THE MATCHUP
Clearwater Invitational
February 22-24
Jack Russell Stadium
Clearwater, Fla.
• Pitching Matchup
Liberty, Friday (1 p.m.)
RHP David Phelps (8-5, 1.88) vs. LHP Ryan Page (3-3, 4.57) or RHP
Clarence Nicely (1-1, 4.35 in 2006 at Auburn)
Iowa, Saturday (2:30 p.m.)
LHP Wade Korpi (1-5, 4.02) vs. RHP Steve Turnbull (2-4, 5.26)
Albany, Saturday (7:30 p.m.)
RHP Brian Dupra vs. TBA
Albany, Sunday (1:30 p.m.)
RHP Evan Danieli vs. TBA
• Live Game Coverage
Audio: ESPN Radio 1490 AM (Shawn Lewallen, p-b-p); UND.com
Gametracker: UND.com
• Series History
All-Time Series: Notre Dame leads the series with Iowa, 39-25-1, and
will face Liberty and Albany for the first time in program history.
2007 Results: The Irish lost to Iowa last season 8-1 in DeLand, Fla. at
the Stetson Invitational.
Series Notes: Notre Dame and the Hawkeyes played four times during the
2006 campaign at Wolff Stadium in San Antonio. The Irish were victorious
in three of those four meetings. IN THE
BATTERS BOX - Notre Dame opens the 2008 season this
weekend at the Clearwater Invitational. The Irish will play Liberty
(Fri., 1:00 p.m.), Iowa (Sat., 2:30 p.m.) and Albany (Sat., 7:30 p.m.
and Sun., 1:30 p.m.). All four games can be heard on ESPN Radio 1490 and
UND.com.
CLEARWATER INVITATIONAL INSIDER - In addition to Notre
Dame, the rest of the field includes Iowa, Liberty and Albany. Each of
the four schools will be opening their respective 2008 campaigns due to
the mandated NCAA schedule start date. The Irish are making an
appearance in Clearwater, Fla. for the third consecutive year and will
return for the 2008 BIG EAST Tournament in May.
WARMING UP IN FLORIDA - The Irish baseball team owns a
63-49-1 all-time record (.562) in the state of Florida, but found the
Sunshine State to be an especially welcome home-away-from-home over the
previous eight seasons, racking up a 41-14 record (.732) in Florida
during that 2000-07 span. Notre Dame is opening the season in Florida
for just the third time over the last 30 years.
NOTRE DAME IN THE SUNSHINE STATE - The Notre Dame
baseball team has made regular visits to Florida, totaling a 63-49-1
record against various top teams in games played in Boca Raton, Ft.
Myers, DeLand, Gainesville, Homestead, Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando, St.
Petersburg, Tallahassee, Winter Park, Tampa and Clearwater ... in
addition to this week's Clearwater Invitational, the Irish will travel
to West Palm Beach next week for the Papa John's Classic before
returning to Clearwater and Brighthouse Networks Field for the 2008 BIG
EAST Tournament in May.
Last year, Notre Dame participated in the Stetson Invitational
(DeLand), Clearwater Classic and Florida Gulf Coast Classic (Ft. Myers).
The Irish posted a 6-5 record in those tournaments, including a 16-6
victory over #7 Nebraska on March 4.
The 2006 team swept a series at then-BIG EAST newcomer South
Florida (9-6, 10-4, 10-1) and then won the program's fifth straight BIG
EAST Tournament title by going 4-1 in action at Brighthouse Networks
Field, in Clearwater.
The 2005 team opened 3-1 in games played at Central Florida (18-3
vs. Florida A&M, 1-2 vs. UCF, 4-3 vs. FAMU, 4-2 vs. UCF) and then ended
its season at the NCAA regional played at the University of Florida (1-5
vs. North Carolina, 7-4 vs. Stetson, 3-0 vs. UNC and 3-23 vs. UF) ...
the 2005 trip to Orlando marked just the second time in 27 seasons that
the Irish have opened in the Sunshine State.
In addition to participating in the 2000 (7-1 record) and 2003
(6-1) Kennel Club Classics, the Irish recently have played three series
at Miami (1-2 in 1992 and 1995, 0-3 in 1998) while participating in the
first ACC/Disney Blast in Orlando (1998; 1-2 with win over FSU) and
winning the 2004 Florida Atlantic Classic.
Notre Dame nearly advanced to the 1992 and 1993 College World
Series, after competing in NCAA regionals at Miami and Florida State
(the Irish upset the host schools and reached the final day of
competition in both 1992 and 1993). The 2002 Irish team won their NCAA
Super Regional series at Florida State to earn a College World Series
spot (Florida native Chris Niesel picked up the decisive win over FSU).
The program's first Florida trip came in 1956 (2-5 in games around
the Tallahassee area). Other early Notre Dame trips to Florida included
a 5-2 loss at FSU in 1958, three wins at Rollins in 1967, tournaments at
Miami in 1970 (1-5) and Rollins in 1978 (3-5-1), seven games around the
state in 1979 (2-5) and six games played at Rollins and Miami in 1989
(4-2).
