March 2, 2009
Overall Record: 3-3, 0-0 BIG EAST
Last Week’s Record: 1-2, 0-0 BIG EAST
Recent Results:
February 27 – Gonzaga 7, Notre Dame 3 – Diablo Stadium in Tempe, Ariz.
February 28 – Notre Dame 14, Dayton 5 – Diablo Stadium in Tempe, Ariz.
February 29 – Creighton 6, Notre Dame 3 – Marich Field in Phoenix, Ariz.
Upcoming Games:
March 6, 1:00 p.m. (CT) – Notre Dame vs. Oral Roberts – Reckling Park in Houston, Texas
March 7, 1:00 p.m. (CT) – Notre Dame vs. #7 Rice – Reckling Park in Houston, Texas
March 8, 12:00 p.m. (CT) – Notre Dame vs. Washington State – Reckling Park in Houston, Texas
Star Watch:
Name Avg. AB R H HR RBI TB SLG% BB HBP OBP SB-ATTGreg Sherry .545 11 4 6 0 2 7 .636 1 0 .583 0-0A.J. Pollock .417 12 5 5 1 4 8 .667 2 0 .500 3-3Casey Martin .375 8 1 3 0 1 3 .375 0 0 .375 0-0
Name ERA W-L App GS CG SV IP H R-ER BB-SO BAvg.David Mills 0.00 0-0 1 0 0 0 1.2 1 0-0 0-1 .200Will Hudgins 0.00 0-0 2 0 0 0 1.1 3 0-0 1-1 .429Sam Elam 0.00 0-0 1 0 0 0 1.0 0 0-0 0-2 .000Dustin Ispas 0.00 0-0 1 0 0 0 0.2 0 0-0 0-1 .000
Player of the Week Nominee:
A.J. Pollock – Junior – Outfielder – Hebron, Conn.
Date Opponent Score AB R H RBI 2B 3B HR BB SB-A AVG2.27 Gonzaga L, 3-7 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1-1 .2502.28 Dayton W, 14-5 3 3 3 2 0 0 0 1 2-2 .5003.1 Creighton L, 3-6 3 1 1 2 0 0 1 0 0-0 .417Totals 12 5 5 4 0 0 1 2 3-3 .417
Junior A.J. Pollock (Hebron, Conn) batted .417 this weekend in three games from the 2009 Phoenix College Classic. The centerfielder went 5-for-12 with five runs scored, a home run, four RBI and swiped three bases (in three attempts). Pollock also played flawless defense, recording 10 putouts and he even threw out a base runner at third base. The home run came in the seventh inning of Sunday’s game against Creighton and gave the Irish a 3-2 lead. With his perfect 3-for-3 effort in steals and 4-for-4 this season, Pollock now ranks first all-time in Notre Dame career history in stolen base percentage (.896, 43-for-48).
Weekly Recap:
The Notre Dame baseball team dropped two of its three games this past weekend at the Phoenix College Classic hosted by the University of Dayton. The Irish lost their weekend opener against Gonzaga, 7-3, and weekend finale versus Creighton, 6-3, but routed the host Flyers, 14-5, on Saturday.
Notre Dame senior Jeremy Barnes (Garland, Texas) registered his second triple of the season and 11th of his career Saturday night against Dayton. Barnes now stands in a tie for 13th with Gene Duffy (1957-59) on the all-time Irish list.
Notre Dame junior A.J. Pollock (Hebron, Conn.) stole three bases in three attempts this weekend and is a perfect 4-for-4 this season. Pollock is now 43-for-48 in stolen bases for his career – good for a .896 stolen base percentage. He ranks first all-time in career stolen base percentage (minimum of 35 steals), just ahead of Pat Pesavento (1987-90).
