TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – After chances in the seventh and eighth innings to tie, Notre Dame (11-6, 0-4 ACC) fell 8-4 to Florida State (16-0, 1-0 ACC). RHP Tobey McDonough (1-2) started for the Irish and shouldered the loss. RHPs Sammy Cooper and Rory Fox went 2.0 and 3.0 innings respectively, as Cooper allowed just one hit and zero runs, while Fox allowed four hits but only one run.
INF Connor Hincks continued his hit streak to five games, the longest streak of his career, going 2-for-4 with a home run and a triple, with two RBI. OF Brady Gumpf also tallied a multi-hit game, his third of the season, with two singles and an RBI.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Notre Dame started off strong, as Hincks sent a two-out solo homer to get the Irish on the board. However, Florida State responded in dramatic fashion, batting through the lineup to score five runs in the bottom of the first. After a leadoff groundout, Florida State took a HBP, and a single put two runners on base. A passed ball advanced both runners, and a single scored the Seminoles’ first run. A wild pitch scored another, and a double added a third run. A home run gave Florida State a 5-1 lead headed to the second.
The Irish were unable to score in the second, as DH DM Jefferson was picked off after a walk. In the bottom of the inning, a leadoff walk for Florida State was followed by a single, pushing the leadoff runner to third. Another single scored the Seminoles’ sixth run. Cooper entered to pitch for the Irish, and forced a double play on his first batter. A flyout ended the inning and limited the damage.
Both teams went scoreless in the third, as Cooper remained on the mound and earned a strikeout. After two outs in the top of the fourth, INF Jack Penney tripled, his first of the season, and got home on a Gumpf RBI single for Notre Dame’s second run.
RHP David Lally entered to pitch the bottom of the fourth, striking out two and posting another inning with zero runs allowed.
Notre Dame went three up, three down in the fifth, all three strikeouts. Fox took the mound for Notre Dame in the fifth, also holding off the Seminoles for the inning.
The Irish gained momentum in the sixth, as OF David Glancy earned a leadoff walk. Hincks tripled, his third of the season, to bring Glancy around, and INF Simon Baumgardt earned an RBI on a groundout, scoring Hincks. The Irish went to the field at a two-run deficit. Florida State added a run on an RBI double, holding a 7-4 lead.
In the seventh, Notre Dame started to get things moving, as INF Estevan Moreno delivered a one-out single. After another out, OF T.J. Williams was hit by a pitch, and both advanced a base on a wild pitch. Glancy took a HBP to load the bases, but a flyout ended the inning. Fox and the Irish kept Florida State off the board in the seventh, with Fox posting two strikeouts.
In the eighth, the Irish again had a chance to score. After two outs, Gumpf singled, and pinch hitter C Carson Tinney took a HBP. Moreno stepped to the plate but struck out, ending the Irish side of the inning. RHP D.J. Helwig took the mound in the bottom half of the inning, and Florida State sent the first pitch out of the park for a solo homer. Helwig earned a strikeout and the Irish got out of the inning allowing just the one run, as Florida State entered the ninth with an 8-4 lead.
Williams drew a one-out walk, and after a strikeout, Hincks drew a walk, as well. A final flyout ended the game with an 8-4 Florida State decision.
UP NEXT
Both teams return Saturday for a 3 p.m. ET matchup on ACCNX. Starting pitchers will be Notre Dame RHP Matt Bedford (1-2) vs. LHP Jamie Arnold (4-0).