Notre Dame Baseball Gets Dramatic, Extra-Innings Win Over Iowa

Notre Dame moves to 3-1 on the young season

Oct 15, 2016; South Bend, IN, USA; A general view of the Golden Dome at the University of Notre Dame before the game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Stanford Cardinal at Notre Dame Stadium. | Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

The Notre Dame baseball team secured a hard-fought 2-1 victory in 11 innings over Iowa at Stetson University's Melching Field on Friday afternoon. The win moves the Fighting Irish to 3-1 on the young season, and it came in dramatic fashion.

A pitching duel early on, both teams struggled to get much going offensively. Jared Zimbardo led off the second inning with an infield single for the Irish, but a double play ended the threat. Iowa also struggled in the early innings, with Notre Dame’s defense, including a key stop by Estevan Moreno, keeping the Hawkeyes from capitalizing on runners in scoring position.

The game remained scoreless until the fourth inning, when Iowa managed to score the first run on a two-out double. Notre Dame responded in the sixth as Zimbardo’s infield single drove in Parker Brzustewicz to tie the game 1-1. From there, both teams saw multiple scoring chances thwarted by stellar defense and clutch pitching.

In the 11th inning, Connor Hincks belted a solo home run to give the Irish a 2-1 lead. Tobey McDonough closed the game with two strikeouts in the bottom of the inning, sealing the win.

A look from the stands of the solo HR by @CHincks_9 that helped lift us to the 2-1 win!#GoIrish ☘️ pic.twitter.com/X1p4X72oS9

— Notre Dame Baseball (@NDBaseball) February 21, 2025

The victory marked the 400th career win for head coach Shawn Stiffler. Hincks finished 1-for-3 with the game-winning home run, while Zimbardo went 2-for-4 with an RBI. McDonough earned the win after two scoreless innings of relief.

Notre Dame (3-1) will return to action on Saturday against UMBC at noon.

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