The No. 23 Notre Dame baseball team will face Western Michigan at Frank Eck Stadium on March 24, with the game set to begin at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time.
This matchup comes as Notre Dame looks to build on recent successes, including a sweep of No. 19 Clemson and their entry into the D1Baseball Top 25 poll at No. 23. The Irish currently lead the all-time series against Western Michigan, holding a record of 73-69-1 since their first meeting in April of 1914.
Notre Dame enters the game following a strong performance over Clemson, highlighted by Jack Radel’s complete-game shutout and key offensive contributions from Jamie Zee and Mason Barth in game one. The second game featured a walk-off win after overcoming a late deficit, with Drew Berkland leading at the plate and Mark Quatrani adding two runs. In the final game of the series, Berkland again contributed multiple hits as Notre Dame secured the sweep.
Statistically, five Irish players are batting .300 or higher this season, led by Quatrani’s .405 average. Radel has retired an impressive stretch of consecutive batters across recent games and is among six players listed in D1baseball.com preseason rankings by position—joined by Bino Watters, Quatrani himself, Berkland, Oisin Lee, and Davis Johnson.
The current roster features significant experience with sixteen returners from last year’s squad that closed out their regular season with a strong record. There are also twelve true freshmen—including six ranked among top recruits in their states—and seven transfer student-athletes new for this season.
Looking ahead to Tuesday’s contest against Western Michigan—with probable starters Kellan Klosterman for Notre Dame and Joey Wizceb for Western Michigan—the Irish aim to continue their momentum as they progress through their schedule.