FLORIDA NATIVES - The 2008 Notre Dame baseball roster
includes three players from Florida. Senior 2B Ross Brezovsky
(Naples/Collier H.S.), senior LHP Wade Korpi (Lake Worth/Santaluces
H.S.) and junior 3B/1B Eddy Mendiola (Miami/Palmer Trinity H.S.) all
hail from the Sunshine State.
The Irish baseball program's list of all-time monogram winners
includes 20 Florida natives, among them Academic All-America first
baseman and Tampa native Henry Valenzuela (Jesuit H.S.; 1979-82, hit
.314 with 15 HR, 123 RBI) ... recent pitching ace Chris Niesel
(Plantation; 2002-04, 3.21 ERA, 21-4, 2 SV, 233 Ks and just 57 BB in
272. IP) joined other noteworthy RHPs such as Mike Pasilla
(Windemere/Bishop Moore H.S.; 1987-89), David Sinnes (Miami/Palmetto
H.S.; 1990-93, 2.91 career ERA, 32-8 record, 315 Ks in 297.1 IP), closer
John Corbin (Hollywood Hills H.S.; 1998-00, 20 saves) and Danny Tamayo
(Miami/Ransom Everglades H.S.; 1998-01, 3.27 ERA, 141 Ks in 160 IP) ...
Sinnes held ND record for career win pct. and Ks (best by Aaron Heilman
in 2001) while Corbin is the Irish career saves leader and Tamayo formed
a potent 1-2 punch with Heilman ... other noteworthy ND players from
Florida have included: SS Daniel Cunha (St. Petersburg; 1933-35), IF Joe
LaRocca (Ft. Lauderdale/Gibbons H.S.; 1970-72), OF Mike Galloway (Cocoa
Beach H.S.; 1975-77), DH Ken Meyer (Ft. Myers/Verot H.S.; 1999-02),
catcher Javi Sanchez (Miami/Columbus H.S.) and RHP Joey Williamson
(Lantana/Santaluces H.S.; 2005-07).
PROBABLE POSITION STARTERS -
Pos.
#
Player
B-T
Cl.
GP-GS
Avg.
HR
RBI
*C
Sean
Gaston
L/R
Sr.
55-45
.319
1
30
Team tri-captain; Missed the entire 2007 season
with shoulder injury
#1B
Casey
Martin
R-R
Jr.
39-28
.252
4
25
Indiana State transfer; finished second on the
Sycamores in home runs
2B
Jeremy
Barnes
R-R
Jr.
56-54
.258
1
28
Three-year starter that was named All-BIG EAST
second team in 2006
3B
Mick
Doyle
R-R
Fr.
0-0
.000
0
0
Two-sport standout doubled as Irish starting
quarterback for three games in 2007
-or- Evan
Sharpley
L-R
Jr.
15-7
.036
0
2
Two-sport standout doubled as Irish starting
quarterback for three games in 2007
SS
Brett
Lilley
L/R
Sr.
56-56
.371
1
14
Three-time All-BIG EAST selection; 2007 Academic
All-American
LF
Ross
Brezovsky
L-R
Sr.
56-56
.263
1
33
Team tri-captain; Has started 165 of 167 games
played over career
CF
A.J.
Pollock
R/R
So.
54-52
.372
3
28
Led Irish in hitting in 2007; All-BIG EAST third
team and Freshman All-American
-or- Golden
Tate
L-L
Fr.
0-0
.000
0
0
Two-sport standout doubles as Irish wide
receiver and kick returner in 2007
RF
Billy
Boockford
R-R
So.
10-7
.292
1
7
Missed most of 2007 season after undergoing knee
surgery
-or- A.J.
Pollock
R-R
So.
54-52
.372
3
28
Led Irish in hitting in 2007; All-BIG EAST third
team and Freshman All-American
DH
Ty
Adams
R-R
Fr.
0-0
.000
0
0
Was listed by Baseball America as Indiana's
eighth best high school prospect
-or- David
Casey
L-L
Fr.
0-0
.000
0
0
Was listed by Baseball America as Wisconsin's
fifth best high school prospect
* stats are from 2006 season
# stats are from 2007 season at Indiana State
ON DECK - After this weekend's games in Clearwater,
Notre Dame returns to the State of Florida for the Papa John's Classic
in West Palm Beach. The Irish will play Mount St. Mary's, St.
Bonaventure, Boston College, Maine and Lehigh over the week of March
1-5.
RANKINGS - Notre Dame is unranked in each of the four
season-opening polls, but the Irish are receiving votes from Collegiate
Baseball. Liberty, Iowa and Albany are also unranked.
RECENT SEASON OPENERS - The Irish have captured nine of
their last 10 season openers. Notre Dame suffered a tight loss to New
Orleans in the 2001 season opener (7-6 at Mississippi State), but have
opened season with victories in 1998 (10-1 vs. Florida State in
Orlando), 1999 (8-4 vs. James Madison at FIU), 2000 (6-0 vs. Air Force
in Millington, Tenn.), 2002 (7-6 vs. Missouri at New Orleans), 2003
(10-9 vs. Dayton at Arizona State), 2004 (7-1 vs. San Diego State at
USC), 2005 (19-8 vs. Florida A&M at UCF), 2006 (3-0 vs. Indiana State in
Millington, Tenn.) and 2007 (15-8 vs. Prairie View in San Antonio).