The story of the opening weekend was the Notre Dame bullpen. The bullpen worked 12.2 innings over the three games and allowed just two earned runs – good for a 1.42 ERA. The sextet allowed just six hits as Ohio State, Illinois and Purdue batted just .143 (6-for-42) against the non-starters. The Irish bullpen was at its best in the two come-from-behind victories over Illinois (14-7) and Purdue (9-4, 10 innings). The Irish not only outscored the Illini 9-0 over the final three innings of the game, but Notre Dame’s bullpen retired the final 10 Illinois batters of the evening, including three by strikeout. The Irish were even better against the Boilermakers. They did not allow a hit over the final 4.2 innings of the game.
However, they were unable to replicate that kind of performance this past weekend. The group was charged with both losses and posted a 6.57 ERA in 12.1 innings of work. In fact, Gonzaga and Creighton combined for eight runs over the 7th, 8th and 9th innings of the two meetings with the Irish.
In Friday night’s opener against Gonzaga on Feb. 27, the Bulldogs scored two runs in both the eighth and ninth inning to break a 3-3 tie and slip past Notre Dame, 7-3, at Diablo Stadium. The Bulldogs plated the four runs on a pair of RBI groundouts, a sacrifice fly and wild pitch.
A.J. Proszek (1-0) picked up the victory in relief for the Bulldogs. The righty tossed 2.2 scoreless innings of relief. He struck out two and walked two. Notre Dame sophomore right-handed hurler Todd Miller (Franklin, Tenn.) was charged with the loss. He (0-1) allowed three earned runs on four hits in 4.0 innings.
Junior David Mills (Battle Creek, Mich.) and junior Matt Grosso (Hebron, Conn.) each had a pair of hits and RBI for Notre Dame.
Barnes went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBI, while four others each knocked in a pair to lead Notre Dame past Dayton, 14-5, at Diablo Stadium on Feb. 28.
Barnes, who finished just a home run short of the cycle, had a RBI triple and a two-run double. Junior Ryne Intlekofer (Moorpark, Calif.) went 1-for-5 with a two-run double. Pollock went 3-for-4 with three runs scored and two RBI, while junior Brayden Ashdown (Tucson, Ariz.) and junior Casey Martin (Chesterton, Ind.) each drove in two. Sophomore Greg Sherry (Mendham, N.J.) went 3-for-4 with three runs scored and a RBI.
Sophomore Brian Dupra (Rochester, N.Y.) picked up the victory. The righty (1-1) went 5.1 innings and allowed five earned runs on 10 hits. Dupra was cruising until tiring in the sixth inning. He struck out a career-high six.
The Irish got another great effort from their bullpen as Mills, freshman Will Hudgins (Richmond, Va.) and senior Sam Elam (Mesquite, Texas) combined to throw 3.2 scoreless innings of relief. Elam also fanned a pair in his inning of work.
In the weekend’s final tilt on March 1, Creighton used a dropped fly ball in the top of the eighth inning with two outs to grab a 4-3 lead and tacked on two more runs in the top of the ninth inning to secure a 6-3 victory over Notre Dame.
With the game tied, 3-3, in the top of the eighth inning and two out, Notre Dame appeared to get out of the inning when junior reliever Steven Mazur (Round Rock, Texas) got Nick Becker to hit a lazy fly ball to right field. With Ashdown camped under it, the right fielder lost the ball in the sun and it dropped just a step in front of him to allow the go-ahead run.
The Bluejays added two insurances runs in the ninth inning on Darin Ruf’s clutch two-out RBI single to make it 6-3. Notre Dame was retired in order in the bottom of the ninth as Creighton closer Kirk Clark picked up his first save of the season.
Mazur was charged with the loss. The righty went 2.2 innings and allowed four earned runs on six hits, but pitched far better. The Bluejays, as they did all afternoon, found every hole and dropped in every bloop hit. Mazur yielded six hits and also struck out three.
Sherry was the lone Irish player with more than one hit. The third baseman went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Pollock went 1-for-4 with a two-run home run — his first of the season.
Notre Dame returns to action this weekend with three games at the Rice Classic in Houston, Texas. The Irish will play Oral Roberts (Friday, 1:00 p.m. CT), the host Owls (Saturday, 1:00 p.m. CT) and Washington State (Sunday, 12:00 p.m. CT).
— ND —