Game Thread | Notre Dame vs. Northwestern (Wrigley Field)
Notre Dame (29-19) vs. Northwestern (8-38)
When: May 16th
Time: 6:00 PM ET
Where: Wrigley Field | Chicago, Ill.
Watch: Big10+
QUICK FACTS
- Notre Dame leads the overall series 77-60-1.
- The Irish beat Northwestern 12-0 on April 4th.
- Tuesday will mark the first time in program Notre Dame has played at Wrigley Field.
PROBABLE STARTERS
| SCHOOL | NAME | RECORD (APPEARANCES) | ERA | IP | STRIKEOUTS |
| Notre Dame | RHP David Lally Jr. | 0-0 | 6.00 | 15.0 | 13 |
| Northwestern | RHP Matt McClure | 1-6 | 6.38 | 55.0 | 36 |
OFFENSIVE STATS (Entering the series)
| STAT | Northwestern | Notre Dame |
| Batting Avg. | .249 | .246 |
| Runs | 241 | 277 |
| Hits | 392 | 389 |
| 2B | 104 | 69 |
| 3B | 2 | 7 |
| Home Runs | 34 | 57 |
| RBI | 213 | 250 |
| SLG% | .382 | .407 |
| Walks | 179 | 190 |
| Hit by Pitch | 56 | 84 |
| Strikeouts | 391 | 418 |
| OB% | .343 | .355 |
PITCHING STATS (Entering the series)
| STAT | Northwestern | Notre Dame |
| ERA | 8.72 | 4.37 |
| Hits | 507 | 385 |
| Runs | 418 | 236 |
| ER | 380 | 205 |
| Walks | 207 | 178 |
| Strikeouts | 342 | 398 |
| Opponent Batting Avg. | .316 | .242 |
- It’s a big week for the Irish as Notre Dame will start its push to the NCAA Tournament. Shawn Stiffler’s club will leave Tuesday and will not return to campus until after next week’s ACC Tournament.
Notre Dame is coming off a three-game sweep of Akron and will get a final tune up against Northwestern at Wrigley Field before a huge series against No. 22 Boston College this weekend.
Notre Dame Prepping For Big Week at Wrigley and Fenway
Freshman RHP David Lally Jr. will get the starting nod on Tuesday and it will be his first start since April 25th as the Irish had a midweek game canceled against Bowling Green on May 2nd. Lally also started in the first game against Northwestern and went 3.0 innings giving four hits with no runs while striking out three.
Notre Dame will want to keep the pen fresh for the weekend, so it’s likely Matt Bedford, Ryan Lynch, Just Moore, Ricky Reeth and potentially Carter Bosch will be options for the Irish out of the pen.
- At the plate, Notre Dame has struggled the last two weekends as the Irish scored just 12 runs against Akron and nine runs against NC State. Now, last weekend was a get-through-it scenario as Notre Dame had exams, so getting to face a poor Wildcats pitching staff could be just what the doctor ordered for Stiffler’s club.
Any type of momentum gained on Tuesday would be a positive heading into the clash with Boston College.
- Third baseman Jack Penney left game one against Akron with what appeared to be a shoulder injury and was scheduled to get an MRI on Monday. Casey Kmet and Nick DeMarco filled in for him over the weekend.
*Lineups will be added when released.