April 26, 2004

The Notre Dame baseball team has added a makeup game this week for Thursday, April 26, vs. Manchester College (5:05 p.m.). The game replaces last week’s rainout vs. Purdue and returns ND’s 2004 schedule to the maximum 56-game limit.

The Irish now are slated to play four consecutive midweek games, starting with Tuesday’s 6:05 matchup with Ball State. Sophomore lefthander Tom Thornton – who started the first game last Friday at Seton Hall – is the probable Notre Dame starter while freshman righthander Jess Stewart is the likely starter on Wednesday vs. Cleveland State (6:05 p.m.).

Notre Dame’s starting pitcher vs. Manchester is TBA (based on the relief pitchers used in the next two games) while freshman righthander Jeff Samardzija is the probable starter on Friday vs. IPFW (5:05).

The four games this week would give Notre Dame eight games in an eight-day stretch, prior to an eight-day break from competition to coincide with finals week. The Irish then will play a rare Sunday-Monday series at Connecticut on May 9-10 (which will mark the team’s eighth weekend on the road in the first 10 weekends of action this season), with the unusual schedule accommodating UConn’s finals schedule. That series also will have Tuesday, May 11, available as a makeup day – with the Irish then heading to Grand Rapids for the annual game vs. Michigan on Wednesday the 12th.