This weekend, Stanford baseball will welcome Notre Dame to The Farm. Game one will be on Friday at 6:05 PM PT on ACCNX. Game two will be on Saturday at 2:05 PM PT on ACCNX. Game three will be on Sunday at 1:05 PM PT on ACCNX. Stanford comes in at 19-14 overall and 6-12 in the ACC while Notre Dame comes in at 17-17 overall and 4-14 in the ACC. Stanford is 3-0 all-time against Notre Dame, defeating them in 1991 and twice in the 2002 College World Series. So it’s been a while since they faced each other.
Last time out: On Sunday, Stanford defeated No. 4 Clemson 11-6 to avoid a sweep.
RECAP: Stanford BSB snaps ACC losing streak at No. 4 Clemson
Probable pitchers: On Friday, the probable pitching matchup is Stanford sophomore righty Joey Volchko (2-2, 7.91 ERA) vs. Notre Dame sophomore righty Jack Radel (3-3, 5.31 ERA). The probable pitching matchups for Saturday and Sunday are TBD though I would expect Stanford sophomore lefty Christian Lim (2-3, 6.75 ERA) to start Saturday and junior righty Matt Scott (5-2, 5.65 ERA) to start Sunday. Though perhaps they’ll switch things up.
On Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish haven’t had much success this season as their record indicates. Their most recent series, they dropped two out of three at Boston College. They did however win their most recent game, defeating Valparaiso 7-1 in South Bend on Tuesday.
The top contact hitter for the Irish is freshman infielder Parker Brzustewicz, who is batting .317 for 19 RBIs to go along with a .392 slugging percentage and a .411 on base percentage. Three guys lead the way in home runs with six: Freshman infielder Bino Watters, sophomore catcher Carson Tinney, and junior infielder Estevan Moreno. This will probably be the first time a Notre Dame athlete with the last name Watters comes to The Farm since running back Ricky Watters in 1989. In case you are wondering, no they are not related.
As a team, the Irish are batting .256 for 220 runs, 40 home runs, and 202 RBIs to go along with a .420 slugging percentage and a .383 on base percentage. Their opponents are batting .265 for 212 runs, 38 home runs, 196 RBIs, a .433 slugging percentage, and a .365 on base percentage. As for their pitching, the Irish have a 5.80 ERA while their opponents have a 5.80 ERA.
Keys to the series: Stanford has guys who can go yard in Trevor Haskins (11), Jimmy Nati (9), Brady Reynolds (7), and Rintaro Sasaki (4). Stanford should have an advantage in the home run department. If they are able to hit more dingers than Notre Dame, they should be fine.
The second thing Stanford needs to do is their starting pitching needs to deliver. The starting pitching has been the biggest weakness for Stanford all season long. If that can improve and come through for the Cardinal, that more than anything will help them win the series. One thing they have to do is not allow Notre Dame to go yard.
Finally, Stanford needs to take advantage of having runners in scoring position. If Stanford can avoid leaving runners stranded and bring home runners in scoring position, their offense should be able to put up enough runs to win provided the pitching does its thing.
Prediction: I got Stanford winning the series 2-1. I think the Irish will pick up a game, but the Cardinal will find a way to win the series.
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