The 2001-03 openers each produced one-run games (the Missouri game
in 2002 went 10 innings), but Notre Dame has won the 2004-07 opening
games by a combined 44-17 margin. The 19-8 rout of Florida A&M in 2005
was Notre Dame's largest margin of victory and most runs in a season
opener since the 1963 squad won 20-3 at Indiana.
season-opening sites - This marks the 75th season and 18th straight that
Notre Dame has opened its season away from home. The 1990 Irish team
played a rare Feb. 5 home game against Goshen to open the year.
Florida (now with eight) is the site of the second-most
season-opening games in the history of Notre Dame baseball. Tennessee
ranks third with seven games and Texas and Georgia are tied for the
fourth-most common site for an Irish season-opener. Other states that
have been the site of multiple Irish openers include: Kentucky and
Louisiana (five), California (four), Arizona, Arkansas, Illinois, Ohio
and Oklahoma (all with three), Mississippi, Alabama, Michigan, Missouri
and North Carolina (two). Obviously, Indiana leads all states with 13.
The most common sites for a Notre Dame road season opener have
included: Indiana University (six), Purdue (four), Georgia Tech (three)
and USA Baseball Stadium in Millington, Tenn. (three).
OPENING-DAY HOME RUNS - Three members of the 2007 team
(A.J. Pollock, Michael Wright and Mike Dury) smacked home runs in last
year's season opener vs. Prairie View A&M ... Pollock (3-run) and Wright
(solo) homered two batters apart in the 2nd inning (their first career
ABs with the Irish) and are believed to be the first Notre Dame freshmen
ever to homer in a season opener ... Since 1989, Notre Dame players now
have combined for 16 HRs on opening day ... the Prairie View A&M game
was the first time since 1993 that the Irish have hit three home runs in
an opener (Craig DeSensi, Paul Failla and Eric Danapilis all homered in
the 1993 opener, a 11-4 win at Arizona State) ... Notre Dame players now
have homered in each of the past six season openers - also Matt Bok in
2002 (vs. Missouri, at UNO), Kris Billmaier in 2003 (vs. Dayton, at
ASU), Matt Edwards in 2004 (vs. San Diego State, at USC), Steve Andres
and Edwards in 2005 (vs. Florida A&M) and Matt Bransfield in 2006 (vs.
Indiana State) ... Edwards is the only player among those listed below
to hit multiple opening-day HRs in his ND career ... of the program's 16
opening-day HRs in the past 19 seasons, seven have come from seniors,
five from juniors, two from sophomores (none since 1993, when DeSensi
and Failla did it) and two from freshmen ... the 16 have also included
three first basemen (Edwards twice), three DHs and three leftfielders,
plus two catchers, two shortstops, a centerfielder, a rightfielder and a
third baseman.
Notre Dame Opening-Day Home Runs Since 1989
Ed Lund (Jr., C, '89) - at Trinity (12-2)
Craig DeSensi (So., DH, '93) - at Arizona State (11-4)
Paul Failla (So., SS, '93) - at Arizona State (11-4)
Eric Danapilis (Sr., CF, '93) - at Arizona State (11-4)
Bob Lisanti (Sr., C, '96) - at Georgia Tech (4-12)
Dan Leatherman (Jr., 1B, '98) - vs. Florida State, Orlando (10-1)
Brant Ust (Jr., SS, '99) - vs. James Madison, Miami (8-4) Matt Bok (Sr., DH, '02) - vs. Missouri, New Orleans (7-6) Kris Billmaier (Sr., RF, '03) - vs. Dayton, Tempe (10-9) Matt Edwards (Jr., 1B, '04) - vs. San Diego State, Los Angeles (7-1) Steve Andres (Jr., LF, '05) - vs. Florida A&M, Orlando (18-3) Matt Edwards (Sr., 1B, '05) - vs. Florida A&M, Orlando (18-3) Matt Bransfield (Sr., LF, '06) - vs. Indiana State, Millington, TN
(3-0) Michael Wright (Fr., LF, '07) - vs. Prairie View A&M, San Antonio
(15-8) A.J. Pollock (Fr., 3B, '07) - vs. Prairie View A&M, San Antonio
(15-8) Mike Dury (Sr., DH, '07) - vs. Prairie View A&M, San Antonio (15-8)
OPENING-WEEK LONG BALLS - Notre Dame players combined
to hit 31 opening-week home runs during the past 14 seasons (1995-07)
... four players in that span hit multiple opening-week HRs: infielder
Brant Ust (two; 1998 and 1999), RF Kris Billmaier (three, in 2003), 1B
Matt Edwards (two; 2004, 2005) and LF/DH Steve Andres (two; 2003, 2005)
... Billmaier is the only ND player among those listed below who had a
multi-HR game during opening week (vs. Newman, at ASU) ... A.J. Pollock
(vs. Prairie View A&M, in San Antonio in 2007) is one of six from this
list to homer during the opening week of their freshman season, as did
Michael Wright (vs. Prairie View A&M, in San Antonio in 2007), Andres
(at Arizona State in 2003), Ed Golom (as a pinch-hitter, at FIU in
1999), OF Brian Stavisky (at Memphis, in 2000) and RF Cody Rizzo (in the
second 2003 game at ASU) ... the position breakdown of the opening-week
HR hitters since 1995 is as follows: RF (6), 1B (4), DH (4), LF (4), SS
(3), C (3), CF (2), 3B (3), PH (1) and 2B (1).
