The Notre Dame baseball team defeated No. 13 Virginia with a score of 5-3 on April 11, setting up a decisive game in their weekend series at Frank Eck Stadium.
The victory gives the Irish an opportunity to win the series against a highly ranked opponent, which could have implications for their standing in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Key defensive plays helped Notre Dame keep Virginia off the scoreboard early, including a catch by Drew Berkland at the wall in left-center field to end the third inning. The Irish took an early lead after Mark Quatrani singled and was driven home by Bino Watters. Jayce Lee then drove in two more runs with a single, giving Notre Dame a 3-0 advantage.
Jack Radel started for Notre Dame and delivered seven strong innings, allowing only three runs while striking out five batters. Radel retired twelve consecutive batters from the third through sixth innings and threw just 88 pitches before turning things over to the bullpen. Will Jaisle closed out the final innings without allowing any hits or runs and earned his first career save.
On offense, Quatrani went two-for-four with two runs batted in and scored once. Watters also contributed with two hits, one run batted in, and one run scored. Jayce Lee added another hit and drove in two runs for Notre Dame.
The teams will play again on Sunday afternoon at Frank Eck Stadium to decide who wins the series.
