Notre Dame baseball went 0-3 last weekend at No. 8 Florida State, falling to 17-18 overall and 7-14 in Atlantic Coast Conference play. The Irish dropped Friday’s opener 11-0, lost a close contest Saturday 9-7 and then fell in Sunday’s final game by a score of 6-4. The Irish are now under .500 for the first time since their season opening loss at Florida Atlantic.
Friday’s 11-0 drubbing was a forgettable game, but there were some bright spots. Notre Dame kept the contest close in the early innings, led by a solid performance from starter Xavier Hirsch. Hirsch, a senior righty making his second start of the season, threw five innings, allowing four runs, two of which were unearned. After posting two good starts in consecutive ACC series, Hirsch looks to be the Irish’s new Friday night starter. At the plate, the Irish were held to five hits, sophomore first baseman Parker Brzustewicz leading the lineup going 2-2 with a walk on the night.
The Irish came out Saturday eager to even the series with the hosting Seminoles, and they almost succeeded. The Irish showed a lot of resolve and toughness in Saturday’s game, but ultimately couldn’t take home a win. After a rough start — FSU led 9-2 after five innings — the Irish put up four runs in the sixth inning. They rallied for another run in the ninth, but ultimately fell short, falling by a final score of 9-7.
Irish ace Jack Radel wasn’t his usual dominant self Saturday, giving up six runs through three innings of work. Facing a seven-run deficit in the top of the sixth, the Irish put up a four-spot to pull within three of the Seminoles. In the inning, Notre Dame set the table with a double and a walk. Sophomore Bino Watters, the designated hitter in Saturday’s contest, then slugged a double to bring sophomore shortstop Noah Coy home. The next batter, Brzustewicz, came through with a two-run single, scoring junior catcher Mark Quatrani and Watters. Three batters later, freshman third baseman Jamie Zee capped the Irish rally with a single to score Brzustewicz.
With freshman lefty Caden Crowell neutralizing the Seminole lineup, the Irish entered the ninth needing three runs to extend the game. After a walk and a single, Coy scored on a muffed ground ball. However, with the next batter grounding into a double play to end the inning, the Irish fell two runs short, the Seminoles coming away with a 9-7 victory.
Offensive bright spots for the Irish included Watters’ 3-5 afternoon and three RBIs from Brzustewicz. On the mound, Crowell twirled four innings of one-run ball in a commanding performance out of the bullpen. Crowell seems to be embracing a new midweek starter/weekend relief role with his excellent performances in his last two games against Valparaiso and Florida State.
Freshman lefty Dylan Singleton was the starting pitcher for the Irish on Sunday as they sought to avoid a winless weekend. In just his second start of the season, Singleton delivered a gritty performance that put the Irish in a position to take the contest. He pitched 3.2 solid innings, allowing two runs on five hits. He was relieved in the fourth by sophomore righty Oisin Lee, who spun 1.1 scoreless frames to keep the Irish in the game.
At the plate, the Irish scored runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings off RBIs from Quatrani, freshman first baseman Dylan Passo and Zee. The Irish held a 4-2 lead after six complete, and it seemed as if they’d escape the series sweep.
The pesky Seminoles, however, used a big seventh inning to make a late comeback, scoring four times in the inning, thus sweeping the Irish. At the plate, leaders for the Irish included Quatrani, who went 2-4 Sunday; Watters, who walked three times and scored a run; and Zee, who paced his peers with two RBIs.
With their 0-3 performance in Tallahassee, the Irish are now 1-11 in their last four ACC series. They’re sitting at 7-14 in conference play with nine conference games remaining. To make the postseason, they’d likely have to be .500 or better in the ACC, meaning they’d have to go 8-1 against their remaining opponents in order to be in bubble conversations for the postseason.
There were bright spots this weekend for the Irish, though. Hirsch and Singleton delivered solid starts Friday and Sunday, respectively, keeping the Irish in the games, and they may be bookend starters going forward with Radel locking down Saturday duties.
At the plate, Watters had a nice weekend, going 5-8 across the slate and collecting four walks. Brzustewicz had a solid Friday and Saturday, going 2-2 in the opener and leading the Irish in RBIs Saturday. Finally, Crowell delivered a great four innings out of the bullpen Saturday.
As sports writer Ethan Laslo noted two weeks ago, bullpen struggles have plagued the Irish during their recent slide, and those struggles were evident against the Seminoles. The Irish were within striking distance Friday and held a two-run lead Sunday, but implosions in later innings sunk the Irish. The offense, which ranks around the middle tier of ACC squads, just doesn’t score enough runs to cover for the bullpen’s woes.
Notre Dame has a chance to wash the sour taste of losing out of its mouth with a Wednesday trip up to Lansing, MI, where the team will take on Michigan State at 6 p.m. This weekend, Notre Dame will host No. 24 Boston College for three games.