Irish Players Opening-Week Home Runs Since 1995
Rowan Richards (Jr., CF, '95) - game 3 vs. Pepperdine, Anaheim (14-5)
Ryan Topham (Jr., RF, '95) - game 3 vs. Pepperdine, Anaheim (14-5)
Bob Lisanti (Sr., C, '96) - game 1 at Georgia Tech (4-12)
Justin Scholl (Sr., RF, '97) - game 2 vs. USC, Long Beach (4-14)
Dan Leatherman (Sr., 1B, '98) - game 1 vs. Florida State, Orlando
(10-1)
Brant Ust (So., 3B, '98) - game 2 vs. NC State, Orlando (8-10)
Jeff Wagner (Jr., C, '98) - game 2 vs. NC State, Orlando (8-10)
Brant Ust (Jr., SS, '99) - game 1 vs. JMU, Miami (8-4) Ed Golom (Fr., PH, '99) - game 2 at FIU (1-14) Alec Porzel (Jr., SS, '00) - game 3 at Memphis (4-3) Brian Stavisky (Fr., RF, '00) - game 3 at Memphis (4-3) Matt Bok (Sr., DH, '02) - game 1 vs. Missouri, New Orleans (7-6) Andrew Bushey (Sr., C/3B, '02) - game 2 at New Orleans (7-8) Kris Billmaier (Sr., RF, '03) - game 1 vs. Dayton, Tempe (10-9) Kris Billmaier (Sr., RF, '03) - 2 HRs in game 2 vs. Newman, Tempe
(15-5) Steve Andres (Fr., DH, '03) - game 3 at Arizona State (3-16) Matt Macri (So., SS, '03) - game 4 at Arizona State (8-14) Cody Rizzo (Fr., CF, '03) - game 4 at Arizona State (8-14) Matt Edwards (Jr., 1B, '04) - game 1 vs. San Diego State, Los Angeles
(7-1) Steve Andres (Jr., LF, '05) - game 1 vs. Florida A&M, Orlando (18-3) Matt Edwards (Sr., 1B, '05) - game 1 vs. Florida A&M, Orlando (18-3) Matt Bransfield (Sr., LF, '06) - game 1 vs. Indiana St., Millington, TN
(3-0) Ross Brezovsky (So., 2B, '06) - game 2 vs. Air Force, Millington, TN
(8-2) Mike Dury (Jr., 1B, '06) - game 4 vs. Oklahoma, Millington, TN (3-4) Michael Wright (Fr., LF, '07) - game 1 vs. Prairie View, San Antonio
(15-8) A.J. Pollock (Fr., 3B, '07) - game 1vs. Prairie View, San Antonio
(15-8) Mike Dury (Sr., DH, '07) - game 1 vs. Prairie View, San Antonio (15-8)
PLENTY OF WAYS TO FOLLOW THE IRISH - Notre Dame
baseball fans will have several options for tracking the 2008 season on
a game-by-game basis, through live streaming video (Notre Dame home
games only), live-audio broadcasts, GameTracker live stats, free Irish
Alert text messages and the ND Sports Hotline:
Live radio broadcasts are available in the South Bend area,
primarily on ESPN 1490 AM, with some broadcasts on 1620 (ND baseball is
part of a small percentage of programs in the nation with its entire
season airing live on a commercial station) ... all games are streamed
live on und.com, with the links posted on the lower left corner of the
und.com main page ... the online broadcasts are free of charge, as part
of a quick signup with Fighting Irish All-Access (which includes
archives or all audio and video content) ... see All-Access signup link
via the multimedia gold button at the top of each und.com page
Irish ALERT free text-message updates (three per game) are
available to your cell phone or other mobile devices ... see link on the
right side blue sidebar on the baseball page at und.com.
GameTracker live stats are provided for all home games and most
road games (based on phone-line availability) ... when Notre Dame is on
the road, the home team typically provides the live stats - with bonus
GameTracker stats also provided by the Notre Dame SID office for select
road games.
The ND Sports Hotline provides a recap of each game and often will
include special in-game updates for postseason action (or for
doubleheader days) ... to access the hotline, call 574-631-3000, choose
option 4 (for baseball/softball) and then press "1" for the baseball
recap.
Complete coverage of each and every Irish home game through live
streaming video.
PHELPS COPS TOP PRESEASON HONOR - Notre Dame junior
right-handed pitcher David Phelps - one of two Irish pitchers ever to
post 100-plus strikeouts and an ERA under 2.00 during the same season -
has been named to the 2008 preseason watch list for the Brooks Wallace
Award.
