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Sam Elam |
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SENIOR SEASON (2009): Rare commodity as 6-
foot-3 hard-throwing lefthander who was projected by
Baseball America as BIG EAST Conference's top prospect
for 2008 Major League draft (rankings prior to `07
season) ... likely to fill a relief role in 2009 ... noted for
arm strength, high release point and lively fastball ... keys
to his progress include repeating his delivery and
improved command ... looking to turn in a steady and
more consistent season in 2009 - as his first three seasons
with the Irish included record-setting low hit totals
allowed (23 H in 45.0 innings; 4.6 H/9 IP, .146 opp.
batting avg.) but plenty of free bases surrendered (35 BB,
10 HBP, 9 WP; 9.4 BB+HB+WP per 9 IP) ... his other
career stats with the Irish include a 4.20 ERA, 0-2 record
and one save in 25 appearances (seven GS) ... his four
career appearances in Notre Dame's Blue-Gold World
Series include a pair of tough-luck losses ... spent the
summer of 2008 with the Hays Larks of the Jayhawk
League ... made 10 appearances and two starts ... went 0-
1 with a 8.03 ERA in 12.1 innings of work ... allowed
just three hits as opponents batted just .083 against him
and struck out 14, but walked 28.
JUNIOR SEASON (2008): Member of serieswinning
Gold team in 2007 Blue-Gold World Series ...
tossed 1.0 inning, allowed two runs on a hit ... walked
three and struck out two ... made just one appearance for
the Irish in the spring ... pitched out of the bullpen
against Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Mar. 26 ... did not allow
a hit in 1.0 inning of work, but surrendered a pair of runs
on four walks and four wild pitches ... did register a pair
of strikeouts ... joined former classmates Kyle Weiland,
Brett Graffy and David Phelps on the pitching staff of the
Cape Cod League's Falmouth Commodores in summer of
2007 (14.79 ERA, 9 GP/2 GS, 14 IP, 17 Ks, 8 H, 26 BB,
10 HB, 5 WP).
SOPHOMORE SEASON (2007): Part of victorious
Gold squad in 2006 Blue-Gold World Series, despite
losing game-2 when eventual winning run (4-3) came
home on throwing error (3 IP, 4 R/3 ER, 3 H, 4 BB, 2
Ks) ... split time as starter and situational reliever while
trying to find consistency in his outings and innings ... set
the Notre Dame record for fewest hits allowed per 9.0
innings (4.26; 15 H/31.2 IP), besting Ed Lupton's record
(4.83, in `63) that was set in the wood-bat era and had
stood for nearly 45 years ... also led staff in low opponent
batting average (.146), low batting by left-handed (.107)
and right-handed (.160) hitters, low batting with runners
on base (.211) and low leadoff on-base percentage (.181)
... his dominance in limiting opposing hits often was
counteracted by high walk totals (25; 7.1 BB/9 IP), in
addition to allowing other free bases (7 HBP, 5 WP) ...
his combined totals of BB+HBP+WP was 10.5 per 9 IP,
leading to a 4.55 ERA, an 0-2 record and only one save
... ranked third on staff in starts (7), fourth in opponent
two-out batting average (.229) and fifth in Ks per 9 IP
(7.1; 25 Ks), groundouts per 9 IP (10.8) and
groundout/flyout ratio (1.4) ... did not allow a home run
in his 13 appearances ... allowed 2-of-6 inherited runners
to score ... his first batters faced (out of the bullpen) hit
1-for-6 (2 RBI, 4 Ks) ... had a 9.35 ERA after his first
three games pitched (all starts; 8.2 total IP) and then
made three short relief stints before a solid start vs. IPFW
(4 IP, 2 H, BB, 3 Ks,W; 3-2) ... played lead role in a giving
the Eck Stadium fans a rare sight on April 18, 2007 - after
combining with Purdue RHP Matt Bischofff to allow no
hits through the first 7-plus innings ... he did allow six
walks by Purdue in that game (all in the first 6 IP) while
the only hit vs. Elam (in 9 IP) came with two outs in the
8th ... Bischoff 's perfect game ended on a leadoff single
from Jeremy Barnes in the 9th (the Irish won, 1-0 in the
10th) ... became the first Irish pitcher with a 1-hit, 9-
inning appearance since RHP Grant Johnson's complete
game in the record-setting 25-1 win over South Alabama
(`02 NCAA Regional, at Eck) ... saw his ERA plummet
to 3.75 after the Purdue game ... had another quality start
vs. Ball State (4.1 IP, R, 2 H, 4 BB, K ,WP, 2 HB; 7-3) ...
