The Notre Dame baseball team earned its first series win of the 2026 season over the weekend, beating Florida Atlantic two games to one in Boca Raton, Florida. After dropping Friday’s game 1-7, the Irish responded with a strong offensive showing on Saturday, beating the Owls 14-1, and won Sunday’s rubber match convincingly with a 7-1 score.
Friday night
The Irish looked woefully overmatched on Friday night, managing just one run on five hits compared to FAU’s seven runs and 11 hits on the night. After a quiet first inning, the Irish struck first in the top of the second, scoring shortstop Noah Coy after back-to-back two-out singles from freshmen infielders Dylan Passo and Jamie Zee for the pair’s first collegiate hits. The Owls were quick to respond, however, pushing three runs across in the bottom of the frame after a three-run homer from second baseman John Martinez on a 1-0 count. The score remained 3-1 Owls until the bottom of the eighth, when FAU plated four more runs and back-to-back hits from first baseman Patrick Ward and Martinez. The Irish went down one-two-three in the top of the ninth, ending the game at 7-1 Owls.
FAU starter James Litman silenced Irish bats all night, fanning nine and giving up one run on three hits and two walks over four innings of work. Irish ace Jack Radel rebounded nicely after giving up three runs in the second, going on to pitch two more scoreless innings before handing control to senior Minnesota transfer Noah Rooney. Rooney blanked the Owls for three innings before running into trouble in the eighth. He eventually gave way to freshman Garrett Snyder, who closed out the frame. The Irish managed just one run on five hits and struck out a ghastly 15 times on Friday, while leaving 10 on base and going 1-for-7 with men in scoring position. FAU tagged the Irish for 11 hits and seven runs, while striking out eight times and stranding seven.
Saturday
Hoping for a rebound in Saturday’s contest, Irish head coach Shawn Stiffler turned to highly-touted pitching recruit Caden Crowell to right the ship. After escaping a wild first inning in which he walked three batters and plunked another, Crowell settled in for two clean innings before passing the ball to senior Xavier Hirsch, who provided four frames of one-run ball, allowing just two hits and striking out six FAU batsmen.
Meanwhile, at the plate, the Irish bats woke from their Friday slumber. Once again, the Irish struck in the top of the second when a Passo sacrifice fly scored left fielder Davis Johnson. Then, in the third, lefty designated hitter Bino Watters pushed center fielder Drew Berkland across with a single up the middle, then scored on a throwing error by FAU shortstop Brando Leroux. Singles from sophomore outfielder Jayce Lee and Coy made an ensuing sacrifice fly and put the score 4-0 Irish at the end of the top of the third inning, but the Irish weren’t done yet. Watters opened the fourth frame with a towering blast to deep right field for a solo home run. Johnson added a sacrifice fly and Lee a solo shot to right field to make the score 7-0 Irish. FAU finally got on the board in the bottom half of the inning with a solo homer from left fielder Michael Perazza to make the score 7-1 at the end of the fourth.
The Irish went on to score two more at the top of the sixth, three more in the eighth and one in the ninth, while freshman Will Jaisle took over for Hirsch and pitched a clean eighth inning. Sophomore Kellan Klosterman closed out the bottom of the ninth, ending the game at 14-1 Irish. The Irish offense totaled 14 runs on 13 hits and six walks, stranding 10 on base. On the mound, the collective of Crowell, Hirsch, Jaisle and Klosterman combined to allow just one run on two hits, while issuing six free passes.
Sunday
The teams met for a final game on Sunday with the series tied one game each. Stanford graduate transfer Ty Uber got the starting nod for the Irish, squaring off against FAU freshman Garrett Grant in his first collegiate start. Both starters reeled off four scoreless innings, though neither team went without chances to score in the first four frames. The Irish loaded the bases with one out in the top of the second but came home empty-handed after Owls shortstop Leroux snagged a screaming liner off the bat of Passo and doubled up Coy at second base to end the inning. In the bottom of the fourth, FAU threatened with a man on third with one out, but Uber induced consecutive ground outs.