Phelps earned first team all-BIG EAST Conference honors in 2007,
joining former All-Americans Aaron Heilman (in '99) and Chris Niesel (in
'03) as the youngest Notre Dame pitchers ever named to the BIG EAST's
top team (each earned the honor as sophomores). Heilman is the only
other Notre Dame pitcher ever to reach 100 Ks while also having a
sub-2.00 ERA in the same season (111 Ks, 1/74 ERA; as a senior in 2001).
Phelps finished the 2007 season as the league leader in overall ERA
(1.87; good for 14th in the nation) and strikeouts (102; sixth in ND
history) while ranking third among BIG EAST pitchers with 110.1 innings
pitched, seventh in low opponent batting average (.236) and eighth in
wins (8-5). He was one of only six pitchers in the nation who entered
the 2007 postseason with an ERA under 2.00, eight or more wins and
90-plus strikeouts.
Phelps posted the 11th-best season ERA in the Notre Dame record
book and eighth-best of the aluminum-bat era (since the early 1980s). He
led the 2007 Irish staff in ERA, wins, strikeouts, innings, starts (15;
sixth in the BIG EAST), Ks looking (42) and groundouts (119), also
ranking third in low opp. batting avg. He had 15 more innings pitched
than hits allowed (96) and finished with the staff's second-best
K-to-walk ratio (3.4; 102/30) - while his nine-inning averages included
a team-best 7.1 innings per start, 8.3 Ks (2nd on the team) and 2.5
walks (3rd-lowest on the staff), plus 7.8 hits per 9 IP.
The fifth different Notre Dame pitcher ever to reach 100 strikeouts
in a season, Phelps reached double-digit strikeouts three times during
the 2007 regular season and then had a 9-K game in the BIG EAST
Tournament versus Villanova. He totaled five complete games in the 2007
season and is is one of only three Notre Dame pitchers to post four or
more nine-inning complete games in a season. The only Notre Dame
pitchers to total more strikeouts in a season than Phelps are Heilman
(118 in '99 and '00; 111 in '01), Jeff Manship (111 in '06) and Tamayo
(106 in '01).
SCHOLARLY STANDOUT - In addition to his impressive
accomplishments on the field as a three-time all-BIG EAST performer,
senior SS Brett Lilley has reached near-perfection in the classroom
during his first three years at Notre Dame. The College Sports
Information Directors of America recognized Lilley's excellence as a
student-athlete by naming him a first team ESPN The Magazine Academic
All-American, in recognition of his 3.81 cumulative grade-point average
as an accounting major. Lilley - whose older sister Tricia was an
Academic All-America shortstop on the 2006 Purdue softball team -
quickly returned to campus following the end of Notre Dame's 2007
season, in order to begin taking the first of three summer-school
courses that will allow him to graduate one semester early (following
the 2007 fall semester). He then intends to enroll in the intensive
one-year master's in accountancy program at Notre Dame, with the plan
being to start those classes in the 2008 spring semester before
concluding sometime later that calendar year (pending a possible stint
in pro baseball during the summer of '08).
Lilley has compiled a 3.95 GPA over his past three semesters at Notre
Dame, despite taking an overworked load of 21 classes and 60 credit
hours in that three-semester span. His stellar run in the classroom
began in-season during the 2006 spring semester, as Lilley posted a 4.0
GPA despite taking an 18-credit load. The following fall, he ramped up
to 21 credits but still managed to post a 3.95 (with six A grades and a
B-plus) before adding a 3.95 in the recently-completed 2007 spring term
(again with 21 credits, with all As except for a B-plus in a 1.5-credit
course). Lilley's 21 grades over the span of those three semesters
includes 19 As and the pair of B-plus marks while his 36 total classes
at Notre Dame now have included 25 As, five A-minuses, four B-plus
grades, a B and a B-minus. He is the 18th different Notre Dame baseball
player to be named an Academic All-American (10th to be on the first
team) and in 2008 could become the seventh ever to repeat that honor.
Notre Dame baseball players now have combined to earn Academic
All-America honors 11 times in the current decade. Lilley was among the
youngest players among the 13 who were named to the elite 2007 first
team Academic All-America squad that included eight seniors and five
juniors, meaning that he could be a leading candidate for Academic
All-American of the Year candidates in 2008. Phelps - who took a 3.36
cumulative GPA into the 2007 spring semester (as a double major in
psychology and computer applications) - earlier had joined Lilley in
earning first team Academic All-District honors and thus advanced to the
Academic All-America ballot, which produced only three sophomores among
the 39 final Academic All-Americans.
