Notre Dame baseball notebook: Latest rankings, previewing Northwestern
With a spot in the ACC Championship in Charlotte officially locked in, Notre Dame baseball enters its final week of regular season play. The Irish begin with a road trip to Northwestern on Tuesday before flying down to Miami for three games against the top-10 Hurricanes.
Following a 2-1 series win over Pittsburgh last weekend, Notre Dame is currently in the driver’s seat in the Atlantic Division of the ACC with a 15-9 conference record. Louisville sits just behind at 16-10-1. On the Coastal Division side, Miami leads with an 18-9 record, with Virginia Tech in second place at 16-9. In other words, this weekend’s three-game series in South Florida is huge for both programs.
As far as the NCAA Championship outlook goes, the Irish are currently teetering on the brink of hosting a Regional, which 16 teams across the country will have the privilege of doing. Eight of those 16 will be Super Regional sites, assuming they make it to that point. The Irish were a No. 10 national seed last year, and they were projected in that spot last week by both Baseball America and D1Baseball.com. The latest projections for the postseason will be released later this week.
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Irish in the latest rankings
Baseball America: No. 8 (previously No. 8)
Coaches Poll: No. 13 (14)
Collegiate Baseball Newspaper: No. 18 (17)
D1Baseball.com: No. 14 (16)
NCAA RPI: No. 14 (11)
Notre Dame-Northwestern preview
The Irish will make the 100-mile journey to Evanston, Ill. on Tuesday to face Northwestern at Rocky and Berenice Miller Park. The Wildcats are 22-25 with an 8-13 record in the Big Ten. They are, however, above .500 at home (13-7) and 5-1 in mid-week contests. Notre Dame was supposed to host Northwestern on March 23, but the game was canceled for logistical reasons.
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Northwestern has five hitters batting over .300, four of whom are regular starters. Anthony Calarco is a name to watch. The senior first baseman boasts a .324 average, has hit 11 home runs, and notched 48 RBIs this season. He leads the team in the latter two categories. Additionally, second baseman Patrick Herrera ranks 10th in the Big Ten in batting average (.354).
When: Tuesday, May 17 at 4 p.m. ET
Watch: B1G+ ($)
Probable pitchers: RHP Liam Simon (1-0, 5.62 ERA) vs. TBA
Noting Northwestern: The Wildcats pitching staff has issued 202 walks this season, which is the fourth-fewest in the Big Ten; they have also thrown just 32 wild pitches, second in the conference; Northwestern’s fielding percentage is .972 this season; the Wildcats went 1-2 over the weekend in a three-game series against Purdue.
Noting Notre Dame: The Irish boast a .982 fielding percentage, which is tops in the ACC and tied for eighth in the country; Notre Dame is 32-13 on the road under head coach Link Jarrett and 5-1 against the Big Ten this year; the Irish have won three straight contests over Northwestern and are 76-60-1 all-time.
