Feb. 1, 2004
As the calendar turns to February, the Notre Dame baseball program’s Countdown to Opening Day dips under three weeks. An updated list of offerings is included below, along with links to previous features in the Countdown.
The Irish – already ranked 10th in the first national preseason poll – head into the 10th season of the Paul Mainieri era looking to add to the legacy of success for a program that dates back to 1892 and includes more than 800 former ND baseball monogram winners – and www.und.com is your destination for preseason features and releases about the 2004 Notre Dame baseball team and the great tradition of the Irish program.
Starting with the Jan. 2 release of Baseball America’s preseason All-America team, the countdown-to-opening-day spans offerings such as: weekly practice reports; audio extras and photo galleries; various preseason national polls and awards; ND Baseball History Book entries; a “Catching Up With” series featuring former ND baseball players (such as current Indiana governor Joe Kernan); and a weekly ND Baseball Trivia Corner.
Note that all audio features are available to those with a College Sports Pass subscription, which includes game-by-game internet audio feeds of the entire 2004 ND baseball season (plus other ND sports events, a wide selection of archived audio and access to audio from many other schools that are part of the OCSN College Sports Pass network).
Several press releases and game reports from 2003 summer ball and the ’03 fall season also are available in the baseball news archive at und.com, including:
* Summer baseball diary entries from various returning players
http://und.ocsn.com/genrel/basebl-summerdiaries.html
* Mainieri’s comments (text and audio) about the progress of the freshman class during fall ball
http://und.ocsn.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/100503aaa.html
* Updated biographical information on the current freshman class, rated by Baseball America as the nation’s No. 6 incoming class
http://und.ocsn.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/102103aaa.html
* Game reports from the Blue-Gold intrasquad series
http://und.ocsn.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/100703aaa.html
http://und.ocsn.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/100803aaa.html
http://und.ocsn.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/100903aaa.html
* Early preseason polls and awards from Collegiate Baseball magazine and the BIG EAST Conference
http://und.ocsn.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/122003aaa.html
* An inside look at Notre Dame’s 2004 schedule
http://und.ocsn.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/120603aaa.html
Here is the tentative schedule, leading up to the Feb. 20 opener vs. San Diego State at the USC Classic (check back for alterations to schedule):
Week of Jan. 1-4
* Jan. 2 – Baseball America preseason All-America team (link: http://und.ocsn.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/010204aaa.html)
* Jan. 3 – Academic Excellence: the Irish baseball program just turned in yet another impressive semester in the classroom (link: http://und.ocsn.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/010304aaa.html)
* Jan. 4 – Catching Up With … Jeff Perconte and Matt Nussbaum: former Irish players are on their way to success, via the Notre Dame Law School (link: http://und.ocsn.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/010504aaa.html)
Week of Jan. 5-11
* Jan. 5 – Baseball America preseason top-50 poll (link: http://und.ocsn.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/010504aab.html)
* Jan. 5 – Ticket sales begin for Notre Dame’s third annual Opening Night Dinner, featuring keynote speaker John Grisham (Feb. 5 at the Joyce Center) (link: http://und.ocsn.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/010504aac.html)
* Jan. 8 – ND Baseball History Book: Alumni Award Winners, recent honorees include several associated with ND baseball (Jim Gillis, Harry Durkin and Frank Eck) (link: http://und.ocsn.com/genrel/010804aaa.html)
* Jan. 9 – Summer Ball Recap: final stats for ND’s current players in 2003 summer leagues and former ND players in pro baseball during the ’03 season (link: http://und.ocsn.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/011004aaa.html)
Week of Jan. 12-18
* Jan. 13 – Preseason coaches and writers polls released (link: http://und.ocsn.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/011304aaa.html)
* Jan. 16 – Audio Extra: a visit with first-year Notre Dame assistant Terry Rooney, who will discuss the team’s deep pool of pitching talent (link: http://und.ocsn.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/011604aaa.html)
* Jan. 17 – ND baseball captains Steve Sollmann, Javi Sanchez and Chris Niesel are set to lead the Irish in 2004 (link: http://und.ocsn.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/011304aaa.html)
Week of Jan. 19-25
* Jan. 19 – Notre Dame Baseball Trivia Corner #1 (link: http://und.ocsn.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/011904aaa.html)
