NOTRE DAME, Indiana — University of Notre Dame baseball coach Link Jarrett announced the 2020 schedule for his first season with the Fighting Irish, starting with the season opener against UAB on Friday, February 14.
“We are excited about our 2020 schedule and feel it provides great variety and opportunity from start to finish,” said Jarrett. “Opening at UAB in a beautiful pro venue will be a great opening trip to a quality setting and city. Our Alamo Irish Classic and Presbyterian series will also take us to neat areas of the country to compete.”
In addition to the season-opening, three-game set at UAB, highlights include the Alamo Irish Classic in San Antonio, Texas, series against reigning ACC champions North Carolina and MAC champions Central Michigan and non-conference midweeks at Michigan State and Indiana in Indianapolis. In total, the Irish will play 22 games against teams that qualified for the 2019 NCAA Tournament.
“As you look at the ACC schedule we all know how competitive that will be and the two series on the road to open will be exciting,” stated Jarrett. “There are two segments where we are home for extended periods of time and this always helps with a team’s rhythm. Being in front of our Notre Dame fans is obviously in our favor, and we hope to create exciting quality baseball for them.”
The home slate opens Tuesday March 17, with the midweek home opener against regional foe Western Michigan before hosting a three-game series against Clemson on Friday, March 20. The Irish home ACC slate includes Pitt, Miami, Wake Forest and Boston College at Frank Eck Stadium.
Non-Conference Weekends
at UAB | February 14-16
The Irish open the 2020 slate with a three-game road series at UAB. It will be just the second time in program history the Irish and Dragons have faced off. The previous meeting occurred in 2011 at the Caravelle Resort Classic and the Irish defeated UAB 3-0. Brian Dupra tossed eight scoreless innings while Trey Mancini (2-for-4) and Joe Hudson (1-for-4, 2 RBI) led the Irish at the plate.
Alamo Irish Classic | February 20-22
Notre Dame will be joined by Incarnate Word, UT San Antonio and Toledo for the annual Irish Alamo Classic at San Antonio’s Nelson Wolff Stadium. It marks the 22nd season since 1995 the Irish will make their traditional trip to San Antonio.. The Irish are 7-4 all-time against Incarnate Word, 4-3 against UT-San Antonio and 46-14 against Toledo. Last season, the Irish went 1-1 against Incarnate Word at the Irish Alamo Classic. This will be the first matchup with Toledo since 2017 and the first against UTSA since 2012.
at Presbyterian | February 28-March 1
Notre Dame and Presbyterian will face off on the diamond for the first time in school history during the final weekend of February in Clinton, South Carolina. The Blue Hose are one of two Big South teams the Irish will face in the 2020 campaign. Last season, Notre Dame went 2-0 against Big South member Charleston Southern in the Swig and Swine Classic.
Central Michigan | May 9-10
After the University’s final exam break, the Irish will host Central Michigan in their last home series at Frank Eck Stadium. The Chippewas were the MAC Tournament Champions and defeated No. 2 seed Miami in the Starkville Regional last year. The Irish hold a 21-13-1 record all-time against Central Michigan and this will be the first three-game series played against the Chippewas in program history.
ACC Home Series
Clemson | March 20-22
Notre Dame opens its home ACC slate against the Clemson Tigers, a team the Irish won the series against last season. Notre Dame took two of three from the Tigers in Doug Kingsmore Stadium last year on strong pitching performances all weekend. All three Irish starters pitched at least seven innings and Tommy Sheehan tossed a complete game in the 9-2 win to open the series. The Irish clinched the series with a 4-2 win in 10 innings on Sunday for their second-straight ACC series win to begin the year.
Pitt | March 27-29
Notre Dame continues the ACC home slate with another conference opponent that they won a series against last year. The Irish won the final two games in Pittsburgh to clinch the series and earn their third ACC road series win of the season. Daniel Jung hit his first career grand slam in the second game and the Irish pitchers allowed just one run over the final two games to win the series. The Irish are 47-23 all-time against Pitt and hold a 24-3 advantage in games played at Notre Dame.
Miami | April 3-5
The ACC’s southernmost team will make the trek up to South Bend for the first time since the 2016 season when the Irish take on Miami in April at Frank Eck Stadium. Back in 2016, the Hurricanes were ranked second in the country as they made the trip up but only one game was played in the series due to inclement weather the entire weekend. The Irish and Hurricanes last played in 2018 with Miami winning two-of-three to clinch the series. Last year, Miami was a two-seed in the Starkville Regional and fell to the Bulldogs in the regional final.
Wake Forest | April 24-26
After winning the conference opening series against the Demon Deacons last year, Notre Dame will welcome Wake Forest to Frank Eck Stadium at the end of April as conference play is turning up. The Irish have won three of the last four series against Wake Forest, included the last two played at Notre Dame. Last year in Winston-Salem, the Irish took two-of-three in the conference opening series. After splitting the first two games, the Irish erased a three-run deficit in the ninth on Sunday and ended up winning 8-7 in 10 innings. Eric Gilgenbach drove in the tying run in the ninth and Spencer Myers brought home the game-winning run in the 10th.
