Junior Kyle Weiland is now one save shy of the Irish career record.

Fighting Irish Baseball Monday Report Card

April 7, 2008

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame baseball team returns to action for a pair of non-conference games this week. The Irish host Valparaiso on Tuesday at 5:05 p.m. and Manchester on Wednesday at 6:05 p.m. Notre Dame then hits the road for a three-game series with Villanova this weekend.

Notre Dame (16-9-1) will send freshman Brian Dupra (Rochester, N.Y.) to the mound against the Crusaders. The right-handed hurler is 1-2 with a 6.94 ERA in six appearances, all starts. Dupra has allowed 34 hits over his 23.1 innings — good for a .347 opponents’ batting average. He has struck out seven and walked five. In his last start, Dupra allowed just two earned runs on six hits in 6.0 innings of work against Ball State on March 25.

Since opening the season with an earned run average of 10.22 over his first three starts (22 hits, 14 ER in 12.1 IP), Dupra has allowed just four earned runs in his last 11.0 innings of work over two starts (vs. Central Michigan on March 18 and Ball State on March 25). Dupra has lowered his ERA to 6.94 and has not walked a batter in 11.1 innings.

Valparaiso (8-20) won its midweek game 9-4 against Illinois Tech last Wednesday afternoon before taking one of three at Youngstown State over the weekend in Horizon League action. In the series opener, Valpo posted an 11-inning victory, 4-3. The Penguins swept Saturday’s twin bill 6-0 and 3-1.

The Crusaders will start senior John Snelten. The right-handed hurler is 1-0 with a 12.60 ERA in four appearances, all starts. Snelten has allowed 23 hits over his 15.0 innings — good for a .354 opponents’ batting average. He has struck out nine and walked six.

The Irish will likely turn to freshman Ryan Sharpley (Marshall, Mich.) for Wednesday’s game against Manchester. Sharpley is 1-1 with a 2.70 ERA in three appearances, two starts. He has allowed five hits over his 10.0 innings — good for a .156 opponents’ batting average. He has struck out nine and walked five. In his last start, Sharpley did not allow a run and limited Wisconsin-Milwaukee to just one hit in 5.0 of work on March 26. He fanned three and walked three.

Manchester has not determined a starting pitcher.

THE MATCHUPS
April 8-9
Irish vs. Crusaders
Irish vs. Spartans
Frank Eck Stadium
Notre Dame, Ind.

PITCHING MATCHUP
Tuesday: RHP Brian Dupra (1-2, 6.94) vs. RHP John Snelten (1-0, 12.60)
Wednesday: RHP Ryan Sharpley (1-1, 2.70) vs. TBA

LIVE GAME COVERAGE
Video Streaming: UND.com
Audio: ESPN Radio 1490 AM (Sean Stires, p-b-p); UND.com
Gametracker: UND.com

SERIES HISTORY
Valparaiso (68-20)
Since 1995: ND leads 12-1
At ND: ND leads 44-10 (12-1 @Eck)
At Valparaiso: ND leads 22-9
NCAA Tournament: ND leads 2-1
One-Run Wins: ND 11, Valpo 3
Streak: ND 7-0 (14-1 since 1993)

Date    Site         Result5/14/18    ND           W 4-25/15/20    ND           W 2-05/28/20    Valpo        W 2-15/19/58    ND           L 13-155/28/98    WMU (NCAA)   L 0-25/30/98    WM  (NCAAs)  W 10-45/18/59    Valpo        W 9-55/15/61    ND           W 11-25/15/62    Valpo        W 4-35/14/63    ND           W 11-45/21/63    Valpo        L 4-135/31/63    Ill. (NCAAs) W 5-25/12/64    Valpo    W 10-75/19/64    ND           W 4-35/11/65    ND (11)  L 1-35/18/65    Valpo    W 11-15/10/66    Valpo    W 6-55/16/67    Valpo    L 6-105/23/67    ND           W 5-15/14/68    ND           W 11-85/21/68    Valpo    W 3-25/13/69    Valpo    L 2-34/21/70    ND           W 5-15/19/70    Valpo    W 4-04/20/71    Valpo    W 4-24/27/71    ND       L 0-84/18/72    Valpo    W 12-55/9/72     ND           W 4-25/2/73     Valpo    W 5-35/8/73     ND           L 5-84/20/74    ND           W 6-04/9/75     ND           W 6-54/15/75    Valpo    L 3-54/6/76     Valpo    L 3-144/14/76    ND           W 13-104/12/77    Valpo    L 2-64/12/77    ND           W 12-84/5/78     ND           W 4-14/25/78    Valpo    L 1-24/10/79    ND           W 9-34/10/79    ND           W 2-04/20/80    Valpo    L 1-34/20/80    Valpo    W 9-25/6/80     ND       L 7-105/6/80     ND           W 8-35/5/82     ND           W 8-14/1/82     Valpo    W 3-04/1/82     Valpo    W 2-04/29/82    ND           W 2-14/29/82    ND           W 7-23/31/83    Valpo    W 4-23/31/83    Valpo    W 4-25/3/83     ND       L 2-65/3/83     ND           W 12-34/24/84    Valpo    W 9-54/24/84    Valpo    W 8-7May '84    Valpo    L 7-114/16/85    ND       L 3-54/16/85    ND           W 6-44/2/86     Valpo    W 5-01987       ND           W 5-14/1/87     ND       L 5-95/7/88     Valpo    W 10-25/7/88     Valpo    W 9-35/8/88     ND           W 12-35/8/88     ND           W 6-55/1/89     Valpo    W 5-45/2/89     ND           W 15-145/2/90     ND           W 6-45/2/90     ND           W 11-15/1/91     ND           W 12-05/1/91     ND           W 11-54/27/93    COV (7)  L 1-24/27/93    COV          W 6-54/21/94    ND           W 15-14/18/96    ND           W 11-34/29/97    ND           W 10-64/22/98    ND (9)   W 1-04/22/98    ND (7)   W 3-14/5/00     ND           W 7-24/25/01    ND (7)   W 7-34/25/01    ND (7)   L 2-44/3/02     ND (7)   W 16-04/3/02     ND (7)   W 12-14/2/03     ND           W 13-44/2/03     ND           W 13-44/17/04    ND           W 9-34/21/05    ND           W 9-83/28/06    ND           W 12-0
Series Scoring Total Avg.Notre Dame 583 6.6Valparaiso 339 3.9