FAU coach John McCormack brought in junior Virginia Tech transfer Ryan Buckler to replace Grant in the top of the fifth inning. The Irish held a 2-0 lead until the top of the eighth frame, where sloppy play from FAU led to four more Irish runs. Quatrani led off the inning with a hit-by-pitch and advanced to second on a wild pitch. He came around to score on a Brzustewicz single. Two batters later, Brzustewicz scored on a throwing error by Collier as he tried to field a bunt from Coy, who eventually ended up on second. Lee, who reached base on a single earlier in the inning, scored on a wild pitch, and Coy advanced to third. Coy later scored on an infield single from Barth, making the Irish lead 6-0 after the top of the eighth. Freshman outfielder Caleb Ricks came around to score for the Irish in the top of the ninth, while FAU finally scored after a Martinez single scored Collier from second, making the final score 7-1 Irish.
On Saturday and Sunday, FAU gave the Irish more chances than they deserved through fielding errors and general sloppy play. On Sunday’s deciding game, Leroux’s throwing error led to the Irish taking a 2-0 lead; and on Saturday, with the score 2-0 Irish in the top of the third, FAU third baseman TJ Gramesty’s throwing error and another error by Leroux led to an unearned run and four runs total in the frame, giving the Irish an insurmountable 5-0 lead through three and a half innings. Finally, while not an error in the scorebook, Marshall Lipsey’s steal attempt in the first inning of Saturday’s contest was a mental error the Owls regretted. After reaching base on a walk, Lipsey took off for second and was cut down by Quatrani. Crowell faced command issues throughout the first inning, which makes the steal attempt so puzzling. Crowell went on to walk the next three batters, so if Lipsey had held still at first, he would have been walked to second and probably would have scored. It didn’t make sense for Lipsey to put himself at risk against a young pitcher struggling with command in his first college start. Credit goes to the Irish pitching staff for protecting the leads the Notre Dame offense (and the FAU defense) gave them to win the final two games in Boca Raton, and the series as well.
This weekend
Looking ahead, Notre Dame plays in the Live Like Lou Jax College Baseball Classic this weekend in Jacksonville, Florida. The Live Like Lou Foundation raises awareness about and supports ALS research nationwide; this is the first year the foundation is sponsoring a college baseball tournament, though it has held ALS awareness days in the past with MLB teams like the Atlanta Braves and the Texas Rangers.
In Jacksonville, the Irish will take on three power conference opponents. On Friday, they’ll take on Central Florida, while on Saturday, the Irish will play defending national champions LSU, before closing out the series on Sunday against in-state rival Indiana. Central Florida, coming off a sweep of Siena in which they outscored the Saints 44-1, plays in-state rival and 20th-ranked Miami on Tuesday night before heading north to Jacksonville. First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 6 p.m. EST.
Ranked No. 2 in the country by Baseball America, LSU features a roster full of returning players from last year’s championship squad, including shortstop Steven Milam and SEC Player of the Year candidate centerfielder Derek Curiel. The Tigers are likely to start junior Kansas transfer Cooper Moore on the bump against the Irish, with play scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. on Saturday.
To conclude the weekend, the Irish will play Indiana on Sunday morning at 11 a.m. The Hoosiers will look to rebound with a midweek game against Bradley before heading down to Jacksonville.
Saturday’s matchup against LSU puts Stiffler in an interesting position with regard to the starting rotation this weekend. Does Friday ace Radel get the nod on Saturday against LSU instead of Crowell, who started last Saturday? While Crowell notched three scoreless frames in his college debut last week, he frequently lost command of the strike zone and was fortunate to escape a jam in the first inning. Radel will likely get the starting nod against the Tigers, meaning Crowell will open the series against Central Florida on Friday. Uber figures to start against the Hoosiers on Sunday morning. Streaming coverage of all the weekend’s games can be found at watch.d1baseball.com.
