Sept. 24, 2004
By Pete LaFleur
Nearly 40 months ago to the day, fans of the Notre Dame baseball team couldn’t help but look ahead to a potential dream pitching matchup between Irish ace righthander Aaron Heilman and national player of the year Mark Prior of USC. The Irish and Trojans both had opened NCAA Regional play with wins and just needed a victory the next day in the winners-bracket game to all but ensure an ND-USC Super Regional matchup. It was easier said than done, as the Irish lost a pair of games to FIU in heartbreaking fashion while the Trojans nearly were upset – but the Heilman vs. Prior pairing now is set to take place on Saturday in Shea Stadium, when the Mets face the Cubs (1:25 EDT, on Fox).
USC actually opened the 2001 NCAA Regionals a day earlier (May 25) than the start of play at the South Bend Regional, with the Trojans posting a win over Oral Roberts. Less than 24 hours later, Heilman made easy work of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the NCAA bracket then took an interesting turn as USC was on the ropes vs. Pepperdine later that night (out on the west coast). The Waves took a 3-1 lead into the 9th inning of that pivotal game but the Trojans rallied for three runs and the win, capped by Michael Moon’s two-run blast.
The second day of regional play at Notre Dame (May 27) then saw the Irish lose to Florida International in controversial fashion, as the third-base umpire made a rare catcher’s interference call after the plate umpire had called a foul ball (on an 0-2 pitch). That put runners on first and second with one out and the ensuing single ended the 10-inning battle (7-6), spoiling a gutsy effort from Heilman’s classmate Danny Tamayo (the two had formed a terrific duo throughout the ’01 season and many “forecasting” fans also were looking forward to a potential Tamayo outing opposed by USC’s Rik Currier in game 2 of the Super Regional).
The Irish regrouped to outlast UCSB later that night in an elimination game (11-10, in 10 innings) while USC closed out its regional with a win over Fresno State. Rain then washed out the third day of action at Notre Dame but the Irish and Peter Ogilvie forced FIU’s hand the next day (May 29) with a 5-2 win.
That win set up one final ND-FIU showdown, with the winner earning a Super Regional spot opposite USC. The rain day actually hurt the Irish as FIU elected to bring back its game-1 starter (a strategy never utilized by Irish head coach Paul Mainieri in his ND career). The teams waged another classic battle and the Irish had the tying run on third base in the 9th before losing 5-4.
A ND-USC Super Regional surely would have created great excitement among southern California college baseball fans and the great Notre Dame alumni clubs in the area would have shown up in force to support the Irish.
But the potential Heilman-Prior matchup would have taken that “fantasy Super Regional” to another level.
In many other seasons, Heilman would have been the national player of the year (instead he was a finalist for all the top national awards). The four-time All-American posted a 1.74 ERA and went 15-0 in 15 starts during that ’01 season, adding 111 strikeouts, just 31 walks and a .173 opponent batting average in 114 innings of work (with 70 hits and just 3 home runs alllowed).
It just so happens that Prior, who began his college career at Vanderbilt, had been busy compiling one of the most dominant seasons ever by a college pitcher, with many of his numbers nearly identical to Heilman’s. Prior ultimately finished the ’01 season with a 1.69 ERA and 15-1 record while racking up 202 Ks in 138.2 innings (plus just 18 walks, a .201 opp. batting avg. and 5 HRs allowed).
Fronted by the pitching duo of Heilman and Tamayo (2.72, 8-3, 106 Ks, 17 BB, 122.2 IP in ’01), the 2001 Irish squad certainly had the talent to have given USC a ride for its money. Eight of the starting position players (all but shortstop Alec Porzel, who graduated in ’01) would return in ’02 and help lead the Irish to the College World Series – with those players including outfielders Steve Stanley, Brian Stavisky and Kris Billmaier, second baseman Steve Sollmann, third baseman Andrew Bushey, catcher Paul O’Toole, first baseman Joe Thaman and DH Matt Bok.
Prior and the Cubs will have plenty at stake in Saturday’s matchup while Heilman could become a fan favorite in several big-league cities if he helps New York beat Chicago. Heilman – who will have a fellow Notre Dame alum (Ted Roinson) calling the action for the Mets radio – will be looking to build off his last outing (7 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 5 Ks) as he continues on his third stint with the Mets.
Robinson actually was back on the Notre Dame campus earlier this week, taking the chance to see his son compete in fall workouts as a prospective walk-on with the Irish baseball team.
See the below link for information on Saturday’s game:
http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/index.jsp?c_id=nym