Notre Dame baseball couldn't complete a three-game sweep at home against Toledo.
After victories over the Rockets on Friday and Saturday, the Irish dropped the series finale, 5-2, on Sunday.
Toledo (25-27) took the lead for good in the third inning with a pair of home runs. A two-run shot by JP Wagner gave the Rockets a 2-1 lead. Caden Konczak added another run with a solo homer two batters later.
Toledo added some cushion with a two-run blast by Garret Pike in the fifth inning. Notre Dame starting pitcher Rory Fox (2-2) allowed all five runs in his five innings of work. Three of the five hits he allowed were homers. Fox struck out five hitters and walked two.
Notre Dame's bullpen — Tobey McDonough, Caden Spivey, Ryan Lynch and David Lally Jr. — provided four innings of scoreless relief to give the Irish a chance to rally. McDonough did most of the work by striking out six and surrendering one hit in three innings.
Notre Dame, which scored its first run of the game on a solo dinger by right fielder Brady Gumpf in the second inning, only managed one more: a solo shot by shorstop Jack Penney in the bottom of the ninth. The Irish were limited to four hits throughout the game.
Toledo starter Jackson Bergman (3-5) kept the Irish in check through six innings by allowing three hits, one run and only one free pass: a hit batter. Jacob Tabor recorded a three-inning save for his sixth save of the season.
Notre Dame's final non-conference game of the regular season is scheduled for Tuesday against Butler (19-32) in Indianapolis at 4 p.m. EDT. The Irish (27-22, 9-18 ACC) will then spend the weekend in Louisville for a three-game series against the Cardinals (29-21, 13-13) to finish the regular season.
BOX SCORE: Toledo 5, Notre Dame 2
After victories over the Rockets on Friday and Saturday, the Irish dropped the series finale, 5-2, on Sunday.
Toledo (25-27) took the lead for good in the third inning with a pair of home runs. A two-run shot by JP Wagner gave the Rockets a 2-1 lead. Caden Konczak added another run with a solo homer two batters later.
Toledo added some cushion with a two-run blast by Garret Pike in the fifth inning. Notre Dame starting pitcher Rory Fox (2-2) allowed all five runs in his five innings of work. Three of the five hits he allowed were homers. Fox struck out five hitters and walked two.
Notre Dame's bullpen — Tobey McDonough, Caden Spivey, Ryan Lynch and David Lally Jr. — provided four innings of scoreless relief to give the Irish a chance to rally. McDonough did most of the work by striking out six and surrendering one hit in three innings.
Notre Dame, which scored its first run of the game on a solo dinger by right fielder Brady Gumpf in the second inning, only managed one more: a solo shot by shorstop Jack Penney in the bottom of the ninth. The Irish were limited to four hits throughout the game.
Toledo starter Jackson Bergman (3-5) kept the Irish in check through six innings by allowing three hits, one run and only one free pass: a hit batter. Jacob Tabor recorded a three-inning save for his sixth save of the season.
Notre Dame's final non-conference game of the regular season is scheduled for Tuesday against Butler (19-32) in Indianapolis at 4 p.m. EDT. The Irish (27-22, 9-18 ACC) will then spend the weekend in Louisville for a three-game series against the Cardinals (29-21, 13-13) to finish the regular season.
BOX SCORE: Toledo 5, Notre Dame 2
