Series sweep
Notre Dame maintains its impressive out of conference record with a 12-3 win over Winthrop to sweep the mid-week series.
From the ND press release:
Irish Clip Eagles in Decisive Win
ROCK HILL, S.C. – The Notre Dame bats exploded for 12 runs while the Irish pitching staff took care of business on the bump in a 12-3 win at Winthrop on Wednesday afternoon.
The Irish got on the scoreboard in the top of the second inning. Estevan Moreno drew a lead-off walk, and Davis Johnson dropped a double down the right field line to drive in Moreno while advancing to third on an error. Jayce Lee drew a walk two batters later, and Brady Gumpf punched a single through the left side to plate Johnson. Nick DeMarco cleared the bases with a three-run home run the other way to put the Irish ahead 5-0.
Notre Dame added another run in the top of the third. Davis Johnson reached on a dropped fly ball by the center fielder, and Brady Gumpf was hit by a pitch with two outs to keep the inning alive. Nick DeMarco then put the ball in play, and another error by the Eagles allowed Johnson to score for a 6-0 advantage.
Keenan Mork and Brady Koester had a combined effort over the third, and Sammy Cooper came on in the fourth as the trio kept the Eagles off the scoreboard.
The top of the fifth saw Notre Dame add to the lead yet again. Jayce Lee hit a lead-off single, and Brady Gumpf drew a walk. A sacrifice bunt with an error loaded the bases, and Noah Coy used a sacrifice fly to drive in Lee. In the bottom of the inning, Oisin Lee struck out the first two batters he faced before inducing a grounder to end the inning.
The Irish tacked on four more in the top of the seventh. Bino Watters led off with a double, and Estevan Moreno laced a single to put runners on the corners. Davis Johnson drew a walk, and Jayce Lee drove the right-center gap for a bases-clearing triple to put Notre Dame ahead 10-0. Brady Gumpf then drove in Lee with a sacrifice fly to left field for an 11-0 advantage for the Irish.
The Eagles plated an unearned run in the bottom of the sixth and added two in the bottom of the seventh.
Jared Zimbardo belted his first home run in an Irish uniform in the top of the eighth to get Notre Dame back in the scoring column while making it a 12-3 game. Xavier Hirsch, meanwhile, tallied his first career strikeout and and went the final 2.2 innings in the 12-3 victory.
Kellan Klosterman went two complete with a strikeout in his first career start on the mound. Keenan Mork and Brady Koester teamed up for the third inning. Sammy Cooper, Oisin Lee, and Justin Mayes Jr. each threw an inning. Radek Birkholz recorded an out, and Xavier Hirsch closed out the final two-and-two-thirds while earning his first win on the bump.
Jayce Lee went 2-for-4 with a triple, three RBI, and three runs scored. Nick DeMarco was 2-for-4 with a home run, three RBI, and a run. Davis Johnson added a 2-for-4 effort with a double, an RBI, and three runs scored. Jared Zimbardo belted his first home run in an Irish uniform to help pace the offense.
The Irish (10-4) return to ACC play when they travel downstate to Clemson for a three-game series starting on Friday.