Notre Dame Kicks Off The Link Jarrett Era With A Victory
The Link Jarrett era started off with a bang as the Notre Dame baseball team earned a 4-2 road victory over UAB.
It was a scoreless game through six innings before the Irish got the scoring started.
“The Irish (1-0) broke the scoreless tie in the seventh after an RBI single from Zack Prajzner scored Niko Kavadas from second base,” stated the Notre Dame recap. “The Irish added another run in the seventh and two in the eighth, all on wild pitches to extend the lead.”
Kavadas started the seventh off with a walk and was moved over to second on a sacrifice bunt by catcher David LaManna. After working to a full count, Prajzner laced a single to the left side to knock in Kavadas. Brooks Coetzee followed that up with a single, and both runners advanced on a balk before a Sylvester Toe wild pitch allowed Prajzner to score.
Notre Dame’s final two runs also came on wild pitches, this time from Dylan Cunningham. Centerfield Spencer Myers led off the top of the eighth with a single, and second baseman Jared Miller got on after getting hit by a pitch.
Kavadas moved the runners over with a groundout before Cunningham allowed both runners to score with a pair of wild pitches.
Left-hander Tommy Sheehan was outstanding in the victory, pitching seven scoreless innings. Sheehan gave up just one hit and win walk while striking out nine. The nine strikeouts were a career-high for the junior starter, who wins his first start of the season.
Junior Joe Boyle earned the save, striking out two of the three batters he faced in the bottom of the ninth.
The Irish offense managed just four hits but drew five walks in the win. Prajzner went 1-2 with an RBI to go with two walks.
The victory was Notre Dame’s first season-opening win since 2016.
The three-game season-opening series continues tomorrow at 2:00 PM.
