Irish pitchers make big splash in ND's pool-play victory over Virginia
In a game that was formatted to be an afterthought, No. 4 seed Notre Dame on Friday found a way to coax more than subtle significance from a 3-0 shutout of fifth-seeded Virginia at Truist Field in Charlotte, N.C.
Not the least of which may turn out to be expanding the number of pitching options the 14th-ranked Irish can trust in high-leverage situations when Notre Dame (35-13) opens NCAA Tournament play next Friday.
Ironic, because the strategy going into Friday’s ACC Baseball Championship pool-play game with the 17th-ranked Cavaliers (38-17) — with ND’s spot in Saturday’s ACC semis already clinched on Thursday — was to keep the best arms fresh and available for Saturday and a possible championship matchup on Sunday.
Mission accomplished — and then some.
Junior Liam Simon pitched beyond the fourth inning as a starter for the first time in his college career, and dominated. Sophomores Matt Bedford and Sammy Cooper, each of whom missed all of last season with injuries and each having only logged five innings this season, also delivered in clutch situations against one of the ACC’s most potent offenses and the ninth-highest scoring team in the nation (9.2 runs per game).
And one that hadn’t been shut out since Florida State ace Parker Messick stifled the Cavs in March of 2021.
“We put them in situations the moment they step on campus, and get them ready and we scrimmage,” ND coach Link Jarrett said of his pitchers. “So I’d like to think we have a pretty good feel going into this as to what we’re going to get and who fits what profile. So we try to prepare as far as that goes – until you get in these settings and these types of games. You don’t know how people will react.
“Clearly, today our guys reacted and pitched beyond what we have seen at times in our workouts and practices. That’s great. The inning workload is never going to be even. So there are guys that are just waiting for that moment, but they prepare. And today was an example of taking advantage of that window when it opened.”
Simon has long had impressive enough velocity to be a key contributor, but has never had consistent control. He came into Friday’s game with 33 strikeouts in 19 innings, but was averaging almost a walk an inning (18), and with six wild pitches and three hit batsmen and a 6.63 ERA this season.
On Friday, the 6-foot-4, 220-pound right-hander gave Jarrett a career-high five innings. He allowed two hits and two walks while matching his career high in strikeouts with eight.
“Simon was outstanding,” offered Virginia coach Brian O’Connor, a former Irish pitching coach and recruiting coordinator under Paul Mainieri (1995-2003).
“I know he didn’t have very many innings coming into the year, but boy he’s a really, really special arm, and he pitched a great ball game, did a terrific job. We just couldn’t put enough things together to win the ball game.”
Bedford and Cooper also had a hand in that.
Freshman Roman Kimball relieved Simon to start the sixth but was pulled after giving up a leadoff walk. Bedford, academically ineligible until earlier this month, came in and surrendered a single.
But with two on and no one out, he got Jake Gelof — a .379 hitter and one of the nation’s top 10 RBI men (74) — to ground into a double play before getting cleanup hitter Devin Ortiz to ground out to second.
Bedford got the Cavs in order in the seventh, but allowed them to load the bases in the top of the eighth after two were out. In came Cooper, who delivered three straight balls before getting Ortiz to ground out on a 3-1 pitch.
Senior Aidan Tyrell pitched a 1-2-3 ninth with two strikeouts for his first save of the season.
The bottom of the Irish order did most of offensive the damage. No. 7 hitter Jack Penney had two hits, including a double to drive in a run. No. 9 hitter Zack Prajzner singled home David LaManna in the second and scored him on a sacrifice fly in the sixth.
Next up for Notre Dame, Saturday at 1 p.m. (EDT), is No. 8 seed North Carolina (36-19), winners of 10 of their last 11 games. The Tar Heels destroyed top seed and second-ranked Virginia Tech, 10-0, Friday night as eight of the 12 pool-play games ended up being won by lower seeds.
Lefty Brandon Schaeffer hurled a complete-game six-hitter, and North Carolina blasted four home runs against the Hokies (41-12).
Mega-underdogs, 11 seed Pitt (29-26) and 10 seed NC State (35-20), square off at 5 p.m. Saturday, with the semis survivors meeting Sunday at noon for the championship.
Beyond the potential mound revelations Friday for the Irish, Notre Dame helped its NCAA résumé-building as well with a win against a team that made it to the College World Series last season and was ranked in the top five earlier this season.
It’s also the team that ousted Notre Dame 14-1 last May in ACC Championship pool play after the Irish came into the tourney as the runaway regular-season league champ and No. 1 ACC tourney seed.
“This is a national type of competition that had ramifications for both teams,” Jarrett said.
The Irish figure to be a lock to host one of the 16 NCAA regionals for the second year in a row, but the push is to impress enough this week to gain a top 8 national seed in the NCAA Tourney, which would bring with it the potential to host a Super Regional when the field of 64 pares down to 16.
The NCAA Tournament pairings and seedings will be announced Monday at noon (EDT) on ESPN2.
“You never lose that feeling (of needing to do more),” Jarrett said. “There’s always something you’re trying to do. And our team has responded to that thought all year. There's always something that you’re grabbing for.
“Are we one of the top teams? I feel like we are. I felt like we were last year, too. So that’s not my decision. I’m just proud of the guys going out and performing under these circumstances. You keep performing like that, then it’ll take care of itself.”
ACC BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
May 24-29 at Truist Field, Charlotte, N.C.
POOL A – #1 Virginia Tech, #8 North Carolina, #12 Clemson
POOL B – #2 Louisville, #7 Georgia Tech, #11 Pitt
POOL C – #3 Miami, #6 Wake Forest, #10 NC State
POOL D – #4 Notre Dame, #5 Virginia, #9 Florida State
Tuesday, May 24
No. 11 Pitt 12, No. 7 Georgia Tech 6
No. 10 NC State 11, No. 6 Wake Forest 8
No. 8 North Carolina 9, No. 12 Clemson 2
Wednesday, May 25
No. 11 Pitt 6, No. 2 Louisville 5
No. 9 Florida State 13, No. 5 Virginia 3 (8 innings)
No. 10 NC State 9, No. 3 Miami 6
Thursday, May 26
No. 7 Georgia Tech 9, No. 2 Louisville 4
No. 4 Notre Dame 5, No. 9 Florida State 3
No. 1 Virginia Tech 18, No. 12 Clemson 6
Friday, May 27
No. 4 Notre Dame 3, No. 5 Virginia 0
No. 6 Wake Forest 16, No. 3 Miami 3 (7 innings)
No. 8 North Carolina 10, No. 1 Virginia Tech 0
Saturday, May 28
Semifinals
No. 8 North Carolina (36-19) vs. No. 4 Notre Dame (35-13), 1 p.m. (ACCN/ACCN Extra)
No. 11 Pitt (29-26) vs. No. 10 NC State (35-20), 5 p.m. (ACCN/ACCN Extra)
Sunday, May 29
Championship
Semifinal winners, Noon (ESPN2/ACCN Extra)
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