ACE PRODUCTION - Despite playing a minimal role as a
freshman on the 2006 Notre Dame squad, junior RHP David Phelps returned
for a sophomore surge in 2007 that saw him emerge as the unquestioned
leader of the Irish pitching staff. As college baseball headed into NCAA
Tournament play, Phelps held the rare distinction of being one of six
pitchers in the nation with an earned-run average under 2.00 (1.88;
10th-best in the nation), eight or more victories (8-5) and 100-plus
strikeouts (102). He ended up leading the BIG EAST in ERA and strikeouts
while ranking second with 110.1 innings pitched, sixth in wins and
seventh in low opponent batting average (.236). Phelps picked up three
of Notre Dame's top wins of the 2007 season - versus #12 TCU, #7
Nebraska and at BIG EAST leader Rutgers (in the series opener) - but he
easily could have totaled 12 or more victories, if not for poor run
support (the Irish averaged just 5.4 runs in his 15 starts) and untimely
defensive breakdowns that saw 12 of the runs charged to him be unearned
(three of his losses were due to unearned runs). His 1.88 ERA ranks
eighth-best among Irish pitchers during the aluminum-bat era (since the
early 1980s) while his 102 strikeouts rank sixth on the Notre Dame
season record book. Phelps allowed 0-2 earned runs in 11 of his 15
starts during the 2007 season and only once yielded more than three
earned runs in a game (4, vs. Pittsburgh). His nine-inning averages
included a team-best 7.1 innings per start while he totaled nearly a 3.5
strikeout-to-walk ratio (102/30; 3.4), had 15 more innings pitched than
hits allowed (96), averaged nearly a strikeout per inning (8.6 Ks per 9
IP) and became one of just four Irish pitchers in the past 12 seasons to
post four or more nine-inning complete games in a season (4, plus one in
which he pitched 8.0 innings). He joined the elite company of former
All-Americans Aaron Heilman ('in '99) and Chris Niesel ('03) as the only
Notre Dame sophomore pitchers ever named first team all-BIG EAST (no
Notre Dame freshman pitchers ever have been first-teamers).
ONE-TWO PUNCH - Notre Dame featured one of the top
hitting duos in the BIG EAST during the 2007 season, as sophomore OF/3B
A.J. Pollock (.372) and senior SS Brett Lilley (.371) were one of only
two pairs of BIG EAST teammates to each hit above .370. The Irish duo
actually had the same number of hits (73) but Pollock had one fewer
at-bat to narrowly finish atop the team batting charts. The BIG EAST
recognized 41 total players with all-conference honors in 2007 and Notre
Dame - with Lilley and Pollock - was the only team in the conference
that featured both of its leftside infielders on the all-BIG EAST teams.
ROOKIE REWARDS - After narrowly edging Lilley atop
the 2007 team batting charts, Pollock became just the fourth freshman
ever to lead the Notre Dame baseball team in season batting average (he
and Lilley are the only ones to do so since the early 1990s). Pollock's
impressive all-around season - which earned him Freshman All-America
honors from Collegiate Baseball magazine - saw him finish with the
third-best season batting average ever by a Notre Dame freshman (best
since 1994), with that .372 mark ranking fourth best among all of the
BIG EAST players in 2007 (behind two senior sluggers and Todd Frazier of
Rutgers, the BIG EAST player of the year). Pollock was one of two
players in the entire BIG EAST to total 70-plus hits (73), 30-plus walks
(32), double-digit stolen bases (11) and 10 or more sacrifice bunts (10)
while also finishing first (6) or second (4) on the Irish team in 10
primary statistical categories, including those listed above plus 39
runs scored and 26 multiple-hit games. The right-handed-hitting Pollock
also hit a team-best .406 with runners in scoring position and feasted
on left-handed pitching in the 2007 season (.509 batting avg.).
ON-BASE REGULAR - Senior SS Brett Lilley will enter
his final season in 2008 with the chance to etch his name throughout the
Notre Dame record book. The feisty infielder has started all 176 games
of his career (just four shy of becoming the fourth-longest streak in
Notre Dame baseball history) while owning a .349 career batting average
and the second-best career on-base percentage (.485) in the Irish
baseball record book. A large chunk of his times on base have come via
the hit-by-pitch (78), placing him fourth in NCAA history and 14 back of
the record (his former ND teammate Cody Rizzo is second all-time, with
84). Lilley became the seventh Notre Dame baseball player ever to be
named all-BIG EAST three or more times, earning third team honors in
2007 while leading the Irish in 11 categories and ranking second in five
others. His BIG EAST-leading .512 on-base percentage in 2007 ranked 11th
in the nation and is seventh in Notre Dame history (second-best since
the early 1990s) while his 27 HBPs ended up being fourth-most among the
nation's players in 2007. Lilley also ended up with the sixth-best
batting average among BIG EAST players (.371), also ranking ninth in
runs (55) and 11th in walks (31), and he reached base in all but three
of the 56 games in 2007- including a stretch to end the season that saw
him reach in each of the final 20 games.
BIG CROWDS RETURN - One season after setting numerous
attendance records at Eck Stadium, the Notre Dame baseball team again
played in front of a steady stream of fans that featured an average of
nearly 2,000 per game (1,958). The late-April series with West Virginia
attracted a total of 9,011 fans to Eck Stadium, representing the
second-highest attendance for a three-game series in the facility's
14-year history. The 3,927 who were on hand for the Saturday afternoon
game versus the Mountaineers (on April 21) broke the previous Eck
Stadium single-game record - set one year earlier, to the day (3,507 saw
the Friday-night game versus Rutgers on April 21, 2006).
