TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Notre Dame (11-8, 0-6 ACC) fell short in the series finale at Florida State (18-0, 3-0 ACC) with a 4-3 score. The Irish struck first with back-to-back home runs from OF Brady Gumpf and C Joey Spence, and RHP Jack Radel had a noteworthy day in his second-career start, going a career-high four innings and posting one strikeout, with one run allowed.
Florida State capitalized, however, also hitting two home runs and scoring the deciding run on an error.
RHP Ricky Reeth (0-2) shouldered the loss for the Irish.
Through six games of conference play, Gumpf leads the Irish with a .368 batting average against ACC teams, totaling seven hits, four doubles and a home run with four RBI.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Both teams were held scoreless in the first, each posting a hit, and stayed off the board in the second with Florida State adding a single.
Gumpf opened it up in the third as the leadoff batter, taking his first pitch for a no-doubter shot out of the park, his third home run of the season (marking his most in a single season). Spence, the very next batter, also homered, his second of the season, marking his first season with multiple home runs. Notre Dame headed to the field up 2-0.
Florida State chipped away at the lead with a one-out solo homer, but Radel and the Irish took care of the remaining two outs to hold the Semionles to one.
Both sides were held off the board in the fourth, with Radel remaining in the game and dealing a strikeout for the third out.
In the fifth with one out, Spence struck out, but reached first on a wild pitch. INF Estevan Moreno doubled, a line drive to left field, and Spence scored all the way from first to extend the lead to 3-1. A double play ended the top of the inning. RHP Ricky Reeth entered to pitch for Notre Dame to begin the bottom of the fifth. After two outs, a two-run homer tied the game before Reeth delivered a strikeout for the third out.
Notre Dame went three up, three down in the sixth. With a runner on third in the sixth after a single and throwing error, FSU forced another error to take the 4-3 lead. Moreno snagged the second out, and Reeth dished to INF Connor Hincks at first to pick off the runner and end the inning.
The Irish added a two-out single from C Carson Tinney in the seventh, but Tinney was picked off at first to end the top half. After one out in the bottom of the inning, RHP David Lally took the mound for Notre Dame. Two runners got on base, but a double play ended the inning, holding Florida State off.
OF T.J. Williams posted a one-out single in the eighth, but a double play ended the inning. RHP Caden Spivey entered to pitch for the Irish and posted two strikeouts to sit Florida State down in order. Notre Dame went three up, three down in the ninth, and took their eighth loss of the season.
UP NEXT
Notre Dame will return home after an eight-game road stint to play four games at home, hosting Western Michigan on March 19 at 4:30 p.m. ET (ACCNX), followed by a home series vs. Miami March 22-25 (ACCNX).