Just Getting Started: Notre Dame Cracks Top 25 With Strong ACC Performances
Peering over his left shoulder, Notre Dame right fielder Brooks Coetzee tracked a deep fly ball. He extended his mitt mid-sprint and snagged the second out of the inning, before tripping over a bump in the grass — a “warning hill” — and tumbling headfirst into the wall.
After a prompt concussion screening, Coetzee remained in the contest. Still, last Friday afternoon, Notre Dame lost 13-7, dropping the first of a three-game ACC series against Clemson.
But such a strong defensive effort from Coetzee appeared at No. 4 on that evening’s SportsCenter Top 10 and set the standard for the rest of the weekend.
In the final two games of the series, Notre Dame allowed a total of three runs and surrendered just nine hits, winning 3-1 on Saturday and 3-2 on Sunday.
Defensive-led conquests are in stark contrast to last season.
On their way to an 11-2 start in 2020, the Irish averaged 9.8 runs per win and were only victorious once without scoring at least eight runs (a 4-2 triumph in the season opener against UAB). Furthermore, in a three-game series sweep over ACC foe North Carolina, Notre Dame averaged 11 runs.
Making the team’s strong play on defense more impressive is that they’ve almost exclusively been indoors over the last four months. Wednesday was the first time Notre Dame practiced outside since the fall. Other than that, all of their work chasing down fly balls came in the form of soft line drives hit beneath the Loftus Center ceiling.
“We can track side-to-side a little bit,” head coach Link Jarrett said. “To think that’s in any way realistic, it’s kind of [a stretch]. But they get to read the ball off the bat. That’s the best we can do.”
Friday at Clemson was also Notre Dame’s first chance to field a ground ball on a dirt infield or sprint across a grass outfield since spring 2020.
“It’s a very fast, hard clay surface,” Jarrett said. “I was proud of the way we responded, just being outside and playing on the natural surface.”
Bullpen Depth
Strong defensive performances go hand-in-hand with excellent starting pitching and a strong bullpen presence.
To kick off Saturday’s 3-1 victory, right-handed pitcher John Michael Bertrand threw seven innings of three-hit ball. The graduate transfer from Furman allowed one earned run and struck out eight Clemson batters. From there, left-handed junior Will Mercer closed out the contest, surrendering one hit and a walk.
Christian Scafidi started for Notre Dame on Sunday and struggled with control issues, walking three batters early in the contest. He was pulled with two outs in the second inning.
In 2020, this may have presented a problem, but the Fighting Irish bullpen has been strong thus far. A combination of Joe Sheridan, Liam Simon and Jack Brannigan closed out the final seven and one-third innings, allowing just four hits.
Simon was especially impressive. The 6-4 right-handed sophomore threw four innings with an electric fastball (94-96 miles per hour) and a dazzling slider that consistently caught the left corner. Of the 14 batters he faced, eight struck out. He surrendered one hit, albeit a solo home run to dead center.
As a freshman in 2020, Simon made four appearances and threw six and one-third innings with a 4.26 ERA. Throughout the next year, he worked to transform his body and added 25 pounds.
“He’s put on some good strength and size and has gotten taller,” Jarrett said. “When you get up to 93-94, you start beating bats and people cheat a little bit. Then that breaking ball becomes more effective because they’re rushing to try to get to the fastball and everything plays up.”
In seven and one-third innings of work this season, Simon has a 1.23 ERA and is striking out batters at a rate of 14.73 batters per nine innings.
Going forward, the Irish need senior left-handed starter Tommy Sheehan to shake off his rust. In his two starts against Wake Forest and Clemson, he has thrown eight innings with a 6.75 ERA. and a 1.875 WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched). Of course, the bullpen on Fridays has been much worse, with a 19.13 ERA in eight innings of relief.
Look for Jarrett to make some adjustments in how he uses his bullpen in the near future.
“You have to tweak it a little bit and we still haven’t gotten everybody in a game pitching-wise,” he said. “We have not used all the guys that we feel can help us. … It's going to constantly evolve. And that goes for everybody. The Los Angeles Dodgers will evolve as the season goes on with what they do with their bullpen and starters. This week will tell us a lot about what we're doing.”
Offensive Struggles
As a team, Notre Dame is hitting .245, down significantly from the .302 mark the Irish produced in 13 games in 2020. They're also averaging six runs per game, 2.9 fewer than last year.
More than any other player, Notre Dame needs senior center fielder Spencer Myers to emerge from his slump at the plate. The team’s leadoff hitter, Myers slashed .431/.492/.466 in 2020. Reaching first base so often enabled him to lead the NCAA in stolen bases with 15 in a shortened season. In 2021, Myers is hitting .192/.242/.192 and has yet to steal a base.
But the offensive woes extend beyond the very top of the order. Last season, every Notre Dame player with more than two at-bats hit .238 or better. In 2021, 11 players have at least six at-bats and more than half are hitting below .200.
Thus far, the heart of the order has carried the team. Against Clemson, hitters Nos. 2-5 in the lineup consisted of designated hitter Carter Putz, second baseman Jared Miller, first baseman Niko Kavadas and catcher David LaManna. In 2021, this quartet is hitting .361/.505/.542 with four home runs and 23 of the team’s 35 RBI.
“It’s got to get better top and bottom. There’s a handful of guys that have had some good at-bats, but overall it’s not good enough offensively,” Jarrett said. “Some of it is you just need to play some games. When you think about how many games like Major League Baseball guys get in spring training, there’s a reason. You need to see pitches and kind of experience game-type stuff, as opposed to scrimmaging or being inside.
“It’ll turn itself around. We’ve worked on swing stuff with some of these guys, and pitch selection has been an issue.”
On a positive note, the 2021 season is still young. If the offense under Jarrett can return to form and catch up with the defense, Notre Dame should be a mainstay in the top 25.
Up Next: Virginia
On Friday, Notre Dame (4-2, 4-2) travels to Charlottesville, Va., for a three-game ACC series against Virginia (7-5, 2-4). The Cavaliers are 10-5 all time against Notre Dame.
Virginia was ranked as high as No. 14 this season, but enter the weekend outside the top 25, according to polls from D1 Baseball and USA Today.
Still, Virginia is loaded with talent, picked to finish second in the ACC Coastal prior to the season.
Ahead of the 2021 MLB Draft, third baseman Zack Gelof is considered the No. 31 overall prospect in college baseball and the second at his position. With 12 games under his belt, he’s slashing .302/.434/.462 with a home run and four stolen bases.
Left-handed pitcher Andrew Abbott is the No. 55 overall college baseball prospect and is a starter this season. In 18 and one-third innings of work, he has a 1.96 ERA and 29 strikeouts. Fellow starter Mike Vasil leads the team with a 3-0 record and carries a 0.49 ERA.
Notre Dame knows the schedule won’t let up at any point this season. In the ACC, 12 of the 14 baseball programs have been ranked in the top 25 by either D1 Baseball or USA Today at one point this season
Currently, six teams are ranked in the top 25, with Notre Dame No. 25 in both.
“It’s so remarkable that’s what we’re looking at right now,” Jarrett said. “It’s just amazing: the caliber of play. It’s the teams obviously, but also the talent level of the individuals involved across the board is really spectacular.”
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