* Jan. 21 – Audio Extra: Notre Dame assistant coach and recruiting coordinator David Grewe provides his insights on the Notre Dame position players heading into the 2004 season (link: http://und.ocsn.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/012104aaa.html)
* Jan. 25 – Best of the Best: A look at the various preseason lists of top prospects, top tools, etc., for ND players and the 2004 Irish opponents (link: http://und.ocsn.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/012504aaa.html)
Week of Jan. 26-Feb. 1
* Jan. 27 – Audio Extra : Head coach Paul Mainieri provides some overview thoughts and specific comments on the 2004 season (link: http://und.ocsn.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/020104aaa.html)
* Jan. 31 – 2003 Season in Review: relive last season’s exciting 45-18 run (link: http://und.ocsn.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/013104aaa.html)
* Feb. 1 – ND Baseball 2004 Season Preview (link: http://und.ocsn.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/020104aac.html)
* Feb. 1 – Report from the first official day of 2004 practice (link: http://und.ocsn.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/020204aab.html)
* Feb. 1 – Waiting For Grisham … First-year Notre Dame baseball volunteer assistant coach John Gumpf has a wide assortment of duties with the Irish baseball team, including serving as point man for the upcoming Opening Night Dinner featuring John Grisham (link: http://und.ocsn.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/020204aaa.html)
Week of Feb. 2-8
* Feb. 2 – Where are They Now?: An update on the former Notre Dame players from the Paul Mainieri era (link: http://und.ocsn.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/020204aac.html)
* Feb. 2 – Freshman Bio’s (via roster link) – take a look at the first-year players who have joined the Notre Dame baseball program, comprising the nation’s No. 6-ranked freshman class.
* Feb. 3 – Catching Up With … Cory Mee and Mike Amrhein, the former Irish greats are set to start the season as the respective head coach and the volunteer assistant at Toledo University (link: http://und.ocsn.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/020304aab.html)
Feb. 3 – Sophomore Bio’s (via roster link) – Notre Dame’s second-year players were not as highly-rated coming out of high school as the current junior and freshman classes but the sophomore class likely will play a big role in the 2004 season.
* Feb. 4 – Notre Dame Baseball Trivia Corner #2 (link: http://und.ocsn.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/020404aaa.html)
*Feb. 4 – Junior Bio’s (via roster link) – The nation’s top-ranked freshman class in 2004 now comprises many of the leaders for the Irish baseball program.
* Feb. 5 – Inside the Irish Lineup Card: ND hopes to maximize its overall effectiveness in 2004 with various position shifts (link: http://und.ocsn.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/020604aaa.html)
* Feb. 5 – Audio Extra: Comments from the Opening Night Dinner, featuring keynote speaker John Grisham and former Notre Dame All-American Steve Stanley
*Feb. 5 – Senior Bio’s (via roster link) – this group has it all, ranging from a four-year starter and All-American to players who have undergone major position shifts and valuable reserves.
* Feb. 6 – A recap from the Opening Night Dinner (link: http://und.ocsn.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/020604aac.html)
* Feb. 6 – Photo Gallery: see highlights from the Opening Night Dinner (link: http://und.ocsn.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/020604aab.html)
* Feb. 8 – Weekly practice report (link: http://und.ocsn.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/020804aaa.html)
Week of Feb. 9-15 * Feb. 13 – Notre Dame Baseball A-Z: an updated glossary of Notre Dame baseball history (link: http://und.ocsn.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/021304aaa.html)
* Feb. 14 – ND Baseball History Book: Dan Peltier, the first ND baseball player ever to couple All-America and Academic All-America honors, played several seasons in the big leagues and remains an avid supporter of the Irish baseball program (link: http://und.ocsn.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/021404aaa.html)
* Feb. 15 – Weekly practice report (link: http://und.ocsn.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/021504aab.html)
* Feb. 15 – Notre Dame Baseball Trivia Corner #3 (link: http://und.ocsn.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/021504aaa.html)
Week of Feb. 16-22
* Feb. 16 – Season-Opening Game Notes – get caught up on the Irish and their first three opponents, with opening day just four days away (link: http://und.ocsn.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/021804aaa.html)
* Feb. 20 – The Irish open the 2004 season vs. San Diego State at the USC Classic
… and stay tuned for more great feature throughout the 2004 season.