June 17, 2006
Notre Dame righthanded pitcher Kyle Weiland (Albuquerque, N.M.) – who compiled a 2.37 ERA while ranking among the national save leaders (16) and earning 2006 Freshman All-America honors – was one of 15 final players invited this week to the upcoming tryouts for the United States National Team. The national-team trials will be held at various venues in the northeast from June 24-July 1, with 35 total players in the mix for the final 22-player roster that will compete throughout the summer – most notably in Cuba at the World University Baseball Championships. Weiland currently is playing alongside his Notre Dame classmate Jeremy Barnes with the Delaware (Ohio) Cows of the Great Lakes League, a wood-bat summer league for college players.
Kyle Weiland is one of just 13 freshmen among the 35 players invited to the USA National Team tryouts (photo by Pete LaFleur).
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The 2006 USA Baseball national team trials will be held in conjunction with the New England Collegiate Baseball League’s schedule. Notre Dame fans wishing to see Weiland in practice or game situations during the USA tryout stage may do so at venues in four northeast states. The first full practice will be held June 24 at the Dan Duquette Sports Academy in Hinsdale, Mass. (1:00). The USA contingent then will travel to Pittsfield, Mass., and will play a Blue-Red team scrimmage on June 25 (12:15) before facing the NECBL’s Pittsfield Dukes at 5:00 (both games will be held at Wahconah Park). Two days at Alumni Field in Keene, N.H., will include a June 26 practice (noon) and a team scrimmage on the 27th (1:00), followed by a game that night versus the Keene Swamp Bats.
The third stop during the Team USA trials will be in Torrington, Conn., at Fuessenich Park, with a practice on June 28 (11:00 a.m.), a noon scrimmage on the 29th and a game that night with the Torrington Twisters (7:00). The final stage will be in Newport, R.I., with a practice at Salve Regina University on June 30 (1:00), followed by a July 1 scrimmage (noon) and game that night versus the Newport Gulls – both at Cardines Field.
After the 22-player roster is announced on July 2, Team USA will play a total of seven exhibition games at the Durham (N.C.) Bulls Athletic Park before competing in the 35th annual USA vs. Japan Collegiate All-Star series (July 25-29; at sites in the U.S. that are TBA), in addition to playing a series versus Taiwan and then heading to Havana, Cuba, in August looking to repeat as the World University champions. Team USA’s full schedule for the 2006 summer has yet to be finalized.
ND PLAYERS IN 2006 SUMMER LEAGUES – (note: this information has been available all season in the ND weekly notes, with the most recent addition being Mike Dury … look for the usual complete summer-ball preview soon on und.com, including a schedule for the annual Summer Baseball Diaries) .. many of ND’s top players on the 2006 team were seniors or juniors who were selected in the MLB draft while two other veterans (Dan Kapala and Tony Langford) still are rehabbing from injuries … the other returners are playing in various summer wood-bat leagues, most notably sophomore 3B Brett Lilley with the Cape Cod League’s Cotuit Kettleers … two Irish pitchers are competing in the Alaska League: sophomore RHP Joey Williamson with the Anchorage Glacier Pilots and freshman RHP David Phelps with the Mat-Su Miners … sophomore 2B Ross Brezovsky has returned to the Hays (Kan.) Larks of the Jayhawk League (fr. LHP Sam Elam also is playing for Hays) … sophomore LHP Wade Korpi likewise has returned to his 2005 summer team, the Valley League’s Staunton (Va.) Braves … in addition to freshman RHP Kyle Weiland and freshman DH/2B Jeremy Barnes playing with the Delaware (Ohio) Cows, junior Mike Dury also is playing in the Great Lakes League with the Grand Lake Mariners, based in Cold Water, Ohio (he is listed as an OF but also can serve as a LHP and 1B) … junior OF Danny Dressman has returned to the Northwoods League’s Madison (Wis.) Mallards while junior RHP Jess Stewart is playing with the Coastal Plains League’s Wilson (N.C.) Tobs … three freshmen round out the ND summer-league players: RHP Brett Graffy (DuPage Dragons; Central Illinois League); 3B/C Eddy Mendiola (Altamonte Springs Snappers; Florida League) and OF Ryan Connolly (Amsterdam Mohawks; New York League).
