Written by Cade Harper ⏐ Writer ⏐ Twitter: @CadeHarperIT
Photo by Notre Dame Athletics
The Irish have built an incredible amount of momentum in the latter half of April, instilling confidence by capping the month with a 4-3 victory over Michigan State on Tuesday. A strong stretch of play that was needed in a big way to make a statement that they belong in the NCAA Tournament. Following their two out of conference wins against Valparaiso and Purdue Fort Wayne, Notre Dame went on to secure their first sweep against an ACC opponent in Boston College. After cleaning up the Eagles, Notre Dame took a series win over No. 13, formally ranked No. 8, Wake Forest.
The Irish now find themselves at 23-20, 7-17 in ACC, this season after an impressive last few weeks where they went 8-2 across ten games. In the third and final game of the series against Boston College, Notre Dame threw a combined no-hitter, one of the best feats a team can accomplish in baseball. The no-hitter was contributed to by just four Notre Dame pitchers, Rory Fox, Tobey McDonough, Sammy Cooper, and Will Jacobsen. In the final game of the Wake Forest series, TJ Williams decided to add more fireworks to the weekend by hitting a longshot on the first pitch of the bottom of the ninth to walk it off for the win. Notre Dame will look to earn a spot in the ACC Tournament on May 21-26.
The Irish earned a series victory over a top 10 team, Wake Forest, for the first time since last season when they played the eighth ranked Virginia Cavaliers. Williams was not the only one to go deep in that game - victory was brought forth with the help of C Joey Spence and INF Simon Baumgardt as well. Players of the weekend included Jack Penney, as he recorded a very impressive .444/.615/.667 BA, as well as Simon Baumgardt, who contributed six RBI over the course of the three games.
Notre Dame was able to stay hot in East Lansing, and looks to carry their three-game win streak back home for another ACC weekend series against Pittsburgh. The series kicks off Friday evening on the ACC Network.
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