Notre Dame's baseball situation took a turn for the worse over the weekend in Chapel Hill. The Irish went 0-3 against North Carolina, never leading in the series and giving up double-digit points twice. The Irish, currently 15-18 overall and 2-16 in ACC play, have lost 10 straight conference games and are 0-12 in league play outside of South Bend.
Even more concerning is that Notre Dame currently sits in last place in the ACC, two games behind Pittsburgh.
Friday: Notre Dame 0, North Carolina 13 (7 innings)
It's a low bar to clear, but senior right-hander Matt Bedford has been one of Notre Dame's most reliable pitchers this season. Bedford has appeared in the rotation almost every weekend and entered the North Carolina series with a 4.65 ERA in his past four ACC starts. This isn't a great ERA, but it was good enough to keep Notre Dame in a ballgame.
But even he could control the Tar Heels' onslaught this weekend. North Carolina scored seven runs with seven hits, two home runs, and one strikeout in 3 2/3 innings. The Tar Heels beat sophomore right-hander David Lally Jr. even harder, taking five points from him in just the sixth inning.
Immediately, North Carolina grabbed momentum with a decisive pitch in the first inning. With two outs and third base, Parks Harbor smashed a full-count pitch from Bedford into the left field seats. Harbaugh's 12th two-run homer of the year put North Carolina ahead right away.
After scoring his third Tarheel run in the second on an unmanned back-to-back, Casey Cook teed off in Bedford for the third. After punishing the pitcher with the first walk, Cook hit a home run to right-center field, his 10th round trip of the season with the bases loaded, making it 5-0. When Bedford is ejected in the fourth inning, North Carolina adds two more runs.
Meanwhile, Tar Heel starting pitcher Jason DeCaro dominated the Irish from the jump. The freshman right-hander pitched six shutout innings with three strikeouts, a career-best performance, and helped Notre Dame suffer its second shutout loss of the year.
North Carolina's offense praised DeCaro, scoring six more points against Larry and graduate right-hander Will Jacobsen in the sixth inning. After Haber singled to end a four-RBI night, Luke Stephenson hit a three-run blast into the right field seats to give the Irish a dozen points.
Saturday: Notre Dame 2, NC State 7
North Carolina showed no signs of a hangover in Game 2 and immediately attacked the Irish again. Anthony D'Onofrio took the eighth pitch he saw from Jack Ruddell and hit it into center field for the leadoff home run. The North Carolina right fielder had three hits on the day, with two hits and one stolen base.
But Ruddell and the Irish initially responded well to D'Onofrio's invitation. The freshman right-hander struck out the next two batters, limiting his damage in the first inning to just one point. Notre Dame then led off the second run on back-to-back singles by graduate third baseman Simon Baumgart and senior first baseman Connor Hinks, bringing the game-tying shot into scoring position. But Tar Heel starting pitcher Shea Sprague hit a double with runners on second and third base, ending the threat.
North Carolina then had another leadoff outburst in the bottom of the second inning, making the Irish pay for their poor play. After trailing 0-2, Alberto Osuna hit a solo shot into the left field seats to extend the home lead to two points.
D'Onofrio's single led Radel to give up 83 pitches, increasing the lead to three runs in the fifth inning. All things considered, the rookie did a good job of keeping Notre Dame alive, giving up three runs in 4 2/3 innings. He also showed off his best stuff, including punching out six Tar Heels.
After Rudell left the game, Notre Dame finally ended a 12-inning scoreless streak with two outs in the sixth inning. Baumgart hit a single that drove in senior center fielder TJ Williams in a close call at the plate. He then scored on Hinks' single, cutting North Carolina's lead to one run and ending Sprague's start.
But in the blink of an eye, the Tar Heels turned it back to three. Alex Madera walked sophomore right-hander Kaden Spivey to load the bases. He had the biggest hit of the game, a two-run single that gave North Carolina a 5-2 lead.
While Notre Dame was held scoreless against Dalton Pence and Matthew Mathis from the Tar Heel bullpen, North Carolina's offense continued to add points. Vance Honeycutt hit a solo home run in the seventh inning. Madera then scored on a leadoff triple in the eighth inning, making the game a final score of 7-2.
Sunday: Notre Dame 3, NC State 10
In a stark contrast to Friday's game, North Carolina dealt an already reeling Notre Dame team a knockout blow in the final game of the series. The Tar Heels were strong early against sophomore right-hander Rory Fox, allowing eight hits and seven runs in less than four innings. Aidan Ho also got off to a shutout start for the University of North Carolina, pitching six innings in five scoreless innings.
For the third day in a row, the Tar Heels took the lead with a home run in the first inning. Honeycutt drove in two runs, giving North Carolina a six-ball lead. The Tar Heels added points with singles in the second and third innings to extend their lead to 4-0.
However, Notre Dame really broke away in the fourth inning of the game. With two outs and a run at home, graduate right-hander Tobey McDonough walked the first batter he faced, loading the bases. The Irish then got upset with a wild pitch, made an error in center field, allowed an RBI, and fell behind 9-0.
Notre Dame then scored on a single by senior designated hitter Brady Gump in the sixth inning to make the score a little more respectable. Junior shortstop Jack Penny then hit deep for the first time since March 3, closing the gap to 9-3. Another wild pitch in the eighth inning led to the Tar Heel run's 10th run, and the game and series ended with North Carolina scoring seven runs.
Notre Dame begins nine-game homestand with two midweek games in between
Notre Dame will play two midweek games for the second time this season to begin the second half of April. The Irish will face Valparaiso on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. and Purdue Fort Wayne on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., before hosting Boston College in this weekend's ACC series. The next homestand concludes with a series against No. 12 Wake Forest next weekend.
Last season, Notre Dame faced Valparaiso twice and dominated the Beacons with two four-point wins at Frank Eck Stadium. Valparaiso is 11-22 overall this year and 3-9 in the Missouri Valley Conference. The Beacons have lost six of their past seven games and pitched poorly over the weekend, giving up 33 runs in a series loss to Belmont.
Valparaiso's numbers as a team don't look very good, including a .249 batting average and 7.22 ERA. Kyle Schmuck has done most of the damage at the plate, leading the team with 11 home runs, 24 RBIs, 22 walks and a .297 batting average. Jake Jakubowski, the team's best pitcher, has a 3.31 ERA in 16 1/3 innings as a reliever this season.
Meanwhile, the Mastodons, who are based in the Horizon League, are 13-22 with a 7-8 record in conference play. They've made more noise than the Beacons this season, beating Butler and Indiana while splitting four straight games at Missouri in March. Purdue Fort Wayne enters South Bend coming off a series loss in Oakland over the weekend.
The Mastodons offer a more complete hit, but their pitching in 2024 was quite an adventure, as evidenced by their 8.62 ERA. Fortunately for the Mastodons, however, the team's two best pitchers played the most, with Kevin Fee (3.86 ERA) and Carter Sabol (4.40 ERA) combining for 82 innings. Offensively, Justin Osterhaus paced the team with nine home runs, 34 RBIs, 11 stolen bases, and a batting average of .390. Two other batters, Jacob Walker and Grant Troman, also batted above .300.
