Notre Dame Baseball: Irish Bulldogs meet for first time
Cookeville, Tennessee – The Notre Dame baseball team scored 10 runs in the first three innings and defeated Alabama A&M 19-2 in seven innings in the first meeting in the history of the two teams.
The Irish jumped on the scoreboard with three runs in the top of the first inning. Drew Burkland drew a walk and Noah Coy hit all three of Burkland’s runs. Mark Quatrani hit a ground-rule double and Jamie Zee later walked in the first inning to give Quatrani a 3-0 lead.
Jack Radel picked up where he left off in his last start and retired in order in the bottom of the first.
Notre Dame capitalized on three hits and an error in the top of the second quarter to score five more runs. Coy and Quatrani started the inning with back-to-back walks, and Beano Waters singled up the middle to load Coy. Jayce Lee and Parker Brzustewicz scored back-to-back doubles to make it 7-0 for the Irish. A Bulldogs turnover allowed Bzustevich to score and the Irish made it 8-0. Ruddell, meanwhile, quickly got the Irish bats back to work with a strikeout in the second inning.
In the top of the third inning, Coe drew two walks and then Quattrani drove in Coe with a triple. Quatrani then scored wildly, extending the lead to 10-0.
Rudder went three-and-out in the third inning and then added a quick inning in the fourth, allowing a ground ball and two strikeouts while facing a minimum of 12 batters.
After nine runs in the top of the fifth inning, the lead grew to 19-0. Jamie Zee and Brandon Logan both drew walks, and Drew Berkland hit the first of two doubles in the inning to load the bases for Zee. Noah Coy and Mark Quatrani were both hit by pitches, and Beano Waters hit a single to center left field, hitting Coy and Quatrani. Parker Brzustewicz singled and Zee hit a single in his second at-bat of the inning to make it 17-0. Burkland’s second double led to Brzustewicz and Zee for a 19-0 lead. Ruddell continued his perfect performance in the bottom of the fifth inning with two more K pitches and a grounder to end the inning.
Jack Radel’s 11-inning perfect streak was interrupted by a leadoff single in the bottom of the sixth inning, and the Bulldogs got two unearned runs on the scoreboard with two outs. The junior right-hander ended the inning with a strikeout, his tenth of the day, to end the sixth inning. In his final 12.0 innings of work, Rudd struck out 19 batters and allowed zero runs, zero ERA, and only two hits.
Aiden Zerr was relieved in the bottom of the seventh inning, walking just one while quickly exiting the game to end the game.
Parker Brzustewicz went 3-for-4 with two runs, three RBIs, two runs and one walk. Drew Berkland had two doubles, three RBIs, two runs and a walk. Mark Quatrani went 2-for-2 in the plate with a double and a triple, three RBIs, a walk and four runs. Beano Waters had two hits, including a double, and drove in three runs, scoring two runs. Noah Coy scored four points and added three more. Jamie Zee scored twice and added two more goals. Jayce Lee had an RBI and scored twice.
Jack Radel went 6.0 innings, striking out 10, walking no walks, scattering two hits, and earning a zero ERA to earn the win. Aiden Zerr struck out for the Irish and allowed 1.0 runs.
Notre Dame (4-3) returns to action on Saturday when they face UIC on day two of the Holiday Inn Classic hosted by Tennessee Tech. The game is expected to begin at 12:00 noon Eastern Time.
