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Notre Dame Baseball

Game Thread | Western Michigan at Notre Dame

March 19, 2024
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Western Michigan (9-9) at Notre Dame (11-8) 


When: March 19

Time: 4:30 PM ET 

Where: Frank Eck Stadium | South Bend, Ind. 

Watch: ACC Network Extra (ESPN+)


QUICK FACTS

- Notre Dame leads the all-time series 64-59-1. 

- The Irish won the last meeting 2-1 in 2023. 

- Western Michigan is 5-0 in true road this season.

- Notre Dame ranks No. 7 in the country with 42 home runs, but are No. 3 in the ACC in the category. Virginia Tech (51) and Duke (49) have hit more dingers, while this weekend’s opponent, Miami, has also hit 42. 

- Notre Dame’s .980 fielding percentage ranks No. 23 nationally. 

PROBABLE STARTERS

SUNDAY

SCHOOL NAME RECORD  ERA IP STRIKEOUTS
Notre Dame RHP Hagan Ward 0-0 9.82 3.2 2
Western Michigan RHP Matt Hoover 1-0 7.62 13.0 9

 

WHAT TO WATCH 

Notre Dame will have the chance to flush the Florida State series on Tuesday as Western Michigan comes to South Bend for a mid-week game. The Irish need a win to gain momentum into this weekend’s series against Miami, which should favor the Irish as the temperatures will be in the high 40s. 

Shawn Stiffler’s club needs to find a way to win against the Broncos, whether it looks sexy or is a grind-it-out affair. A win is a win and Notre Dame needs one. 

The ideal game for Notre Dame would be to see the pitching staff carry the momentum from the weekend into Tuesday. It was far from perfect against Florida State, but Notre Dame found some momentum by playing low-scoring games against one of the top offenses in the country. It should be a group of pitchers with confidence. 

On the flip side, Notre Dame’s offense needs to find its groove again. The bats had carried the team into last weekend, so they were due to struggle, especially against a Florida State staff with multiple future big leaguers. That said, Notre Dame will have the chance to face a hittable Broncos pitching staff and it can put them in a good rhythm for the weekend. 

It’s been a tough two weeks, but looking at D1Baseball’s rankings today, Florida State (18-0) is ranked No. 12 and Virginia Tech (14-4) checks in at No. 19. Notre Dame will need to start winning series in the ACC, but the schedule appears to be a bit tougher than it first looked on paper when the season started. 

However, Notre Dame simply needs to get a win and go from there. Baseball is a hard and weird game where a simple win can change things in a hurry. 

NOTRE DAME LINEUP

NAME POSITION BATTING AVERAGE
TJ Williams CF .379
David Glancey DH .262
Connor Hincks 1B .333
Simon Baumgardt 3B .333
Tito Flores  RF .240
Jack Penney SS .197
Brady Gumpf LF .302
Joey Spence C .250
Estevan Moreno 2B .259

WESTERN MICHIGAN LINEUP

NAME POSITION BATTING AVERAGE
Jackson Kitchen CF .262
Michael Maloney SS .304
Cade Sullivan 1B .403
Dylan Nevar RF .347
CJ Richmond DH .391
Connor Ostrander LF .222
Ben Campos C .133
Brendan Harrity 3B .246
Grady Mee 2B .292

OFFENSIVE STATS 

STAT NOTRE DAME WESTERN MICHIGAN
Batting Avg. .266 .315
Runs 154 149
Hits 176 197
2B 35 37
3B 6 4
Home Runs 42 21
RBI 140 139
SLG% .527 .487
Walks 79 105
Hit by Pitch 30 31
Strikeouts 177 141
OB% .367 .431

PITCHING STATS 

STAT NOTRE DAME WESTERN MICHIGAN
ERA 6.57 6.78
Hits 171 202
Runs 125 145
ER 119 116
Walks 76 98
Strikeouts 148 140
Opponent Batting Avg. .271 .315

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