ND Most Runs (Gm): 16 (2002)
ND Widest Margin: 16-0 (2002)
Valpo Most Runs (Gm): 15 (1958)
Valpo Widest Margin: 11 (14-3, ’76)
High-Scoring Game: 29 (15-15, ’89)
Low-Scoring Game: ND 1-0 (1998)
Longest ND Win Streak: 10 (’88-’91)
Longest Valpo Win Streak: 2 (3)
Shutouts By: ND 11, Valparaiso 2

Manchester (6-0)
Since 1995: ND leads 6-0
At ND: ND leads 5-0 (5-0 @Eck)
Neutral: ND leads 1-0
One-Run Wins: ND 1
Streak: ND 6-0


Date Site Result4/14/97 ND (7) W 11-14/14/97 ND (7) W 3-23/7/00 ND W 5-14/29/04 ND W 10-04/27/05 ND W 5-04/12/06 ND W 8-2
Series Scoring Total Avg.Notre Dame 42 7.0Manchester 6 0.9

ND Most Runs (Gm): 11 (1997)
ND Widest Margin: 10, twice (1997, 2004)
Manchester Most Runs (Gm): 2, twice (1997, 2006)
Manchester Widest Margin: N/A
High-Scoring Game: 12 (11-1, 1997)
Low-Scoring Game: ND 3-2 (1997), ND 5-0 (2005)
Longest ND Win Streak: 6 (1997-present)
Shutouts By: ND 2

VALPARAISO INSIDER — The Crusaders, who are led by second-year head coach Tracy Woodson, enter the game with an 8-20 record. Valparaiso won its midweek game 9-4 against Illinois Tech last Wednesday afternoon before taking one of three at Youngstown State over the weekend in Horizon League action. In the series opener, Valpo posted an 11-inning victory 4-3. The Penguins swept Saturday’s twin bill 6-0 and 3-1. The Crusaders are hitting .252 as a team and are led by Zach Rodeghero. He is hitting .381 with 10 doubles, four home runs and 25 RBI. He has walked 14 times, owns a .459 on-base percentage and a .590 slugging percentage. Josh Wallace is hitting .319 with seven homers and 22 RBI. The Crusaders sport a 6.22 ERA and .301 opponents’ batting average. Valparaiso’s defense has a .955 fielding percentage, committing 46 errors in 28 games.

MANCHESTER INSIDER — The Spartans, who are led by 12th-year head coach Rick Espeset, enter the game with a 14-12 record. Manchester dropped two of three this past weekend to Franklin College. The Spartans are hitting .266 as a team and are led by Josh Buell. He is hitting .313 with six doubles, three home runs and 15 RBI. He has walked nine times, owns a .378 on-base percentage and a .500 slugging percentage. Heath Williams is hitting .309 with 12 RBI, while Matty Miller and Shawn Baker are batting .293 and .289, respectively. Miller and Baker each have four home runs. Manchester sports a 4.08 ERA and .291 opponents’ batting average. The Spartans defense has a .963 fielding percentage, committing 35 errors in 26 games.

ON DECK — After this week’s non-conference games against Valparaiso and Manchester, Notre Dame will travel to BIG EAST rival Villanova for a three-game series this weekend.

RANKINGS – Notre Dame is unranked in each of the four polls. Valparaiso and Manchester are also unranked.

HITTING STREAKS — Entering this week, six players have a hitting streak of at least three games.

Player                Statistics During StreakDavid Mills (8)       .370 (10-for-27), 4 R, 1 3B, 5 RBI, 3 SBRoss Brezovsky (6)    .474 (9-for-19), 4 R, 3 2B, 1 HR, 6 RBIBrett Lilley (4)      .438 (7-for-16), 7 R, 1 3B, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 2 HBPA.J. Pollock (4)      .625 (10-for-16), 7 R, 2 2B, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 4 SB, 2 BBSean Gaston (4)          .467 (7-for-15), 3 R, 2 2B, 1 RBI, 1 HBPBilly Boockford (3)   .417 (5-for-12), 1 R, 3 RBI, 1 BB