Boston College | May 1-3
The ACC home schedule will conclude with a three-game series against the Boston College Eagles. The Eagles reached the ACC semifinals last year after knocking off the No. 1 seed Louisville Cardinals in the ACC Tournament. It will be BC’s first trip to Notre Dame since 2018, when the Irish took two-of-three against the Eagles. The Irish lead the series 33-17 over Boston College and are 13-4 in games played at Notre Dame.
ACC Road Series
at North Carolina | March 6-8
The Irish open ACC play this season with their first trip to Chapel Hill since the 2016 season. The Tar Heels are one of three opponents this season that reached the Super Regionals last year. North Carolina won two-of-three over the Irish last season at Frank Eck Stadium but the Irish had a walk-off win over the 21st-ranked Tar Heels in the final game. Zack Prajzner hit a rope down the left field line with the bases loaded to beat the Tar Heels 4-3.
at Louisville | March 13-15
The Irish will close out their spring break with a three-game series against the Cardinals at Jim Patterson Stadium. Louisville made the College World Series last season and the Irish played the seventh-ranked Cardinals close in a series in May. The Irish fell in the first two games by just two runs each.
at Florida State | April 9-11
The Seminoles are the other Irish opponent that reached the College World Series last year. Notre Dame and No. 19 Florida State battled in a thee-game series last year at Frank Eck Stadium. Cameron Brown tossed his first career complete-game in the 12-3 win on Saturday. The series-deciding game went to extras after it was 1-1 thru nine innings but the Seminoles scored twice in the 10th to win 3-1.
at Virginia Tech | April 17-19
The Irish and Hokies did not face off last season and will meet for the first time in Blacksburg since 2016. The Irish hold a 14-9 advantage all-time over the Hokies and have won the last two series. In their last trip to Blacksburg, the Irish swept the three-game series and outscored the Hokies 27-8. The Irish scored 16 runs in the series-opener, the most runs they had scored in a game since 2013.
at NC State | May 14-16
Notre Dame will close the regular season out in Raleigh against the Wolfpack in their final ACC series. Head coach Link Jarrett will be going up against a familiar foe as his son, JT, is a junior infielder on the Wolfpack. Notre Dame won the series last season against No. 14 NC State after taking two-of-three at Frank Eck Stadium. Both Cameron Brown and Tommy Sheehan tossed quality starts against the Wolfpack and Tommy Vail shut the door in each game to clinch the series win.
Midweek Match-Ups
Radford | March 11
In the middle of their spring break road trip, the Irish will face their second Big South team this season in Radford. The Irish and the Highlanders will meet for the first time in program history as the Irish have only played two programs from the Big South (Winthrop, Charleston Southern). Radford was 30-27 last season and were the two seed in the Big South Tournament.
Western Michigan | March 17
One of the most common opponents in program history, the Irish and Broncos will meet for the 140th time in the home opener for Notre Dame at Frank Eck Stadium. The Irish dropped last season’s matchup but have won three of the last four against Western Michigan. The Irish are 49-34 in games played at Notre Dame.
Kent State | March 24-25
The Golden Flashes and Irish will renew acquaintances near the end of March for a two-game series which is part of Notre Dame’s nine game homestand to begin play at Frank Eck Stadium. The two teams faced off back in 2018 when they split contests at Notre Dame. The Irish are 10-8 all-time against Kent State and 8-4 in games at Notre Dame.
Chicago State | March 31, April 15
Notre Dame and Chicago State are set for a home and home matchup this season with the first game set for Chicago and the second game in South Bend. Notre Dame has dominated the matchup with the Cougars and hold a 34-2 record all-time against Chicago State. The Irish have won the last 17 matchups, including last year’s game 6-3. Notre Dame stole 12 bases in the game, the most by an ACC team since 1990. Five different players either set career highs or tied career high in steals (Gilgenbach, Putz, Myers, Cole & Miller).
at Michigan State | April 7
After not playing last season, Notre Dame and Michigan State will square off for the 136th time in program history. The Spartans lead the series 79-57 but the Irish have won the last three matchups, including the last meeting between the two teams in 2018. Notre Dame went up to East Lansing and defeated the Spartans 8-7.
Northwestern | April 14 & May 12
Notre Dame and Northwestern will have a home and home series for the third straight season in 2020. The Irish have swept the series over the past two years and hold a 75-60-1 record all-time against Northwestern. Last season at Notre Dame, Tommy Vail tossed a career high five innings and allowed just one run in the 6-2 Irish win. In Evanston, the Irish offense exploded for 12 runs, including Spencer Myers’ first career home run, in the 12-4 win.
vs. Indiana | April 28
In-state foes Indiana and Notre Dame will renew the rivalry this season at Victory Field in Indianapolis after not facing off in 2019. The Irish lead the all-time series 68-34-1 and will face a Hoosiers squad that made the NCAA Tournament one year ago. This will be the fourth straight matchup between the Hoosiers and Irish that will take place at Victory Field, home of the Indianapolis Indians.
