April 10, 2006
The Notre Dame baseball team (22-8) – riding a 12-game winning streak – has returned to the national polls with a No. 21 ranking by Collegiate Baseball magazine while Monday’s other news included senior first baseman Craig Cooper (Plainview, N.Y.) being named the BIG EAST player of the week for the second time in his career and sophomore third baseman Brett Lilley earning a spot on the BIG EAST honor roll. The Irish also have announced their week-eight rotation, with Wade Korpi and David Phelps set to start the non-conference games and Jeff Samardzija and Tom Thornton slated to pitch in Thursday’s doubleheader showdown versus St. John’s (both games live on CSTV) before Jeff Manship closes the week versus the Red Storm (see full rotations for ND and opponents, listed below).
Craig Cooper has reached base 17-of-21 times when starting a game for the Notre Dame offense this season.
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Cooper – the 10th Notre Dame position player to earn multiple BIG EAST weekly honors in his career – extended his hitting streak to 11 gmes while batting .600 (12-for-20) during a 5-0 week from April 3-9, with 10 runs scored, five RBI, a home run, triple and a pair of doubles (.950 slugging pct.), plus a .652 on-base pct. that included three walks and just a single strikeout in 23 total plate appearances (with two stolen bases). He combined with Lilley to each bat 9-for-13 in the 3-0 sweep at South Florida (the team picked third in the BIG EAST preseason poll), with Cooper (4 RBI, 7 R, HR, 3B, 2 BB, 2 SB) and Lilley leading the way for an offense that totaled the program’s most hits (49) in a BIG EAST series since 1998.
The 2006 season has seen the righthanded-hitting Cooper fashion some noteworthy situational batting statistics, including a team-best .619 leadoff on-base pct. (in any inning; 7-of-11 last week) and a .474 batting average vs. righthanded pitchers (10-for-14 last week) that is 200 points above his batting vs. LHPs (.273). Most impressively, Cooper has reached 17-of-21 times when leading off the game for the Irish (13-for-17, 3 BB. HBP), including all three games of the USF series – with his shift to the leadoff spot helping spark the 20-3 record during the past five weeks.
Cooper’s .429 season batting average includes hitting at a.524 clip in the current win streak and .529 in BIG EAST games. He currently leads all BIG EAST players in six categories during leages games – batting average, slugging pct. (.882), OPS (1.472 combined on-base plus slugging), runs scored (13), home runs (3) and total bases (30) – while ranking second in conference on-base pct. (.590) and third in hits (18). He also ranks second among BIG EAST players in overall batting avg. (.429), on-base (.509) and OPS (1.121), third in runs (34) and sixth in slugging (.612).
The two-time BIG EAST batting champion’s career BIG EAST batting average now sits at .439, second-best in the 22-year history of BIG EAST baseball and just shy of the record held by former Rutgers player Joe Cirrone (.443).
Brett Lilley’s .452 in conference play ranks fourth among all BIG EAST players.
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Lilley – one of five players named to this week’s honor roll – joined Cooper in batting 9-for-13 (2 RBI, 4 R, 2B, 3 BB) in the USF series (9-6, 10-4, 10-1), with an impressive streak of reaching base in his first 10 plate appearances (7-for-7, 3 BB). The lefthanded hitter led the Irish during the week with a .647 batting avg. (11-for-17, 2 RBI, 5 R, 2 2B, 3 BB), including 2-for-4 with a run scored in the 6-4 comeback win over Ball State (he did not play in the 6-4 win over Chicago State).
Lilley went 4-for-4 with a walk in the opener vs. USF, including a double to left-center in the 1st inning (2-1 count), a leadoff, full-count walk in the 3rd, a single up the middle in the 4th (1-0), and singles to right field in the 6th (1-0) and 8th (full count). Lilley then reached base in his first five trips to the plate in game-2: bunt single in the 1st (1-0), leadoff walk in the 3rd (3-1), a single to right and walk in the 7-run 5th (both on full counts), and an opposite-field single through the left side in the 7th (his fifth full-count hit/walk in the 10-of-10 on-base start).
Brett Lilley reached base 10 straight times to open the series at USF.
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The current BIG EAST stat rankings for league games feature Lilley fourth in batting avg. (.452), third in on-base (.581) and third in times hit-by-pitch (3). He also ranks eighth among BIG EAST players with eight overall HBPs and 28th with a .333 overall batting avg.
Cooper previously was named BIG EAST player of the week for the final week of the 2005 season, after batting 13-for-22 (.565) in a stretch that included one game at Pittsburgh, two versus USC and a three-game series with West Virginia (13 RBI, 8 R, 2 HR, 3 2B, 2 BB, HBP, SB, 2 Ks).
Notre Dame joins Cincinnati as the only teams to produce multiple BIG EAST players of the week this season, as junior outfielder Danny Dressman earned the honor after opening the Spring Break trip by batting 7-for-12 in wins over Texas A&M, Iowa and Illinois (8 RBI, 2 R).
A total of 20 Notre Dame players – including current junior catcher Sean Gaston (3/1/04) and current senior shortstop Greg Lopez (4/19/04) – now have combined to earn 34 BIG EAST baseball player-of-the-week awards, since Notre Dame joined the BIG EAST in 1995-96. The Notre Dame program also has produced 31 total BIG EAST pitcher-of-the-week recipients in the past 11 years, including five honors during his career for current senior lefthander Tom Thornton.
Danny Dressman’s defense and tremendous bat control have played a key role in Notre Dame’s 2006 season.
