The Notre Dame baseball team will conclude its latest homestand with a game against Valparaiso on April 14 at Frank Eck Stadium, the program announced on Apr. 13. The first pitch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time, with Caden Crowell starting for the Irish and Adam Guazzo taking the mound for the Beacons.
This matchup marks the fifth consecutive home game for Notre Dame, which currently leads the all-time series against Valparaiso with an 89-21 record and a strong home performance of 61-10. The Irish are coming off a series loss to No. 13 Virginia, while Valparaiso recently dropped a Missouri Valley Conference series at home against Bradley.
Notre Dame has demonstrated offensive strength this season, featuring six players batting .300 or better, led by Mark Quatrani’s .350 average. Head coach Shawn Stiffler recently reached a milestone as only the seventh coach in program history to achieve more than 100 wins leading the team.
On defense and pitching, Jack Radel has made notable contributions by retiring 38 consecutive batters across games versus Florida Atlantic University and Alabama A&M. Radel also delivered six perfect innings with nine strikeouts on just 68 pitches against UCF and holds a national top-ten ranking with his WHIP of 0.85.
The roster includes significant experience from last year’s squad that finished strong with a late-season surge as well as new talent: there are sixteen returning players from last season’s group that closed out their regular schedule at 16-2; twelve true freshmen have joined this year—six of whom were ranked among their state’s top two recruits by position—and seven transfer student-athletes have been added for this campaign.
Several players received preseason recognition in D1baseball.com rankings by position: Bino Watters (first baseman), Jack Radel (starting pitcher), Mark Quatrani (catcher), Drew Berkland (outfielder), Oisin Lee (relief pitcher), and Davis Johnson (outfielder). Additionally, Caden Crowell was listed ninth on D1Baseball’s Freshman Impact List.