inherited a 9th-inning jam and recorded final out to save
6-4, series-clinching win at league leader Rutgers ... was
rated by Baseball America as top prospect in wood-bat Jayhawk League during summer of `06, after stellar
showing with Hays (Kan.) Larks that included leading
league in wins (5-0), ERA (0.95) and strikeouts (42)
during league play (his Jayhawk League pitcher-of-the-year
stats also included only 7 BB in 28 IP of league
action) ... Baseball America cited him for a summer
fastball that touched 95 mph, to go along with
"excellent command and clean mechanics" during his
summer stint with the Larks ... played alongside former
Notre Dame teammate Ross Brezovsky on `06 Larks
team that won Jayhawk League title, advanced to
National Baseball Congress World Series (Wichita,
Kan.) and finished 40-16 ... his overall stats (including
non-league games): 2.77, 7-0 record, .127 opp. batting,
14.2 Ks/9 IP (77 Ks in 48.2 IP) ... his inning total with
the Larks matched his total of walks (28) and hits (21)
allowed, for a solid 9.06 WHIP (BB+H/9 IP) ... allowed
only one home run with Hays but did have other control
issues (8 HB, 6 WP) in his 20 GP (4 GS, 2 SV).
FRESHMAN SEASON (2006): Split pair of relief
decisions in 2005 Blue-Gold World Series (3.2 IP, 3 R,
6 H, 3 BB) ... showed glimpses of potential despite
pitching only 12.1 innings, with 3-to-1 ratio of Ks to
walks (19/6), a lowly .178 opp. batting average and a
2.19 ERA that ranked third on the staff (8 H, 3 HB) ...
allowed 1-of-4 inherited runners to score while his first
batters faced hit 3-for-9 (BB, HBP, 3 R, K) ... made
debut with inning versus Oklahoma (UER, H, BB, 2 Ks;
3-4) ... K'd batter in Metrodome loss to Minnesota (0-
8) ... logged two shutouts innings with four Ks in
spring-break win over Iowa (16-2, in San Antonio) ...
pitched another game in his home state on that trip,
with shutout inning vs. Southern Illinois (BB, HB, K; 12-
1) ... made his first of two BIG EAST regular-season
appearances in 8-3 road loss to Georgetown (1.2 IP, H,
BB, K) ... added shutout inning against Valparaiso (K; 12-
0) before longest outing of season, in 15-1 win over
Oakland (3 IP, R, 3 H, BB, HB, 5 Ks) ... did not register
an out in brief appearance vs. Rutgers (2 R, H, 2 BB;
11-5) before his shutout inning helped defeat Cleveland
State, 12-1 (H, K) ... made two postseason appearances
- against St. John's at BIG EAST Tournament in
Clearwater, Fla. (IP, H, 3 Ks; 1-10), and at Kentucky in
NCAA Regional (0.1 IP; 4-10).
PREP & PERSONAL: Standout pitcher as junior
and senior at Poteet HS ... first burst onto scene in
summer and fall of 2004 ... dominating closer as senior
in `05 (2.21, 9-2, 92 Ks, 45 IP) ... averaged better than
two strikeouts per inning over final two prep seasons
(146 Ks in 71 IP) ... Team One Baseball rated him nation's
#147 prep prospect, while Baseball America slotted him
34th in Texas ... had big win in `05 regional semifinals,
entering tie game in 7th and logging 4.0 innings to beat
Arlington Heights ... posted 2.20 ERA as a junior (54
Ks, 26 IP) ... logged 11 straight games in relief without
allowing a hit or run ... MVP of Mt. Pleasant
Tournament (four shutouts, no-hit relief stints) ...
selected for Texas Scout North- South Game (at
Ameriquest Field, home of Texas Rangers) ... also played
first base at PHS ... pitched in Perfect Game Wood Bat
National Championships (Ft. Myers, Fla.) ... listed as
fifth-best prospect at South Showcase (held at Baylor) ...
honor-roll student and member of National Honor
Society ... one of four Teas natives on current Irish squad
and one of 18 all-time Texas natives to monogram with
Notre Dame baseball ... former ace closer John Corbin
also recently wore jersey number 24 for the Irish, from
1997-2000 ... born June 16, 1987, in Dallas ... son of
Rusty and Belynda Elam ... full name is Samuel David
Elam ... posted 3.13 GPA in `07 spring semester and a
3.10 in fall of `07 ... an anthropology and computer
applications major, enrolled in the College of Arts and
Letters.
Elam's Career Statistics
| Year | G/GS/CG | IP | H | R | ER | BB | K | WP | HB | BK | AVG | HR | W-L | SV | ERA |
| 2006 | 11/0/0 | 12.1 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 19 | 0 | 3 | 0 | .178 | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 2.19 |
| 2007 | 13/7/0 | 31.2 | 15 | 17 | 16 | 25 | 25 | 5 | 7 | 0 | .146 | 4 | 0-2 | 1 | 4.55 |
2008 | 1/0/0 | 1.0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0-0 | 0 | 18.00 |
| Totals | 25/7/0 | 45.0 | 23 | 23 | 21 | 35 | 46 | 9 | 10 | 0 | .152 | 0 | 0-2 | 1 | 4.20 |
