Sports

Notre Dame Baseball Series Preview Against Oakland

It's been an up-and-down season for the Notre Dame baseball program, but right now the Fighting Irish are riding high. ND has won five in a row and is one away from matching its longest winning streak of the season.

About Notre Dame

Notre Dame is a perfect 3-0 in May and has won five straight, including four straight non-conference games.



That might not seem like a big deal, but don't forget Notre Dame (24-20, 11-16) had lost eight in a row less than a month ago and looked like the doormat of the ACC. But give the Irish some credit, they've turned a corner and look like a whole different team now.

ND's best player is starting pitcher Jack Radel, who is 6-3 with a 3.41 ERA in 12 starts. Radel has gone at least seven innings in each of his last two starts, has allowed fewer than two runs in each start, and has struck out a combined 23 batters.



Radel will likely start Friday's opener and will probably hear his name called sometime during the first ten rounds of this year's MLB Draft.

Offensively, the Irish are led by catcher Mark Quatrani. Quatrani was named the Buster Posey Collegiate Catcher of the Week last week after going 12-for-19 with three doubles, a home run, five runs scored, and 11 RBIs.

The Cornell transfer leads the ND offense in batting average, home runs, RBIs, total bases, slugging percentage, and on-base percentage and has played a vital role in ND's success this season.

About Oakland

It's been a brutal year for Oakland (10-34, 5-16), and things are about as bad as they can get for the Golden Grizzlies. Oakland has lost 13 in a row, which matches their season-long losing streak, and hasn't won a game in nearly a month.



Oakland's team ERA is over nine, and not a single pitcher has an ERA under five. Meanwhile, the Golden Grizzlies offense has scored just seven runs in their last three games but do have a couple of solid bats in their lineup.



Oakland's best hitter is junior catcher Ben Clark. Clark leads the Golden Grizzlies in runs, hits, doubles, sacrifice flies, and on-base percentage.

Series Schedule

Game 1: Friday, May 8th (6:30 p.m. ET)

Game 2: Saturday, May 9th (2 p.m. ET)

Game 3: Sunday, May 10th (1 p.m. ET)



All three games are available to watch via the ACC Network Extra (ACCNX).



This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/notredame as Notre Dame Baseball Series Preview Against Oakland.

Copyright ABG-SI LLC. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED is a registered trademark of ABG-SI LLC. All Rights Reserved.

This story was originally published May 7, 2026 at 11:17 AM.

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