For the first time since former Irish head coach Paul Mainieri left for LSU, Notre Dame baseball is ranked in the top 10. This comes after the Irish defeated the No. 15 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets twice in a three-game series over the weekend.
On Tuesday evening, Notre Dame picked up another victory, beating Central Michigan 8-4.
Next, the Irish (16-6, 14-6 ACC) will take on the North Carolina Wolfpack (15-11, 8-10) this upcoming weekend in another three-game ACC series at Notre Dame’s Frank Eck Stadium.
Game one is Friday at 5 p.m. ET on the ACC Network Extra.
3 Observations
The Irish continue to overcome injuries
In last week's 3-2-1 article, I questioned Notre Dame’s ability to survive an ACC weekend series without left-handed pitcher John Michael Bertrand starting and throwing at least seven innings.
Even as Notre Dame’s ace, he will start the middle game of a series for the Irish in order to provide the bullpen with much-needed respite. That way, the Irish pitching staff can turn to its bullpen early and often in game one and game three.
At the time, I was unaware Bertrand had a sore arm that would prevent him from pitching against No. 15 Georgia Tech, a seemingly disastrous situation considering Notre Dame went through eight pitchers in a 10-9 game one win on Friday.
Instead, the Irish overcame the temporary loss of Bertrand with a dominant performance from left-handed junior Aidan Tyrell. He threw six innings of two-hit ball and did not surrender a run.
Then right-handed pitcher Alex Rao entered the game from the bullpen to strike out eight over the final three innings. Notre Dame won 7-0.
The good news is Bertrand’s arm soreness isn’t serious and there’s an outside chance he could return this weekend against North Carolina State.
“We're going to wait and see how he feels today,” Irish head coach Link Jarrett said on Thursday. “He threw a pretty good bullpen yesterday that went okay, which is positive. But when he was out, it was more of [an issue] after he threw than during the throwing, so we need to get through today to make sure he’s still trending in the right direction.”
Last weekend, Notre Dame was also without two other starters in second baseman Jared Miller and right fielder Brooks Coetzee. Jarrett says both are day-to-day, but isn’t sure if either will see the field this weekend.
Ryan Cole is clutch and consistent
A few weeks ago, senior left fielder Ryan Cole garnered recognition thanks to hitting a walk-off home run in back-to-back series against Duke and No. 7 Louisville.
This earned him a chance as an everyday starter, but what’s kept him in the lineup is the consistency of his play.
Due to the aforementioned injuries to Miller and Coetzee, Cole is hitting second in the Notre Dame lineup and leads the team in hitting with a .373 average. With a .667 slugging percentage and four home runs, he trails only first baseman Niko Kavadas (who happens to be one of the best hitters in college baseball) on the team in both categories.
“[Cole] has been huge, and we see it every day,” Jarrett said. “In my two falls here, I saw that guy do what you're seeing him do right now. Now, I think sometimes when he got into the game, he might have been trying to do a little bit too much.
“But we’re seeing now what Ryan Cole can do, and it’s reflective of what I saw him do in the fall in the preseason. He’s versatile, he can play any outfield position, he can run the bases, he’s got some sneaky pop and he uses the field well.”
His development has also been aided by a simplified approach at the plate and less movement in his stance pre-swing.
“It's under control a little bit more, so he's swinging from a more fixed launch position. From day one, we work on approach and pitch selection and discipline and what to look for — not guess — but what to try to feel out based on how you're being pitched and how that pitcher looks to you. And it may look different to Cole than it does to Kavadas.”
Tommy Sheehan enters the transfer portal
Heading into the 2021 season, Notre Dame left-handed pitcher Tommy Sheehan was a senior captain and the team’s unquestioned ace. In each of the last two years, he led the team in innings pitched and boasted a 2.70 ERA in four starts.
But after two starts and eight innings of work this season, Sheehan had a 6.75 ERA and was soon shut down due to elbow soreness. Later, Jarrett announced that his ace was done for the season. But with a year of eligibility remaining, there was a chance he could return for a fifth year in 2022.
That, however, likely won’t be the case, as Jarrett confirmed this week that Sheehan is in the transfer portal and is looking for a fresh start.
