A rainout pushed back senior night for Notre Dame baseball players Michael Luketic and Jack Noonan to Monday.
They celebrated before the first on-campus region playoff game in school history.
They hugged after losing 8-4 to Livingston Academy in a Region 4-AA semifinal at Hunter Field.
Their historic season came to an end at 18-14 - a year after Notre Dame won just seven games.
"It was fun and there was a lot of pressure, but it's something I'll never forget," said Luketic, who went 1-for-3 with a walk. "I think we left a legacy of winning, because we never really did that. But this year we were more competitive and won district [7-AA]."
The pressure may have impacted the Irish, who allowed at least one run in the first four innings and were down 7-0. The Irish struck for four runs in the bottom of the fourth and sent 10 batters to the plate. Chase White drove in two with a single to left field. But the Irish left the bases loaded.
Livingston Academy added a run in the fifth inning. Notre Dame attempted to mount a rally in its last at-bat, again loading loading the bases. But Wildcats reliever M.J. Lockhart struck out three in a row.
"We didn't get enough hits when we needed them," Noonan said. "We've never had this many people out for a baseball game. But since we won district people came out, and it felt good."
Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6484.