Notre Dame falls to North Carolina 7-2 in ACC semifinals, turns attention toward NCAA Tournament

The pitching was shaky for much of Saturday and finally came crashing down for Notre Dame baseball (35-14) in the 8th inning. The fourth-seeded Irish lost to No. 8 seed North Carolina (37-19) 7-2 at Truist Field in Charlotte N.C., eliminating them from the tournament and the opportunity to play in the ACC Championship Game on Sunday.

Graduate transfer Austin Temple got the start for Notre Dame on the mound and went four innings. He allowed six hits, one run (earned), struck out seven and walked two. He was pulled in favor of reliever and senior Alex Rao, who went three innings himself and allowed a second run. At that point, the pitching performance was largely stable.

Senior Aidan Tyrell came in to pitch in the eighth inning, and the game got away from him quickly. In total, Notre Dame surrendered three runs in the inning while using four different pitchers. North Carolina added some insurance in the ninth inning as well to take a five-run win into Sunday. Tyrell suffered the loss, his first of the year (5-1).

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Adding insult to injury, the Notre Dame defense was uncharacteristically rocky on Saturday. The Irish entered this weekend with a .982 fielding percentage, which was first in the conference and 10th nationally. On Saturday, senior shortstop Zack Prajzner and Tyrell each had an error. The Irish finished the contest with a fielding percentage of .951.

“There were some plays in the outfield, some balls that fell in,” Irish head coach Link Jarrett said following the contest. “If we could somehow finish those off and record outs, maybe the score doesn’t get to that deficit we found ourselves in.”

Notre Dame’s sole offense on the day came as a result of two solo home runs from third baseman Jack Brannigan (9) and first baseman Carter Putz (6). The offense stranded nine men on base, went 2-15 with runners on base and 1-9 with runners in scoring position.

“North Carolina deserved to win that game,” Jarrett said. “They pitched well, they played good defense, they had some timely hitting. And we didn’t play one of our better games in this setting against a team that is playing red hot.”

North Carolina entered Saturday’s contest as winners of 13 of their last 15 games. Obviously, that mark is now 14 of 16.

The Irish bats were relatively quiet throughout the three games in Charlotte, but if an offensive MVP were to be named, it would have to be Prajzner. The senior went 5-10 with a double, home run and three RBIs over the three games.

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What’s next for Notre Dame?

With the ACC Tournament over for the Irish, they now turn their attention toward the NCAA Tournament. Entering Saturday’s game, the latest D1 Baseball Field of 64 Projections have Notre Dame as the No. 7 overall seed and in a South Bend Regional with Oregon, Rutgers and Evansville. Top-16 seeds host a regional, and top-8 seeds host a Super Regional should they reach that point.

“Do I think we’re a national seed?” Jarrett asked aloud following the loss. “I do. Last year we won the league by 4.5 games and were not a national seed. But I think the level of this league is really good top to bottom. There are good teams in this league that are not in the (ACC) Tournament.”

Notre Dame was the No. 10 seed last year and hosted a Regional, which they won. They had to play the Super Regional in Starkville, Miss. against the eventual national champion Mississippi State Bulldogs.

Jarrett added the travel demands, complete lineup he boasts and Notre Dame’s 18-11 record away from South Bend as rationale to support his argument in favor of his group.

The 2022 NCAA selection show will take place on Monday, May 30 at noon ET on ESPN2. The ACC has the potential to tie the NCAA record for total teams selected, as 10 squads could get in. The NCAA Regionals begin on Friday, June 3.