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Notre Dame Baseball: Irish hitting their stride as regular season ends

By Jack Leniart

DENVER, CO - APRIL 25: A bag of baseballs sits on the mound in the bullpen as the Pittsburgh Pirates prepare to face the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on April 25, 2016 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - APRIL 25: A bag of baseballs sits on the mound in the bullpen as the Pittsburgh Pirates prepare to face the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on April 25, 2016 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images) /
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Notre Dame baseball has been rolling lately. In the past week, they have clinched a spot in the ACC Tournament, while pursuing a 4th-straight series win.

In the final stretch of the college baseball regular season, Notre Dame has been at their best. Their recent success (8-3 over the last 11 games) can be partially attributed to a favorable schedule over the past month, but they’ve certainly built momentum.

The Irish have won their last three series against ACC opponents and climbed to ninth place in the conference standings. This late-season run has helped them clinch a spot in the ACC Tournament. It may also help them avoid the top two seeds in group play.

All that being said, the Irish have a tough four-game stretch to close the season. After having about a week off for final exams, the team is set to hit the road. Notre Dame will travel to Evanston on Tuesday to play a game against Northwestern. From there they’ll head south to Louisville for their final ACC series.

At this point, the Northwestern game is pretty inconsequential since it’s out of conference. The season finale against Louisville, however, will set the tone for the remainder of the season.

In a previous article, I said that finishing with a .500 or better record would be a success for this team. The Irish currently sit at 23-25. They will need to win three of their four remaining games to eclipse the .500 mark. That basically works out to a win at Northwestern and a series win against Louisville. Beating Northwestern is feasible, but Louisville is one of the better teams in the ACC. The Cardinals have been hovering just outside of the Top 25 (USA Today Poll) for most of the season. It will be difficult to steal two games down there.

A series win against the Cardinals would help the Irish move closer to the middle of the conference standings. It would also give them their fourth straight series win. If they can pull that off, Notre Dame will be a dangerous team entering the ACC tournament.

Speaking of the ACC Tournament, it is scheduled to begin on May 22nd in Durham, NC. Teams are sorted into groups of 3 based on conference records. The Irish, currently in ninth place, could climb as high as sixth if they win out and teams ahead of them lose a few.

Related Story: Irish in the MLB: April Rewind

However, the ninth seed has one of the more favorable groups in the opening round of the tournament – being paired with the fourth and fifth seeds. Holding their current position in the conference standings may be the best bet for Notre Dame.

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