RALEIGH, N.C. – Notre Dame (14-10, 2-8 ACC) took its first run-rule loss of the season at the hands of No. 22 NC State (16-7, 6-4 ACC) in a 10-0, eight-inning defeat Thursday evening. RHP Matt Bedford (1-4) went 3.2 innings and shouldered the loss for the Irish.
Due to the ACC’s new run rule, if a team is ahead by ten or more runs in the seventh inning or after, the game ends. The Irish marked their first game in which the rule was enacted Thursday.
Notre Dame posted three hits on the evening, all three being two-out doubles that occurred in three-straight innings (sixth through eighth).
NC State’s Sam Highfill pitched a complete game, marking the first time an opposing pitcher has thrown a complete game against the Irish since NC State’s Brian Brown on April 14, 2018 (Game One, a 12-2 win for No. 2 NC State). It was Notre Dame’s first time being shut out since April 23, 2021 at Boston College (also 10-0).
HOW IT HAPPENED
Notre Dame went three up, three down through the first inning. NC State compiled two hits, but with runners on second and third, Bedford and the Irish were able to hold them off the plate.
Again retired in order in the second, Notre Dame went to the field and Bedford earned a strikeout after a HBP. A Wolfpack double scored the first run of the night, and after a walk, OF T.J. Williams snagged the second out in center field. NC State again doubled, scoring two more, and the next batter homered to put the Wolfpack up 5-0 headed to the third.
NC State sat Notre Dame down in order in the third, and after a one-out single in the bottom of the inning, INF Simon Baumgardt snagged a lineout and turned a double play to keep the Wolfpack from adding to the lead.
It was nothing doing for the Irish in the fourth, as Notre Dame went three up, three down. NC State led off the bottom of the inning with a flyout, and after a HBP, the runner got to second on a groundout. RHP Tobey McDonough entered to pitch for Notre Dame, and OF Tito Flores caught a fly ball at the wall to end the inning on the next batter.
In the fifth, a quick grounder from INF Jack Penney looked promising, but a diving play by the NC State shortstop thwarted Notre Dame’s hopes. A flyout ended the inning, again with the Irish held off the bases. McDonough and the Irish sat the Wolfpack down in order, with McDonough posting a strikeout.
In the sixth, INF Estevan Moreno delivered Notre Dame’s first hit of the day, a two-out double. However, a groundout ended the top of the inning. RHP David Lally entered to pitch to begin the bottom of the inning. A leadoff single placed a runner on, and the runner took second on a passed ball, reaching third on a groundout. A sac fly brought another run in for NC State. After a walk, Lally grabbed a groundout to end the inning.
Baumgardt delivered a two-out double down the left field line in the seventh, but a long fly ball ended the inning, again holding the Irish scoreless. RHP Nate Hardman began the bottom of the seventh on the mound. Penney took care of the first out with a quick grab on a line drive, while Hardman struck out the second batter. Moreno made a leaping catch to rob the third batter of a hit, and the Irish went to bat.
C Joey Spence entered in the eighth and delivered Notre Dame’s third two-out double, marking three-consecutive innings with a two-out double for the Irish. A strikeout ended the top half again holding the Irish scoreless. RHP D.J. Helwig took the mound to begin the bottom of the eighth. A leadoff single and a HBP put two runners on, and a subsequent single scored the lead runner to put the Wolfpack up 7-0. NC State hit into a fielder’s choice to score another run. The runner got to second on a wild pitch, and after a HBP, LHP Ryan Lynch took the mound. A single scored another run, and RHP Sammy Cooper entered to pitch. A passed ball allowed NC State’s 10th run to come home, ending the game via the run-rule.
UP NEXT
Notre Dame and No. 22 NC State return Friday for Game Two of the three-game series. The game will be nationally televised on ACC Network, and first pitch will be at 8 p.m. ET. RHP Jack Radel (Notre Dame) and RHP Logan Whitaker (NC State) will start on the mound.