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Notre Dame’s previous all-time BIG EAST player-of-the-week recipients include four three-time honorees – OF Brian Stavisky (4/24/00, 2/19/01, 4/2/01), SS Alec Porzel (5/0/00, 4/15/01, 5/7/01), 2B Steve Sollmann (2/24, 3/17 and 5/19 in ’03) and SS/3B Matt Macri (4/21/03, 4/5/04, 5/17/04) – plus five two-time recipients in addition to Cooper: catcher Jeff Wagner (4/7/97, 5/5/97), SS/3B Brant Ust (4/3/98, 3/29/99), 1B Jeff Felker (4/15, 5/12), catcher Paul O’Toole (5/13/00, 4/1/02) and CF Steve Stanley (2/26, 4/23). The other seven ND position players who have received weekly BIG EAST honors include catcher Mike Amrhein (3/17/97), OF Allen Greene (4/28/97), SS J.J. Brock (3/16/98), catcher Mike Knecht (5/4/98), 3B/C Andrew Bushey (2/25/02), 1B Joe Thaman (5/13/02) and 3B Matt Edwards (4/7/03).
Probable Week-Eight Pitching Rotations
Tuesday, April 11 (5:05) – Oakland senior RHP Kevin Hale (13.10 ERA, 0-4 record, 22.2 IP, 12 GP/5 GS, 21 Ks, 14 BB, 46 H/.422 opp. avg.) … ND sophomore LHP Wade Korpi (2.53, 2-0, 32 IP, 6 GP/5 GS, 44 Ks, 11 BB, 26 H/.220 opp. avg.)
Wednesday, April 12 (5:050 – Manchester TBA … ND freshman RHP David Phelps (8.78, 1-0, 13.1 IP, 7 GP/2 GS, 12 Ks, 7 BB, 17 H/.298 opp. avg.)
Thursday, April 13 (12:07; game 1) – St. John’s senior RHP Rob Delaney (4.97, 3-1, 38 IP, 8 GS, 48 Ks, 13 BB, 46 H/.303 opp. avg.) … ND junior RHP Jeff Samardzija (4.04, 4-1, 42.1 IP, 7 GS, 23 Ks, 20 BB, 40 H (.255 opp. avg.)
Tom Thornton will be looking for his 26th career win in Thursday’s second game versus St. John’s.
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Thursday, April 13 (4:07; game 2) – St. John’s freshman LHP Scott Barnes (4.31, 1-1, 31.1 IP, 8 GP/5 GS, 37 Ks, 19 BB, 25 H/.217 opp. avg.) … ND senior LHP Tom Thornton (2.83, 5-1, 47.2 IP, 7 GS, 37 Ks, 4 BB, 43 H/.247 opp. avg.)
Saturday, April 15 (12:05) – St. John’s seophomore LHP Matt Tosoni (2.91, 1-0, 21.2 IP, 6 GP/2 GS, 16 Ks, 3 BB, 24 H/.282 opp. avg.) … ND junior RHP Jeff Manship (1.96, 4-1, 46 IP, 7 GS, 54 Ks, 10 BB, 32 H (.187 opp. avg.)
Jeremy Barnes (left) and Greg Lopez (right) have combined with Ross Brezovsky to give the Irish three strong middle-infield options in 2006.
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ND BASEBALL WEEK-7 OVERVIEW NOTES – A search through the record books has revealed that ND’s current streak of eight straight games with double-digit hits is unmatched in the program’s recorded history … the 30 games this season have featured 29 different batting orders and 24 different position combinations … the ND pitching staff’s amazing streak of not allowing a home run ended on Sunday at USF, as Joey Angleberger became the first player to homer vs. the Irish in 25 games … the Irish pitchers have allowed jut four home runs all season and faced 943 batters without allowing a HR before Angleberger left the yard … the ND offense rapped out 49 hits in the sweep at South Florida, the most hits for the Irish in a BIG EAST series since totaling 50 vs. Georgetown in 1998 … ND outhit USF .409 to .231 in the series … ND has matched the seventh-best 30-game start (22-8) in the 114-year history of the program, with just three teams in the 12-year Paul Mainieri owning a better record at the 30-game mark (26-4 in ’04, 24 5-1 in ’01 and 24-6 in ’03) … the current 12-game stretch marks the sixth time in the Mainieri era that the Irish have posted a winning streak of 12-plus games and includes three-game sweeps of the teams picked to finish second (Pittsburgh) and third (USF) in the BIG EAST preseason poll … ND had 15-plus hits in all three games of the USF series (15-17-17), with no Irish team since 1997 managaing 15-plus hits in three consecutive games (at any time in the season) … Jeff Manship’s 8.0 strong innings vs. USF (R, 4 H, BB, 4 Ks) lowered his ERA to 1.96 and his opp. batting avg. to .187 (54 Ks, 10 BB, 46 IP) … the ND defense remains on pace to set the team record in fielding pct. (.971; 33 errors), with the 10 regular starters combining for just 22 errors at their normal positions (senior SS Greg Lopez has just 3 Es and a sparkling .974 fielding pct.) … the games at USF marked the eighth time that ND has swept a 3-game road series in 11 BIG EAST seasons … ND has trailed just four times in the win streak, with three of those deficits each lasting a half-inning … ND is outhitting the opponents .362-.210 in the win streak (2.50 staff ERA) … Cooper (.529), Lilley (.452) and Greg Lopez (.417) all are batting over .400 in BIG EAST play … ND is 15-1 in its past 16 overall games vs. the BIG EAST … the ND senior class is 18-4 in games played in Florida during their career, with the 2006 BIG EAST Tournament set to be played in Clearwater … Cooper (11), Ross Brezovsky (11) and Danny Dressman (10) each are riding double-digit hit streaks … RHP Kyle Weiland already has tied Aaron Heilman’s ND record for saves by a freshman (9).
Kyle Weiland already has tied Aaron Heilman’s Notre Dame record for saves by a freshman (9).
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