ND is on a 7 game winning streak
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are now on a seven game winning streak after dismantling Cal over the weekend inside Frank Eck Stadium. The Irish easily won game 1 on Friday, run-ruled the Bears on Saturday, and on Sunday they did enough to get the job done.
From the ND press release:
Irish Sweep Golden Bears
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – For the second consecutive weekend, the Notre Dame baseball team swept a Golden State newcomer to the ACC as the Irish took a 6-5 win over visiting California to secure a three-game sweep on Sunday afternoon.
The visiting Golden Bears got on the scoreboard first with a two-run home run in the top of the third, but the Irish made that lead a short-lived one with a five-spot in the bottom half of the inning. Davis Johnson and Carson Tinney drew back-t0-back one-out walks, and Bino Watters was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Parker Brzustewicz delivered a big double down the left field line to drive in Johnson and Tinney. Estevan Moreno drew a walk with two outs, and an error by the Golden Bears allowed Watters and Brzustewicz to both score for a 4-2 lead. Nick DeMarco then laced a single to center field to drive in Moreno as the Irish went ahead 5-2.
Ricky Reeth inherited a pair of base runners in the top of the fourth but retired the first three batters he faced in order to shut down the scoring chance. Reeth then induced a trio of grounders for outs in the fifth to keep the Irish up by three.
Cal plated a run in the top of the sixth and added another in the top of the seventh to cut the difference to a run at 5-4. The Irish put together another two-out rally in the bottom of the seventh. Brzustewicz reached on an error to keep the inning alive, and Connor Hincks delivered a huge triple to right field, pushing Brzustewicz across home for a 6-4 lead.
Tobey McDonough made a highlight-reel play against the first batter he faced as he fielded a grounder between his legs and lobbed the ball to first for the force out to start the eighth. The Golden Bears, however, used back-t0-back hits to drive in a run and again make it a one-run game.
The top of the ninth saw Cal get a runner on base with one out, and that same runner got into scoring position on a wild pitch. McDonough, however, locked down on the Golden Bear batters and induced a pair of groundouts to end the game.
Jackson Dennies went three-plus on the mound and struck out one in the start for the Irish. Ricky Reeth collected the win with 3.0 innings of work and three strikeouts. Oisin Lee put in an inning of work on the mound, and Tobey McDonough earned his sixth save of the year after closing out the final 2.0 innings with a strikeout for the Irish.
Parker Brzustewicz had a double, two RBI, and scored twice to help pace the Notre Dame offensive efforts. Connor Hincks had a triple, walked once, and drove in a run, and Nick DeMarco added a hit and an RBI. DM Jefferson posted a hit and drew a walk. Davis Johnson, Carson Tinney, Bino Watters, and Estevan Moreno each scored a run in the victory.
The Irish (24-17, 10-14 ACC) will travel to Purdue for a midweek contest against the Boilermakers on Tuesday, April 29. The game is scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m.