NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Dominance doesn’t come close to encapsulating Notre Dame’s march to the South Bend Regional title at Frank Eck Stadium.
With their 14-2 victory Sunday night over Central Michigan at Frank Eck Stadium, the Irish out-scored their three opponents – the Chippewas twice and UConn – 50-5.
The Irish rocketed five more home runs Sunday to give them 15 for the tournament. Carter Putz homered twice, including a grand slam, while tournament MVP Niko Kavadas launched his fifth of the tournament. Ryan Cole and Brooks Coetzee also homered for the Irish, who came into tournament play Friday with 45 homes runs.
Notre Dame now awaits results from the Starkville (Miss.) Regional where rain delayed play Sunday. If Mississippi State – working for the winner’s bracket — wins the regional, the Irish (33-11) will travel south for the Super Regional.
“That’s us clicking on all cylinders,” said Irish head coach Link Jarrett. “How often can you do that three days in a row? It’s rare in our sport and those are championship teams. Each one of those teams in this tournament knows what they’re doing. Well-coached, has a personality, good personnel, they’re in for a reason.
“The separation of the score probably surprises me a little bit. But that’s how we’ve played. Not every game, but I’ve sure seen it a lot.”
Lefthander Aidan Tyrell (4-1) provided Notre Dame its third straight strong starting performance with eight innings of eight-hit, two-run baseball.
Notre Dame continued its trend of posting crooked numbers on the scoreboard, tallying two runs in the fourth, four in the fifth, three in the seventh and five in the eighth. The 14 hits gave the Irish 49 in three games.
Spencer Myers and Zack Prajzner, the Nos. 1 and 9 hitters in the Irish lineup, each had three hits. Cole and Putz each had two.
Central Michigan catcher Griffin Lockwood-Powell put the Chippewas (42-18) up a run in the top of the fourth with a solo home run. It was the only time the Irish trailed in three games, and that lasted just one batter.
The Irish responded in the bottom half of the inning as the absurdly-hot Kavadas hit his fifth home run in three days for his 13th RBI of the tournament. Notre Dame added an unearned run in the frame for a 2-1 advantage.
Kavadas finished the tournament 6-for-10 with five home runs and nine runs scored. He was the easy choice for tournament MVP with third baseman Jack Brannigan, Cole, Coetzee, Putz and lefthander John Michael Bertrand named to the all-tournament team. Kavadas’ 21st home run set the Notre Dame single-season record in just 44 games.
“It was nice to get back home,” said Kavadas, who struck out seven times in two games in the ACC Tournament. “It’s tough to begin that slide on the road and not have our facilities and resources to come into and work.
“I came in twice a day, before and after practice, once with Coach Wallace and once with Coach Wingo, every single day this week. Just understanding that this weekend, I’ve done everything possible to prepare myself for the moment. So if it’s meant to be, it will be. It was just preparing myself as best as possible.”
Notre Dame broke it open in the fifth after a single and a couple of walks before Putz launched his grand slam to left-centerfield for a 6-1 lead.
As has been fairly typical of the Irish, it took a time through the batting order before the offense ignited. With one hit through three innings, Notre Dame added 13 hits in the next five innings.
Notre Dame destroyed some earned run averages this weekend, including Central Michigan right-hander Cameron Brown (7-3), who allowed seven hits and five earned runs in four innings. Four relievers allowed another eight earned runs in four innings.
The Irish turned four double plays in the first six innings and five for the game. Outside of Lockwood-Powell’s fourth inning home run, the Chippewas get didn’t a runner past first base until the sixth when Notre Dame’s fourth double play of the day scored Central Michigan’s second run.
“Our defense has been exceptional,” Jarrett said. “The variety of pitching. Command of the zone. And that’s a versatile offense. We have the capability to hit the ball out.
“When your defense turns five double plays, that helps keep the pitch counts down and allow your starting pitchers to extend. Aidan was at 85 pitches in the eighth inning. The pitching and defense work together, and when you do it at the level we did it this weekend, those starts can dial out a little bit further and it takes the heat off the bullpen.”
