Notre Dame Baseball: Irish beat Royals midweek
Kannapolis, NC – The Notre Dame baseball team defeated Queens University of Charlotte 11-6 on Tuesday night at Midfield Health Ballpark.
The Royals got on the scoreboard with an unearned run in the bottom of the first inning, giving the Queens an early lead.
Jamie Zee’s first home run in the bottom of the third inning put the Irish on the scoreboard. Noah Coy reached on an error and Mark Quatrani hit an outfield single. Bino Watters walked to load the bases, then Jayce Lee hit all three runners over the outfield wall for a 4-1 lead. Parker Brzustewicz hit a double down the right field line to make it 5-1.
The Royals scored two points in the second half of the third quarter to chase the score to 5-3. Chase Van Amed then retired in order with consecutive strikeouts in the bottom half of the fourth.
Queens’ three-RBI run in the bottom of the sixth cut the Irish’s lead to one, but Xavier Hirsch got a strikeout and an easy grounder to force the Royals to strand a runner on third.
Mark Quatrani and Bino Watters led off the seventh inning with back-to-back singles. Two batters later, with a fielder’s option at home plate, Mark Quatrani avoided the tag for a 6-4 lead.
The Queens scored two unearned runs in the bottom half of the seventh inning, chasing the score to 6-6.
Jamie Zee had a leadoff walk and Drew Berkland had a single to load the bases in the eighth inning. Noah Coy hit a sacrifice bunt to bring both men into scoring position. Mark Quatrani walked to load the bases and Bino Watters hit a two-RBI single to left field to give Zee and Berkland an 8-6 advantage. On defense, Jamie Zee caught a grounder and, after loading the bases with two runners, completed a double play to force the Royals into a scoreless eighth.
Davis Johnson drew a leadoff walk and Jamie Zee earned a four-pitch walk as the Irish had runners on the corners in the top of the ninth. Drew Berkland brought in Johnson on a sacrifice fly and Zee advanced to second on a throw. Noah Coy is hit by a pitch. Mark Quatrani hit a single inside the right foul line and Zee later scored. A block by Coy allowed Coy to score in the third, extending the Irish lead to 11-6.
Aiden Zerr struck out 2.2 innings after starting the game. Chase Van Ameyde struck out 4 in 1.1 innings, and Xavier Hirsch struck out 2.2. Oisin Lee was relieved to win with a score of 1.1. Dylan Singleton retired in order in the bottom of the ninth to end the game.
Mark Quatrani went 4-for-5 with a home run, an RBI and two runs scored. Jamie Zee scored three times and had a solo home run for the Irish. Jayce Lee had three runs and a double, and Bino Watters had two hits, two walk-ins, two RBIs and a run scored. Parker Brzustewicz had a double and Noah Coy scored twice. Drew Berkland had a hit, a run and an RBI, while Brandon Logan had one hit.
The Irish (10-4) return to ACC play on Friday for a three-game series in Louisville. The first game is scheduled to begin at 6:00 pm Eastern Time.