CAPE COD COMPANY - Six Notre Dame players competed in
the nation's premier wood-bat summer league in 2007, as junior 2B Jeremy
Barnes and senior RHP Tony Langford headed off to join the Cape Cod
League's Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox while four Irish pitchers - junior RHP
David Phelps, junior RHP Kyle Weiland, junior LHP Sam Elam and junior
RHP Brett Graffy - were prepping for a summer together as members of the
CCL's Falmouth Commodores. Notre Dame consistently has produced multiple
players each summer who compete in "The Cape," including a 2005 summer
that saw Gaston earn Cape Cod League All-Star honors as a member of the
Cotuit Kettleers.
IRISH TO FACE SEVERAL TOP OPPOSING PLAYERS - Seven
pitchers from Notre Dame's 2008 opponents are on the NCBWA Stopper of
the Year watch list, including the Arizona duo of LHP Daniel Schlereth
and Jason Stoffel, Southern Illinois RHP Bryant George, Connecticut LHP
Matt Karl, Georgetown RHP Dan Kennedy, St. John's RHP Colin Lynch and
South Florida RHP Shawn Sanford ... Notre Dame's 2008 opponents also
include 23 players who are on the Wallace Award watch list, among them
are eight players from the BIG EAST: Cincinnati OF Tony Campana,
Connecticut INF Matt Karl, Louisville DH Chris Dominguez, RHP Justin
Marks, RHP Zack Pitts, South Florida RHP Shawn Sanford, St. John's OF
Brian Kemp and RHP Colin Lynch ... others include the Arizona duo of P
Preston Guilmet and OF Jon Gaston, Boston College's trio of 3B Eric
Campbell, P Terry Doyle and C Tony Sanchez, Central Michigan C Tyler
Stovall, IPFW OF Jared Davis, Michigan's duo of P/1B Zach Putnam and OF
Derek VanBuskirk, Purdue's P Matt Bischoff and OF Ryne White, Southern
Illinois' trio of P Cody Adams, P Bryant George and C Mark Kelly and
Western Michigan P Ethan Hollingsworth ... six players from ND opponents
also were named 2008 preseason All-Americans by either Baseball America
or the National Collegiate Baseball Writers, including Putnam, Arizona's
quartet of Ryan Perry, T.J. Steeler, Guilmet and C.J. Ziegler, as well
as Zack Pitts of Louisville.
WEILAND QUICK NOTES - Junior RHP Kyle Weiland returns
to the back end of the bullpen in 2008. Due to injuries and lack of
depth last year, Weiland was forced to move into the starting rotation.
He went 5-3 with a 5.66 ERA over 13 appearances and six starts. As a
closer in 2006, Weiland ranked among the nation's elite freshmen,
receiving top Freshman All-America honors from Baseball America (one of
14 on the first team), Collegiate Baseball and the The Rosenblatt
Report/Rivals.com while also being invited to the annual USA Baseball
National Team trials. A second team all-BIG EAST selection that year,
the lanky 6-foot-4 righthander finished third nationally with a
school-record 16 saves and compiled a 2.37 ERA that ranked fourth-best
on the Irish staff. His 30 appearances were one shy of the Irish
freshman record (31) set by current big-leaguer Aaron Heilman in 1998
(when he led the nation with a 1.61 ERA). In addition to posting nearly
a 2.5-to-1 strikeout-to-walk average (48/20) in 2006, Weiland logged 11
more innings (49.1) than hits allowed (39, with only one home run) and
limited opponents to a .224 opponent batting average that ranked
third-best ever by a Notre Dame freshman behind Heilman's .198 in '98
and the .201 allowed by Larry Mohs in '94. Weiland converted all but one
of his save opportunities en route to nearly doubling Heilman's freshman
save record (9) while his 16 saves were three better than the previous
overall Irish record (13), set by J.P. Gagne in 2003.
FRESHMAN FORCE - Notre Dame's 2008 opening-day lineup
will likely include three seniors, two juniors, two sophomores and two
freshmen. It would mark the second straight season the Irish would have
featured at least two freshman in the starting nine. Notre Dame had
three freshman in the starting lineup in last year's season opener (just
the third time in the past 13 seasons that Notre Dame featured three or
more freshman starters:
SUPER SHORTSTOPS - Notre Dame's baseball tradition
spans nearly 120 seasons but the shortstop role was not well-represented
by elite players, until an impressive run of talent at the position
during the past 20 years. Early 1900s player Bobby Lynch and
heavy-hitting 1964 All-American Rich Gonski were possibly the most
noteworthy shortstops in the first 85 years of the program, followed in
the late 1970s by Rick Pullano before an impressive 20-year span that
has produced the likes of Tommy Shields, Pat Pesavento, Craig Counsell,
Paul Failla, Brant Ust, Alec Porzel, Matt Macri and Greg Lopez at the
shortstop position. Senior Brett Lilley has carried the torch each of
the last two seasons. Lilley has started 176 games over his career,
including 113 straight over the last two seasons at shortstop. He is a
career .349 hitter with 150 runs scored, 214 hits and 74 RBI. Lilley has
a remarkable .485 career on-base percentage over his career.
