April 21, 2006

Complete Full-Color Game Program in PDF Format
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** see PDF link for game program **

BIG EAST Baseball at The Eck – Rutgers Scarlet Knights (17-15-1, 7-5) vs. #16 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (29-8, 11-1) … Friday-Sunday, April 21-23, 2006 … Frank Eck Stadium (Notre Dame, Indiana)

Tale of the Tape

2005 Final Records … ND 38-24-1/14-9-1 … RU 32-21/12-12
Lettermen Returning/Lost … ND 21/7 … RU 30/7

CURRENT STATS (prior to April 21; BIG EAST rank in parentheses)
Batting Average … ND (3) .319 … RU (9) .277
BIG EAST Batting Average … ND (1) .354 … RU (7) .276
Runs Per 9 Innings … ND (4) 7.3 … RU (7) 6.7
Home Runs … ND (6) 21 … RU (1) 31
Slugging Percentage … ND (4) .435 … RU (5) .420
Batters’ BB+HBP-K Margin … ND (1) +46 … RU (7) -38
On-Base Percentage … ND (1) .413 … RU (7) .376
Stolen Bases … ND (4) 49-76 … RU (8) 39-53
Stolen Base Percentage … ND .645 … RU .736
Team ERA … ND (2) 3.12 … RU (12) 6.03
BIG EAST ERA … ND (3) 3.53 … RU (4) 3.63
Opponent Batting Average … ND (1) .238 … RU (12) .307
Pitchers’ K-BB Ratio … ND 2.7 … RU 1.3
Pitchers’ Ks Per 9 Innings … ND (3) 7.9 … RU (12) 4.6
Pitchers’ BB Per 9 Innings … ND (1) 2.9 … RU (5) 3.5
Fielding Pct. (Errors) … ND (3) .970 (43) … RU (1).978 (28)
Double Plays Turned … ND (9) 32 … RU (5) 33
Record at Home … ND 15-1 … RU 8-1-1
Record on Road (incl. neutral) … ND 14-7 … RU 9-14
Record in One-Run Games … ND 2-2 … RU 4-1
Record in Extra Innings … ND 1-2 … RU 1-0-1

Probable Pitching Matchups
Friday (Game 1): RU – Steve Holt (Jr., RHP) 5.43, 4-4, 53 IP, 9 GS, 27 Ks, 18 BB, 69 H/.322 opp. avg. … ND – Jeff Samardzija (Jr., RHP) 3.83, 5-1, 49.1 IP, 8 GS, 28 Ks, 23 BB, 51 H/.276 opp. avg.

Saturday (Game 2): RU – Matt Pustay (So., LHP) 5.62, 2-3, 40 IP, 9 GP/7 GS, 13 Ks, 8 BB, 55 H/.333 opp. avg. … ND – Jeff Manship (Jr., RHP) 2.04, 4-1, 53 IP, 8 GS, 61 Ks, 14 BB, 38 H/.194 opp. avg.

Sunday (Game 3): RU – Sean Spicer (Jr., RHP) 5.11, 5-1, 56.1 IP, 11 GP/6 GS, 30 Ks, 14 BB, 61 H/.282 opp. avg. … ND – Tom Thornton (Sr., LHP) 3.78, 5-1, 50 IP, 8 GS, 39 Ks, 4 BB, 52 H/.277 opp. avg.

NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH (see PDF for roster)

RUTGERS SCARLET KNIGHTS (see PDF for roster)

THE SERIES – ND holds a 20-14 series edge vs. Rutgers (8-4 at ND) and won four straight before dropping two at RU in ’05 (3-5, 10-11 in 10) … the Irish posted a late sweep of RU at Eck Stadium in ’04 (1-0, 7-1, 5-3) … the teams met six times in ’02 (ND won 4) and ’03 (3-3) … ND holds a 5-4 edge in the BIG EAST Tournament, including title games won by RU in ’98 and by ND in ’02 and ’03 … the series has featured its share of blowouts (8 games decided by 8-plus runs), tense finishes (18 decided by 1-2 runs, with 10 won by ND) and shutouts (ND 2, RU 2) … top ND career hitters vs. Rutgers include Craig Cooper (.407, 11-for-27, 3 RBI, 7 R, 3 2B, 5 BB, 5 SB) and Steve Andres (.308, 8-for-26, 8 RBI, 5 R, 2 HR, 3B, 2 2B , 4 BB, SB) … Jeff Samardzija had the game-2 no-decision at RU in 2005 (3.1 IP, 5 R, 8 H, BB, 3 Ks), his only career appearance vs. RU … Tom Thornton is 1-1 in 3 GP/2 GS vs. the Scralet Knights (4.77 ERA, 8 R/7 ER, 12 H, 3 BB, 9 Ks) while Jeff Manship has yet to face RU … Mike Dury is the only other active ND pitcher to have pitched vs. RU (2 GP, 1.1 IP, H).

