TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — No. 16 Notre Dame baseball battled back to clinch the series with a 5-4 win over the No. 5 Seminoles Saturday night at Dick Howser Stadium.
The Irish (15-5, 4-4 ACC) trailed 4-2 heading into the eighth but scored once in the eighth and two with two outs in the ninth to regain the lead. Jared Miller singled up the middle that scored the two runs in the ninth to get the Irish back in front.
In the bottom of the ninth, Roman Kimball closed the door by setting the Seminoles (16-10, 6-5 ACC) down in order to seal the win and the series. He pitched 2.0 innings of relief for his second win of the season and did not allow a hit.
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How it happened
The Irish struck first with a run in the top of the second. Carter Putz scored on the ground out from Brooks Coetzee III to give the Irish an early 1-0 lead. The lead did not last long as the Seminoles answered with a run in the bottom of the second. After two frames, the score was tied at 1-1.
The Irish got out of a jam in the bottom of the third thanks to stellar infield defense. With the bases loaded and just one out, Will Mercer induced a 4-6-3 double play that was finished off by a snag from Carter Putz at first to end the inning without any damage.
In the next inning at the plate, Putz led the fourth inning off with a solo blast over the wall in left center to regain the lead for the Irish. It was his third home run of the season and gave the Irish a 2-1 lead.
The solo blast from @CarterPutz to put the Irish ahead in the fourth!
— Notre Dame Baseball (@NDBaseball) April 2, 2022
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The Seminoles were in position to tie the game in the bottom of the sixth as they loaded the bases with two outs. Liam Simon had come on from the pen and he forced a ground out to end the inning and keep the Irish up 2-1.
Florida State broke through with three runs in the seventh to take its first lead of the series. After seven innings, the Seminoles held a 4-2 lead.
The Irish got a run back in eighth after another clutch hit from Putz. With Jack Brannigan on first, he doubled off the wall in right and Brannigan scored all the way from first. The double brought the Irish within one at 4-3.
In the ninth, the Irish kept battling and got the go-ahead run in scoring position and the tying run at third. Miller stepped to the plate with two outs and hit a chopper up the middle that the Seminole second baseman got to in the shallow outfield. Coetzee III scored easily on the play and Jack Penney was going from second and beat the throw home to give the Irish a lead they would not relinquish.
Up next
The Irish will be back in action for the series finale looking for the sweep on Sunday. The Irish and Seminoles are set for a 1 p.m. ET start on Sunday for the series finale and the game will be streamed on the ACC Network Extra.