FREEBIES UPDATE - Over his years as a head coach, Notre
Dame skipper Dave Schrage has utilized a formula to measure how many
free bases a team allows during a given year. The formula adds walks
allowed, errors, stolen bases allowed, hit batters, wild pitches, passed
balls, and balks and divides that total by the number of games played.
In 2007, the Irish allowed nearly 8.7 "freebies" per game. By
comparison, Notre Dame's 2006 team allowed just 6.2 per game en route to
totaling 45 wins while Schrage's 2006 team at Evansville had just 5.6
freebies allowed per game.
Freebies
ND 2007
ND 2006
Evansville
2006
Walks Allowed
191
170
160
Errors
83
68
65
SB Allowed
73
65
43
Hit Batters
61
50
49
Wild Pitches
45
23
27
Passed Balls
27
6
10
Balks
5
7
6
TOTAL
485 (8.7/gm)
389 (6.2/gm)
360
(5.5/gm)
HITTING STREAKS - Heading into this weekend's games,
only senior SS Brett Lilley has a hitting streak over a game.
LILLEY LITTERED THROUGHOUT IRISH RECORD BOOKS - Notre
Dame senior SS Brett Lilley is all over the Irish career record book.
Lilley ranks second all-time in career on-base percentage (.485),
seventh in sacrifice bunts (28) and eighth in total sacrifices (34). He
is also on pace to finish his career among the top time all-time in the
following categories: games played, games started, consecutive games
started, at-bats, hits, runs scored, walks and assists.
MR. DURABLE - Senior SS Brett Lilley takes the term
"everyday player" to another level. Lilley has started 176 consecutive
games (every game of his entire Irish career). He has started 113
consecutive games at shortstop. Lilley would move into third place
passing Brant Ust on the all-time list for consecutive starts with
starts in Notre Dame's first four games of 2008 (trails second place Pat
Pesavento by 29 straight starts). Steve Stanley's school record of 256
consecutive starts may never be broken.
NATIONAL FLAVOR - As is usually the case, the Notre
Dame baseball roster is made up from players across the United States.
This year, however, it's even more apparent as 39 of the 43 players on
the roster are from outside the state of Indiana. In fact, 18 different
states, including Indiana, are represented. The only Indiana natives on
the team are Ty Adams (Indianapolis/Brebeuf Jesuit H.S.), Sean Gaston
(Brownsburg/Brownsburg H.S.), Justin Gingerich (Goshen/Northridge H.S.)
and Andrew Wiand (South Bend/Riley H.S.).
IRISH PICKED FIFTH BY BIG EAST COACHES - The University
of Notre Dame baseball team was picked to finish fifth in the 2008 BIG
EAST preseason baseball poll as determined by a vote of the league's 12
head coaches, who were not permitted to vote for their own teams. The
Irish received a total of 80 points.
PHELPS' LAST...
Victory: 5.4.07 vs. Seton Hall (3-1)... number of starts since then -
3
Complete Game: 5.23.07 vs. Villanova (L, 2-3)
Shutout: Combined with two others for shutout on 4.13.07 against
Georgetown
Fanning 3 Batters In Inning: last time 5.4.07 vs. Seton Hall (7th)
Fanning 2 Batters In Inning: last time 5.23.07 vs. Villanova (4th)
CAREER BESTS...
Low-Hit Complete Game: three-hitter, vs. South Florida on 4.23.07
Most Strikeouts: 11, on two different occasions
Longest Winning Streak: 4 games, 4.06.07 to 5.4.07
KORPI'S LAST...
Victory: 2.17.07 vs. Prairie View A&M (15-8)... number of starts since
then - 9
Complete Game: 3.29.06 vs. Western Michigan (W, 2-0)
Shutout: 3.29.06 against Western Michigan
Fanning 3 Batters In Inning: last time 2.17.07 vs. Prairie View A&M
(3rd)
Fanning 2 Batters In Inning: last time 5.19.07 vs. Connecticut (5th)
CAREER BESTS...
Low-Hit Complete Game: three-hitter, vs. Western Michigan on 3.29.06
Most Strikeouts: 11, on three different occasions
Longest Winning Streak: 4 games, 3.29.06 to 5.16.06
LAST START...
DATE
OPP
RESULT
IP
H
R
ER
BB
SO
5.19.07
Connecticut
ND
6.0
4
1
1
1
5
VS. IOWA...
Career: 1-1, 4.82 ERA in 2 appearances; 2 starts (5 ER/9.1 IP), 14 H, 3
BB, 12 K
2007: 0-1, 6.23 ERA in 1 appearance (3 ER/4.1 IP), 8 H, 2 BB, 5 K
CAREER STATS...
Year
ERA
W-L
G-GS
CG
SHO
IP
H
R-ER
BB-SO
2005
5.47
4-3
18-9
0
0/0
54.1
73
44-33
33-32
2006
2.00
7-2
14-12
1
1/
1
76.1
55
20-17
27-94
2007
4.02
1-5
13-10
0
0/
0
53.2
53
38-24
27-43
TOTAL
3.61
12-10
45-31
1
1/1
184.1
181
102-74
87-169
GAME-3 STARTER...
#6 • Freshman
RHP • Brian Dupra
6-3 • 200
Rochester, New York (Greece Athena H.S.)