IRISH TEAM NOTES – ND is riding the longest single-season win streak (19) in the program’s 114-year history (the 1907-08 teams combined to win 21 straight) and owns the longest win streak by any Div.-I team this season … the Irish also have won 11 straight BIG EAST games, matching the 2nd-longest league win streak by any team in 22 seasons of BIG EAST baseball (ND’s 2001 team won 18 straight in the BIG EAST) … ND’s 11-1 start is its 3rd-best in 11 BIG EAST seasons (14-1 in ’98 ,12-1 in ’99) … the Irish joined Nebraska as the only teams in the top-30 of this week’s NCAA rankings for team batting avg. (26th), ERA (13th) and fielding pct. (20th) … a win in the opener vs. RU would place ND at 30 wins quicker than all but the ’04 (30-5) and ’01 (30-5-1) teams … ND’s 10 regular position players are a veteran group, combining for 1,148 career starts … the Irish are outhitting opponents .346-.220 in the win streak (2.46 staff ERA, .971 fielding pct./22 Es) … ND is 18-1 in its past 19 games vs. BIG EAST teams … ND set an Eck Stadium record for tickets sold (3,052 and then 3,101) on both days of the SJU series (also in earlier game vs. Pitt/3,028) … the Irish are 15-1 at home and riding a 28-3 extended streak … ND had totaled just 11 HRs in its first 30 games but has 10 HRs in the current homestand (7 GP) … ND is the only team with four pitchers among the BIG EAST’s top-20 ERA leaders (see sidebar) … the current 3.12 staff ERA would rank best by an ND staff since ’92 … Paul Mainieri is 517-204-2 at ND, 848-483-3 overall in 24 seasons … the Mainieri era has included an average of 44-plus wins per season, eight trips to the NCAAs, eight conference titles, 43 players who have been drafted or signed as free-agents, 12 All-America seasons and nine Academic All-America honors (all 63 of his four-year players have graduated) … the Irish staff has allowed just six home runs all season and recently went 25 games (943 batters faced) without allowing a HR … ND rapped out 49 hits in its sweep at USF, the most hits for the Irish in a BIG EAST series since 50 vs. Georgetown in ’98 … ND’s 37 games this season have featured 34 different batting orders … the Irish own a 43-14 scoring edge in the 1st inning this season, outhitting the opponents .385-.284 in the opening inning.

ND PLAYER NOTES – Jeff Samardzija (40th) and Jeff Manship (41st) recently were upgraded to top-50 status on by Baseball America’s list of top college prospects for the ’06 MLB draft (UNC and Missouri are the only other teams with two starting pitchers among the top-50) … Samardzija has overcome some bumpy early innings by allowing just 2 total runs in the 3rd-4th innings this season … LH hitters are batting just .200 vs. Samardzija this season and he has held the opponents to .236 batting with runners on base … his top ’06 outings include a clutch start vs. then-#15 Texas A&M (5.1 IP, R, 4 H, 3 BB, 4 Ks; ND rallied for 5-4 win) and a 6-1 win over Pitt (season-high 8 IP, R, 7 H, BB, tied career-high with 8 Ks) … Alex Nettey’s 2-run blast vs. St. John’s (9-7) was ND’s 12th game-ending home run in the Mainieri era (first at Eck Stadium since ’01) … Greg Lopez is 3rd on the team in batting (.350; team-best .429 with runners in scoring position) and has a 5-to-1 ratio of RBI (team-best 30) to errors (6) that is 3rd-best among shortstops from teams in the BA top-20 … ND has faced only two deficits longer than 1.5 innings in the win streak … Craig Cooper’s 18-game hit streak is 2nd-longest in the Mainieri era (he has reached base 21-of-28 times when leading off a game for the ND offense) while his .431 career conference batting avg. is 3rd-best ever by a BIG EAST player … five pitchers combined for the 3-hit shutout of Valparaiso (12-0) while Wade Korpi went the distance in the 3-hitter vs. Western Michigan (career-best 11 Ks), ND’s first back-to-back shutouts since ’02 … Kyle Weiland already has tied Aaron Heilman’s ND record for saves by a freshman (9, in 10 chacnes) … Cooper and Brett Lilley both hit 9-for-13 in the sweep at USF … Cody Rizzo is 3rd in NCAA history with 76 career HBPs … Lopez’s next hit will be his 200th with the Irish … top hitters in the win streak: Cooper (.464, 18 RBI, 6 HR, 6 2B, 24 R, 8 BB, 6 SB), Lilley (.442, 8 RBI, 12 BB) and Lopez (.426, 17 RBI).

