Game Thread | (G2) Notre Dame at Virginia Tech
Notre Dame (9-3, 0-1) at Virginia Tech (9-3, 1-0)
When: March 9th
Time: 6:00 PM ET
Where: English Field at Atlantic Union Bank Park | Blacksburg, Va.
Watch: ACCNX
QUICK FACTS
(Entering the series)
- Notre Dame leads the all-time series 18-10, including a record of 6-3 at Virginia Tech
- The Irish enter the series No. 4 in the nation in home runs with 32 and No. 2 in home runs per game at 2.91
- INF Estevan Moreno has hit six home runs in the last three games with hat tricks last Saturday at Tennessee Tech and on Tuesday against Purdue
- Notre Dame has combined for five savers entering the weekend, which is tied for No. 1 in the ACC
- The Irish lead the ACC in fielding percentage at .990
PROBABLE STARTERS
SATURDAY
| SCHOOL | NAME | RECORD (APPEARANCES) | ERA | IP | STRIKEOUTS |
| Notre Dame | RHP Tobey McDonough | 1-0 (3) | 1.69 | 5.1 | 6 |
| Virginia Tech | RHP Wyatt Parliament | 1-0 (3) | 3.86 | 14.0 | 11 |
SUNDAY
| SCHOOL | NAME | RECORD (APPEARANCES) | ERA | IP | STRIKEOUTS |
| Notre Dame | RHP Matt Bedford | 1-1 (4) | 3.46 | 13.0 | 7 |
| Virginia Tech | TBA | - | - | - | - |
NOTRE DAME LINEUP
| NAME | POSITION | BATTING AVERAGE |
| Jack Penney | SS | .200 |
| David Glancey | LF | .281 |
| Connor Hincks | 1B | .326 |
| Tito Flores | RF | .240 |
| Simon Baumgardt | 3B | .327 |
| DM Jefferson | DH | .154 |
| Estevan Moreno | 2B | .290 |
| Joey Spence | C | .333 |
| TJ Williams | CF | .432 |
VIRGINIA TECH LINEUP
| NAME | POSITION | BATTING AVERAGE |
| Christian Martin | 2B | .366 |
| Carson DeMartini | 3B | .283 |
| Chris Cannizzaro | LF | .444 |
| Eddie Michelett Jr. | RF | .317 |
| Sam Tackett | 1B | .256 |
| Ben Watson | CF | .378 |
| David McCann | DH | ..267 |
| Gehrig Ebel | C | .400 |
| Clay Grady | SS | .350 |
- Notre Dame failed to get its offense and defense going on Friday evening as Virginia Tech took game one 11-3. It was a dominating performance from the Hokies led by freshman RHP Brett Renforw, who went 8.0 innings giving up just three hits while strikeout 10.
At the plate, the Irish went 3-for-28 (.107) and struck out 12 times on the day after Shawn Stiffler shook up the lineup a touch as he moved second baseman Estevan Moreno up to the sixth in the batting order.
It’s tough to find a bright spot from game one, but it’d have to be sophomore RHP Caden Spivey. Spivey had started the first three weekends, so the relief role wasn’t a huge surprise, but entering the game with the score at 10-3 in the fifth inning was a bit odd. Regardless, Spivey had a decent outing as he gave up three hits and one run in two innings, but he also tallied four strikeouts, which could serve as a confidence builder.
Notre Dame will start graduate transfer RHP Tobey McDonough on Saturday and it will be his second start for the Irish. The 6-foot-3, 210-pounder’s first start was at FIU where he went 2.0 innings giving up two hits, no runs and registered three strikeouts. McDonough has struck out six in 5.1 innings and more importantly, he holds an ERA of 1.69.
Virginia Tech batted .407 (11-for-27) with runners on base and that’s another detail the Irish need to clean up. It’s hard to win giving up 16 hits, but it’s even harder when 11 of them came with baserunners.
The Irish will also need to find a way to get on base against the Hokies. Notre Dame needs to simply refresh and find a way to get good at-bats as they failed to put any pressure on Renfrow, which led to him throwing just 96 pitches in eight innings of work. Patience will serve the Irish well.
*Lineups will be added when released
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