“It had obviously been a tough couple of years for him, and that's a decision that he made,” Jarrett said. “I understand it, and that's his choice. He's no longer going to be around the program. He's a good kid who helped the program. He was ready for a little bit of change of scenery.
“I think sometimes when you're battling injuries for the better part of two years, maybe a change of scenery is helpful.”
Of course, there’s no guarantee that Sheehan suits up for a different college baseball program next fall. With the MLB Draft going to 20 rounds in 2021, there’s a chance a team could roll the dice on the talented lefty.
“He's got one more year and to be honest, somebody may still draft him,” Jarrett said. “I think that's his ultimate goal this summer is to try to sign professionally and he’s got quite a rehab ahead of him. But I wish him the best.”
2 Questions
What will it be like for Jarrett to coach against his son?
J.T. Jarrett, a North Carolina State infielder who wears jersey No. 15, is Coach Jarrett’s son.
A redshirt junior, J.T. is hitting .258 with one home run and has made just one error defensively in 26 starts this season.
“He's played about 150 games for NC State," Jarrett said. "You sit there sometimes and you're like, man, this guy has been on the Dean's List three years. He's been in a couple of regionals. So for my wife and me, this is a unique one for us. I'm proud of what he's done."
In fact, it might be fair to assume his wife is a much more avid fan of the Wolfpack in comparison to the Fighting Irish.
“I get play-by-play, blow-by-blow highlights," Jarrett said. "I can't watch all their games, and I don't. But there's somebody in my house [who does]. My wife watches them. So I get some interesting feedback on what No. 15 has done.
"It's just interesting to go into this with that dynamic because I don't know how many people have gone through something like that at this level.”
Does that mean Coach Jarrett will lose his competitive edge?
“I'm proud of the kid, but that doesn't mean you don't want to beat them,” Coach Jarrett said. “But as a parent, it's a pretty neat moment for [my wife] Jen and myself.”
Still, it might sting a little less when an opposing player comes up with a clutch hit if it's J.T. at the plate.
How will Notre Dame handle North Carolina State’s starting pitchers?
After going 14-2 in a shortened 2020 season, North Carolina State was a consensus top-25 team heading into this spring. The Wolfpack were also picked to finish second in the ACC Coastal Division.
But North Carolina State struggled out of the gate. The Wolfpack lost eight of their first nine ACC games and stumbled to a 4-9 overall record.
But since then they have steadily climbed back into the ACC Coastal race and are currently playing their best ball of the season. Heading into the weekend, North Carolina State has won 10 of their last 12 games, including sweeps in two of their previous three ACC series.
“This is a Super Regional series, no doubt,” Jarrett said. “It doesn't matter records or rankings. Everybody that rolls in here is really good.”
With three top-100 draft-eligible college prospects, North Carolina State is loaded with talent. Currently, they’re third in the ACC in team batting average (.282) and second in fielding percentage (.985), just behind Notre Dame (.988).
Their Achilles heel, however, has been the pitching staff. With a 5.15 team ERA, the Wolfpack ranks No. 12 out of 14 ACC teams.
But it appears the solution has been to rely on a trio of right-handed pitchers in Matt Willadsen, Reid Johnston and Sam Highfill as weekend starters. Each started and lasted at least six and two-thirds of an inning this past weekend in a three-game sweep of Boston College. They also allowed a combined eight earned runs, with Willadsen throwing a complete game shutout.
“We got to really grind away these starters, try to build pitch counts and try to get into that bullpen,” Jarrett said. “That's kind of the ticket to have a chance [against] these guys.”
1 Prediction
Notre Dame will lose its first ACC series of the season against North Carolina State
The Irish have overcome a significant number of setbacks to start 16-6 and garner a top-10 ranking. But with the health of Bertrand, Miller and Coetzee still uncertain, this weekend will be when those injuries finally catch up to Notre Dame.
North Carolina State is also one of the hottest teams in college baseball, and when the Wolfpack pitch well, they might be the most complete team in the ACC.
That’s why I predict Notre Dame will lose two of three games this weekend, dropping their first ACC series of Jarrett’s tenure in South Bend.
There’s a part of me that feels I should pick the Irish to find a way to win every series until they prove otherwise, but there’s a lot working against Notre Dame this weekend.
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