UPDATED BIG EAST CONFERENCE STANDINGS (as of April 21)
1. Notre Dame – 11-1 (.917); 27-8
2. Connecticut – 11-3 (.786); 24-10
3. St. John’s – 8-4 (.667); 22-11
4. Rutgers – 7-5 (.583); 16-15-1
Louisville – 7-5 (.583); 16-20
6. South Florida – 7-8 (.467); 17-20
7. West Virginia – 5-7 (.417); 25-11
Cincinnati – 5-7 (.417); 20-14
Georgetown – 5-7 (.417); 17-19
10. Villanova – 3-8 (.273); 16-17
11. Pittsburgh – 4-11 (.267); 13-20
Seton Hall – 4-11 (.267); 11-22

LAST WEEK IN THE BIG EAST – Notre Dame swept St. John’s (9-2, 13-7, 7-5) … Rutgers won 2-of-3 at Cincinnati (5-6, 9-6, 19-3) … Connecticut won 2-of-3 at West Virginia (6-3, 7-5, 18-13) … South Florida won 2-of-3 vs. Louisville (11-6, 6-3, 4-5) … Pitt won 2-of-3 on road vs. Villanova (9-5, 6-3, 3-6) … Georgetown swept Seton Hall (7-4, 3-2, 6-4)

THIS WEEK IN THE BIG EAST – Connecticut at St. John’s … Louisville at West Virginia … South Florida at Pittsburgh … Georgetown at Cincinnati … Villanova at Seton Hall

BIG EAST Stat Leaders

Batting Average
1. Jim Negrych (Pitt) .429
4. Craig Cooper (ND) .416
12. Danny Dressman (ND) .359
13. Greg Lopez (ND) .358
14. Todd Frazier (RU) .356
15. Tim Querns (RU) .355

BIG EAST Batting Average
1. Jim Negrych (Pitt) .509
2. Lopez (ND)/Cooper (ND) .468
4. Brett Lilley (ND) .463
6. Todd Frazier (RU) .404
7. Tim Querns (RU) .400

Slugging Percentage
1. Justin Jenkins (WVU) .690
3. Frank Meade (RU) .652
5. Craig Cooper (ND) .648
10. Todd Frazier (RU) .548

On-Base Percentage
1. Jim Negrych (Pitt) .534
3. Craig Cooper (ND) .497
6. Danny Dressman (ND) .472
8. Todd Frazier (RU) .453
10. Brett Lilley (ND) .452

Runs Scored
1. Justin Jenkins (WVU) 46
2. Craig Cooper (ND) 42

RBI
1. Stan Posluszny (WVU) 40

Home Runs
1. Jeremy Hunt (VU) 10
Frank Meade (RU) 10
5. Craig Cooper (ND) 6
Ryan Hill/Steve Hook (RU) 6

Doubles

1. Justin Jenkins (WVU) 16
8. Matt Bransfield (ND) 12

Walks
1. Parker/Muscenti (CIN) 34
3. Ryan Hill (RU) 28

Stolen Bases
1. Chris Joachim (SJU) 17
Adam White (WVU) 17
7. Todd Frazier (RU) 13

Earned-Run Average
1. Tim Norton (UC) 1.19
2. Wade Korpi (ND) 1.80
3. Jeff Manship (ND) 2.04
16. Tom Thornton (ND) 3.78
19. Jeff Samardzija (ND) 3.83

BIG EAST ERA
1. Tim Norton (UC) 1.41
6. Jeff Manship (ND) 2.57

Opponent Batting Average
1. Tim Norton (UC) .158
3. Jeff Manship (ND) .194
4. Wade Korpi (ND) .208

Strikeouts
1. Casey Hudspeth (USF) 68
4. Jeff Manship (ND) 61
5. Wade Korpi (ND) 58

Wins
1. Nick Tucci (UC) 7
3. Sean Spicer (RU) 5
Samardzija/Thornton (ND) 5

Saves
1. Kyle Weiland (ND) 9

See PDF for team stat pages and ND photo headshot sheet