

Time: 5:00 PM ET 

Where: Frank Eck Stadium | South Bend, Ind.

Watch: ACC Network Extra 

QUICK FACTS

- The all-time series between the two programs is tied 13-13. 

- The Irish are 9-4 at home against the Wolfpack. 

- Notre Dame has won the last three series against NC State. 

- The weekend series will be the final home ACC series for Notre Dame this season.

- Notre Dame took game one 9-7 on Thursday evening. 

PROBABLE STARTERS

Friday

Saturday

OFFENSIVE STATS (Entering the series)

PITCHING STATS (Entering the series) 

- Friday night was a thriller at Frank Eck as it was an intense and sloppy game by both teams. Notre Dame made the least costly mistakes and got timely pitching from Radek Birkholz and Will Mercer to escape with the 9-7 win following a two-run homer by Vinny Martinez in the bottom of the eighth. 

LHP Aidan Tyrell has been rock solid this season, but had his first rocky appearance of the year as he gave up eight hits, six runs (3 ER), four walks and three strikeouts in 4.2 innings of work. Tyrell struggled to find the strike zone, but the good news for the Irish is he hasn’t struggled with that all season. Birkholz gave the Irish 3.1 innings of one-hit baseball, which was a home run, but the sophomore was solid and earned his first win of the season. Veteran Will Mercer earned his first save of the year going three up, three down in the ninth. 

Offensively, Notre Dame had another strong showing recording nine runs and 14 hits. TJ Williams, Zack Prajzner, Vinny Martinez and Estevan Moreno all recorded multiple hits. Brooks Coetzee was hit twice, so he bumps up to 28 hit by pitches on the year, which leads the nation. 

Notre Dame didn’t necessarily have a “big” inning, but the Irish spread the runs out over the game, which was a welcome sight as Shawn Stiffler’s group moved runners all night. The Irish went 4-for-12 with two outs, but more importantly, Notre Dame finished 6-for-14 with runners in scoring position.

The Irish will need to clean a few areas up fielding, especially when it comes to handling bunts. NC State had the opportunity to take advantage of playing small ball, but the Wolfpack made more costly mistakes in the field, but also unexplainable decisions on the bases. 

- RHP Blake Hely (3-1, 4.53) will take the mound on Friday and he’s coming off his two best starts. Against Virginia, Hely went 7.1 innings giving up just two runs on six hits and then followed it up last weekend giving up five hits and two runs against Florida State in 7.0 innings of work. There is a growing confidence from Hely and it could be due to him knowing Notre Dame needs him to go long innings. Stiffler mentioned last week that they are letting Hely work through trouble a little more because they need him to stretch his innings out. 

“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 will look to take the series and a quick start on offense would be beneficial. The Irish need to start sending a message early in games and throwing an early uppercut on Friday could be huge as NC State is struggling. 

Notre Dame Lineup

NC State Lineup

Notre Dame Fighting Irish Classic Jacquard Polo