Notre Dame Ready for National Spotlight in Live Like Lou Classic

The college baseball season is a grind.

It’s hard to call three games on the second weekend a true measuring stick, especially with more than 50 games still to play, but this weekend offers a real opportunity for Notre Dame to make a statement.

The Irish (2-1) head to Jacksonville for the Live Like Lou Jax Baseball Classic at Vystar Ballpark, and there won’t be a shortage of firepower in Duval. 

Notre Dame opens Friday night against UCF (3-1) with right-hander Jack Radel on the mound. He’ll face Knights head coach Rich Wallace, the very coach who originally brought him to South Bend.

There will be some familiar faces in the UCF dugout. Roman Kimball (0-1) pitched for the Irish during the 2022 season before transferring to South Carolina. Now in his first year at UCF, he’s working out of the bullpen.

Former Notre Dame outfielder Jack Zyska is also on staff under Wallace as the Assistant Director of Player Development and Outfield Coordinator.

Saturday presents the marquee matchup. Freshman left-hander Caden Crowell is slated to start against defending national champion and No. 2 LSU (5-0). The Tigers are expected to start Kansas transfer Cooper Moore (1-0, 1.50 ERA), who struck out 11 over six innings last weekend.

The Irish wrap up the event Sunday morning against Indiana Hoosiers baseball (1-3). Neither side has announced a starter, but the game could carry weight for both clubs. Indiana was swept by No. 10 North Carolina last weekend and will be looking to steady itself.

The jump in competition is something Notre Dame hasn’t done often in recent years as the program has looked to ease into the season being a Midwest program. 

This type of early-season gauntlet hasn’t been common for Notre Dame, which historically has eased into the schedule as a Midwest program. Head coach Shawn Stiffler doesn’t view it as a philosophical shift, but more of an opportunity.

“I wouldn't say it's necessarily a change in scheduling philosophy,” Stiffler said. ‘You want to have an opportunity to prepare them for a 30-game challenging ACC conference schedule. The peak events are something that the ACC, the SEC, we're all trying to rotate through. We're going to play at one in Globe Life in two more years as well. That's just an opportunity.” 

Outside of LSU’s national ranking, it’s a chance to measure up against three programs that could very well be playing in June.

In the big picture, Stiffler wants to see how his young roster responds to elite competition.

“You're looking at a high-end regional format there with those four teams,” stated Stiffler. “We believe we have the depth and the ability to compete and be that type of team. We want to go play the best people whenever we can in the best venues.” 

Radel has been on big stages before, so a talented UCF lineup won’t faze him. But he understands what the weekend could mean.

“Every game you play is kind of a measuring stick of where you're at in the season,” explained Radel. “It's going to be great for us to get that competition and make sure that we are fully ready to go each time we play, making sure that we have the guys that we need out there.

“We have to stay on top of our stuff because it could go really good or go really bad.” 

Graduate transfer Drew Berkland brings perspective. With more than 100 collegiate games under his belt, he knows one weekend won’t define Notre Dame’s season, but it can be revealing. 

“Our goal is always to be peaking at the end of the year, in May or June, when we get into regional and postseason play,” Berkland said. “But I think it is a good test of where we're at right now.

“That's an established program that's had a lot of success in LSU and the same with UCF and Indiana. It's a good non-conference slate to start the year. I think it will show how we are at this point in the year, but not an end-all, be-all for the season by any means.” 

WEEKEND SCHEDULE 
Friday | UCF vs. Notre Dame | 6:00 PM ET | Watch on D1Baseball
Saturday | No. 2 LSU vs. Notre Dame | 12:00 PM ET | Watch on D1Baseball
Sunday | Indiana vs. Notre Dame | 11:00 AM ET | Watch on D1Baseball

PROBABLE STARTERS

Friday vs. UCF 

Saturday vs. No. 2 LSU

Sunday vs. Indiana 

OFFENSIVE STATS 

PITCHING STATS 

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