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Notre Dame Baseball

Game Thread | (G2) Notre Dame at Florida State

March 16, 2024
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Notre Dame (11-6, 0-4) at Florida State (16-0, 1-0) 


When: March 16

Time: 3:00 PM ET 

Where: Mike Martin Field at Dick Howser Stadium | Tallahassee, Fla. 

Watch: ACC Network Extra (ESPN+)


QUICK FACTS

- Florida State leads the all-time series 23-16.

- The Irish hold a record of 7-9 in Tallahassee. 

- Notre Dame enters the weekend No. 5 in the nation with 38 home runs. 

- 11 players have hit home runs for Notre Dame this season. 

- INF Estevan Moreno is the only player in Division I baseball to hit three home runs in two separate games this season. 

- Notre Dame’s .982 fielding percentage ranks No. 3 in the ACC and No. 14 nationally. 

PROBABLE STARTERS

SATURDAY

SCHOOL NAME RECORD (APPEARANCES) ERA IP STRIKEOUTS
Notre Dame RHP Matt Bedford 1-0 (5) 5.28 15.1 8
Florida State LHP Jamie Arnold 4-0  0.00 22.0 32

SUNDAY

SCHOOL NAME RECORD (APPEARANCES) ERA IP STRIKEOUTS
Notre Dame TBA - - - -
Florida State RHP Conner Whittaker 2-0 (3) 3.63 17.1 23

 

WHAT TO WATCH 

Fast starts for Notre Damen’s opponents are becoming a trend early into 2024 campaign and on Friday, Florida State’s fast start was too much for Shawn Stiffler’s club to overcome. The Irish actually jumped out 1-0 as Connor Hincks hit a solo shot in the first inning. Florida State quickly answered with five run in the bottom of the first, which was almost expected at this point. 

That said, Notre Dame’s bullpen once again stepped up and gave quality innings. Sammy Cooper and David Lally Jr. combined to pitch three innings of one-hit baseball with three strikeouts. Sophomore Rory Fox pitched three innings giving up four hits, one run while striking out two. Freshman DJ Helwig entered in the bottom of the eighth and gave up two hits and the Noles got an insurance run, but the hole was dug in the first inning. 

At the plate, Notre Dame struggled for most of the night. The Irish managed seven hits and batted just .212 and .167 with runners in scoring position. Despite cold bats, Notre Dame left the bases loaded in the seventh and then stranded two runners in the eighth. 

Notre Dame also struck out 13 times as Florida State starter Cam Leiter finished his night with 10 strikeouts. The Irish need to find patience at the plate and work the count. Notre Dame falls behind 0-2 far too often. 

Saturday will be a tough task as Florida State will throw its ace in LHP Jamie Arnold, who is 4-0 on the year with 32 strikeouts in 22.0 innings and boasts a perfect 0.00 ERA. The good news is Notre Dame roughed up Arnold a year ago as he gave up five runs in 1.1 innings last April in South Bend in a relief role. 

NOTRE DAME LINEUP

NAME POSITION BATTING AVERAGE
TJ Williams CF .373
David Glancey LF .264
Connor Hincks 1B .375
Simon Baumgardt 3B .353
Jack Penney SS .217
Tito Flores DH .261
Brady Gumpf RF .292
Estevan Moreno 2B .277
Carson Tinney C .192

FLORIDA STATE LINEUP

NAME POSITION BATTING AVERAGE
Max Williams CF .296
Cam Smith 3B .507
James Tibbs III RF .403
Jaime Ferrer LF .311
Drew Faurot 2B .406
Marco Dinges DH .372
Daniel Cantu 1B .364
Jaxson West C .391
Alex Lodise SS .312

OFFENSIVE STATS (Entering the series)

STAT NOTRE DAME FLORIDA STATE
Batting Avg. .277 .376
Runs 145 180
Hits 157 207
2B 29 41
3B 4 8
Home Runs 38 27
RBI 131 154
SLG% .543 .627
Walks 72 96
Hit by Pitch 25 15
Strikeouts 143 99
OB% .379 .468

PITCHING STATS (Entering the series) 

STAT NOTRE DAME FLORIDA STATE
ERA 6.73 2.93
Hits 143 108
Runs 109 56
ER 104 44
Walks 70 74
Strikeouts 128 202
Opponent Batting Avg. .268 .218

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