The Notre Dame baseball team lost to NC State 7-6 on Saturday afternoon, April 4, after a late comeback attempt in the final game of their series.
The game saw Notre Dame trailing early as NC State scored four unearned runs in the first inning. The Irish responded in the fourth when Mason Barth reached base and later scored on a double by Dylan Passo, cutting the deficit to 4-1.
Relief pitcher Noah Rooney helped keep Notre Dame close by recording key strikeouts and stranding runners for NC State through the middle innings. The Wolfpack extended their lead with a solo home run in the eighth, making it 5-1.
Notre Dame mounted a rally in the ninth inning. Bino Watters hit a solo home run, followed by hits from Jayce Lee, Barth, and Passo that brought more runs across. Jamie Zee added a two-run double to tie the game at five. Brandon Logan’s sacrifice bunt and a passed ball allowed Zee to score what would be Notre Dame’s final run for a brief lead.
Despite an impressive diving catch by Logan in center field during the bottom of the ninth, NC State answered with three hits that produced two runs for a walk-off victory.
Passo led Notre Dame offensively with three hits and two RBI. Zee contributed with two RBI and scored once. Watters had two hits including his home run while Barth added another double and scored twice. On the mound, Ty Uber started for Notre Dame pitching over three innings without allowing an earned run; Rooney struck out three batters over nearly three innings of relief; Dylan Singleton took the loss after pitching into the ninth.
With this result, Notre Dame moves to 15-12 overall (6-9 Atlantic Coast Conference) ahead of their next matchup against Michigan State scheduled for Wednesday, April 8.
