SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Notre Dame (17-18) met Purdue Fort Wayne (13-23) in a midweek showdown, as the Irish’s multi-homer performance pushed them to a 15-5, eight-inning victory. The 10-run rule was in effect, allowing a team ahead by ten or more runs in or after the seventh inning to claim the win.
Starting RHP Tobey McDonough delivered the heat early into the matchup, striking out five out of seven batters faced, no walks, and only allowing one hit. RHP Will Jacobsen (1-0) earned the win with 2.0 innings pitched and three strikeouts, while RHP David Lally put together an impressive performance on the mound, going 2.2 innings and dealing three strikeouts.
LHP Justin Mayes made an impact in his first-career appearance, striking out two in a complete inning of work, while freshman DH Davis Johnson notched his first-career run.
INF Simon Baumgardt led the offense going 4-for-5 with three runs, a double, a homer and three RBI. He is the second Irish player in as many games to miss hitting for the cycle by one hit (INF Connor Hincks went 3-for-4 with a triple and a homer run vs. Valpo on April 16, 2024). OF Brady Gumpf also homered for two RBI, drawing three walks on the day. Six Irish batters had multi-hit days: Baumgardt with four and OF TJ Williams, OF David Glancy, INF Jack Penney, Hincks and Gumpf with two each.
HOW IT HAPPENED
McDonough wasted no time to start the first inning, delivering a three-pitch strikeout to the first batter faced. A ground out, then another strikeout quickly sent the game into the bottom half of the inning. After a strikeout, Glancy singled to center field, and after a flyout, stole second. INF Estevan Moreno reached base on a hit-by-pitch, then advanced to second on wild pitch while Glancy took third, but neither was able to come home as a strikeout held the Irish scoreless.
After the Mastodons led off the second inning with a single, McDonough promptly struck out the next three batters in order. Notre Dame was unable to generate a response of their own, as after a strikeout, Gumpf drew a walk on a full count, but the Mastodons were able to strikeout the next two.
Mayes took the mound for McDonough in the top of the third and struck out his first batter of the day. After the next hitter advanced to first on a hit-by-pitch, Mayes threw a three-pitch strikeout of his own. After advancing another runner on a passed ball, Mayes forced a groundout to shortstop to send Notre Dame back to the plate, holding the Mastodons from scoring.
The bottom of the third started with two quick outs for the Irish before Penney drove a ball deep into left center field, notching a triple. Penney scored on a wild pitch, putting the Irish up 1-0. Moreno drew a walk and stole second, but the inning ended on a foul-out, and Notre Dame took a one-run lead to the fourth.
RHP Will Jacobsen came in relief of Mayes and forced a flyout to center field to begin the fourth. Though the Mastodons managed to homer to tie the game at 1-1, Jacobsen responded by striking out the next two batters to end the inning.
Baumgardt singled to lead off the bottom of the fourth. On the next at-bat, Gumpf homered to left field – a two-run shot to put the Irish back on top at 3-1. Keeping the momentum, C Joey Spence singled down the right field line. Johnson reached on a fielder’s choice, and Spence was able to advance on an error by the shortstop. Williams put down a sacrifice bunt, pushing Johnson and Spence to advance to scoring position. Spence then scored on a wild pitch, and Johnson made his way to third. A Glancy single through the right side scored Johnson, the freshman’s first-career run, to extend Notre Dame’s lead to 5-1.
It was a quick top of the fifth for the Irish defense, forcing a groundout to third base and Jacobsen recording his third strikeout of the day. After drawing a walk on a full count, a flyout to center field ended the top half of the inning.
Picking up where the Irish bats left off, Moreno led off the top of the fifth with a walk. Hincks followed with a base-hit to right field, Moreno taking third. Baumgardt then crushed a three-run homer to right field, making it an 8-1 ballgame. Both Gumpf and Spence drew walks to reach base, but three outs on the ensuing at-bats sent the game to the sixth.
RHP Aidan Krupp came into the game for Jacobsen to start the sixth. A Mastodon groundout got the first out of the inning. A walk, a stolen base, and another walk on a wild pitch put runners on first and third. Another walk loaded the bases, and a double down the right field line scored two, bringing the score to 8-3. Lally Jr. took the mound to relieve Krupp, and the Mastodons singled to left center, driving in two more runs to narrow the deficit to 8-5. A flyout and an out at first base helped the Irish to escape the inning and hold the lead.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Moreno took a one-out HBP, and Hincks doubled to drive Moreno in to score. Baumgardt hit a double of his own that landed just fair, but Hincks was caught out by the catcher attempting to get home. Gumpf and Spence again both drew walks on consecutive at-bats, pushing Baumgardt to third, but a strikeout ended the inning with a 9-5 Irish lead.
Lally Jr. earned his first strikeout of the night in the top of the seventh, as Purdue Fort Wayne was again held scoreless. Starting at the top of the order in the bottom half, Williams singled, then was able to advance to second on a balk. A groundout allowed Williams to get to third, but a popup and a strikeout ended the inning.
In the top of the eighth, Lally posted two more strikeouts and kept the Mastodons from scoring. In the bottom of the inning, Baumgardt singled after a leadoff flyout, and a Gumpf single pushed Baumgardt to second. After another flyout, OF Tito Flores entered to pinch hit and singled to bring Baumgardt in to score. Williams followed immediately with another single, scoring Gumpf. OF Nathan Manning entered to pinch hit, and notched his first hit and RBI in an Irish uniform, as Flores scored. Both Manning and Williams advanced on a passed ball with Williams scoring, and a Penney double scored Manning to put the Irish up 14-5. Another passed ball scored Penney, and the 10-run rule meant an eight-inning win for Notre Dame.
UP NEXT
Notre Dame takes on Boston College in a weekend series starting on Friday, April 19 at 6:30 p.m. ET with the Irish Wear Green game. The game will be broadcast on ACCNX.