The Notre Dame Fighting Irish will challenge the Pendleton County Wildcat at 11:00 a.m. on Friday. Both squads will be entering this one on the heels of a big victory.
Notre Dame barely beat Trinity Christian the last time the pair played, but that sure wasn't the case this time around. The Fighting Irish never let the Warriors get on the board and left with a 9-0 win on Wednesday. While the Fighting Irish didn't have the best season last year (they finished 4-18), it's starting to look like those struggles are a thing of the past.
Dominick Bombardiere
| 04/16/25 @ Trinity Christian | 13 |
| 04/05/25 vs Cameron | 12 |
| 03/25/25 vs Ritchie County | 9 |
| 03/20/25 vs Elkins | 6 |
| 04/13/24 vs Tygarts Valley | 6 |
Dominick Bombardiere was a major factor no matter where he played. On the mound, he didn't allow a single earned run while striking out 13 over six innings pitched. Those 13 strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also solid in the batter's box, scoring two runs while going 2-for-3. He has become a key player for Notre Dame: the team is undefeated when he posts at least two runs, but 3-4 otherwise.
In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Britain Hill, who scored a run while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Meanwhile, Pendleton County had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 4.5 runs) and they went ahead and made it three on Wednesday. They blew past the Yellow Jackets 14-2. The game snapped a strange streak: the last four times these teams have met, it?s been the away team that?s taken home the W.
Like Notre Dame, Pendleton County also got a great game from a two-way player: Cole Harper. He didn't allow a single hit and allowed only one earned run over 4.1 innings pitched. Harper was also big at the plate, going 1-for-2 with two RBI.
In other batting news, Cashton Kisamore was a standout: he scored two runs while going 2-for-3. Another player making a difference was Chase Owens, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 1-for-3.
Pendleton County was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .476. They are a perfect 4-0 when they post a batting average of .375 or better.
Notre Dame is on a roll lately: they've won four of their last five matches. That's provided a nice bump to their 6-4 record this season. Those victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 7.8 runs over those games. As for Pendleton County, their win bumped their record up to 6-4.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Friday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Notre Dame has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 9.9 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Pendleton County struggles in that department as they've been averaging 8.2 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Notre Dame might still be hurting after the 11-3 loss they got from Pendleton County when the teams last played back in March of 2024. Will the Fighting Irish have more luck at home instead of on the road? Come back here after the game to get an analysis of the match and other baseball content.