USA TEAM TRYOUT ROSTER – In addition to Weiland, another player from a BIG EAST Conference team (Rutgers soph. SS Todd Frazier) is among the 35 players invited to the USA team trials … one other player among the tryout group faced the Irish this season (Kentucky soph. OF Collin Cowgill) … Weiland is one of 13 freshmen among the invited players (21 sophomores, plus a junior) … five of the invitees currently are playing at the College World Series: Oregon State soph. SS Darwin Barney, CS Fullerton soph. ace RHP Wes Roemer, UNC fr. C/1B Tim Federowicz, Rice two-way soph. talent Joe Savery (LHP/IF) and his classmate Cole St. Clair (LH closer) … others from 2006 NCAA Tournament teams include: Vanderbilt fr. 3B Pedro Alvarez and soph. LHP David Price, Texas fr. C Preston Clark, Mississippi soph. SS Zack Cozart, Virginia soph. OF/LHP Sean Doolittle, Tulane soph. RHP Sean Morgan, South Carolina soph. RHP Wynn Pelzer, Arkansas soph. LHP Nick Schmidt, Wichita State soph. IF/RHP Damon Sublett and fr. RHP Aaron Shafer, N.C. State soph. IF/OF Ramon Corona, UCLA fr. SS Brandon Crawford, Arizona State fr. 1B/LHP Ike Davis, Alabama fr. RHP Tommy Hunter and TCU soph. RHP Jake Arrieta … other pitchers include Florida soph. RHP Bryan Augenstein, Missouri State soph. LHP Ross Detwiler, Army jr. LHP Nick Hill and California fr. RHP Tyson Ross … the tryout roster includes three other outfielders – Tennessee soph. Julio Borbon, Dallas Baptist soph. Austin Krum and Texas Tech fr. Roger Kieschnick – plus utility players such as Tennessee fr. Tony Delmonico and Washington State fr. Jared Prince (OF/RHP), Tennessee soph. catcher J.P. Arencibia and Auburn fr. infielder Mike Bianucci … four players – Arencibia, Doolittle, Price and Savery – return from the 2005 USA National Team … Doolittle plays for former ND associate head coach Brian O’Connor (UVa head coach) while Friedrich is coached by former ND ace closer John Corbin (EKU pitching coach) … Vanderbilt’s Tim Corbin is serving as head coach for the 2006 USA National Team and will be assisted by three Division I head coaches (Gonzaga’s Mark Machtolf, TCU’s Jim Schlossnagle and Auburn’s Tom Slater) … Corbin was an assistant coach for the 2000 USA National Team that went 27-3-1 and included current Major League players Mark Teixeira, Mark Prior, Bobby Crosby, Ryan Howard, Xavier Nady, Chris Burke, Dewon Brazelton and Kirk Saarloos.
Kyle Weiland could follow Brant Ust, Aaron Heilmand and Grant Johnson as the fourth Notre Dame player to compete with the U.S. National Team during the past nine years (photo by Pete LaFleur).
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ND’s TEAM USA HISTORY – Former Notre Dame outfielder Shaun Fitzmaurice played for the 1964 U.S. Olympic team while three recent ND players have been members of the U.S. National Team: infielder Brant Ust (’98), RHP Aaron Heilman (’99) and RHP Grant Johnson (’02) … four others were members of various U.S. teams prior to joining the Irish: infielder Matt Macri (2000 U.S. Junior National Team), catcher/outfielder Cody Rizzo (2000 U.S. Youth National Team), RHP Jeff Manship (2003 U.S. Junior National Team) and RHP Joey Williamson (2003 U.S. Youth National Team) … Ust and former Notre Dame LHP Chris Michalak played for Team USA in Holland at the 2006 World Baseball Cup (that team was comprised of various minor-league players) while former Irish RHP Brad Lidge was a member of the USA squad at the 2006 World Baseball Championship.
USA BASEBALL NATIONAL TEAM TRIALS PRACTICE AND GAME SCHEDULE Date – Event … Time … Venue (City)
June 24 – Practice … 1:00 p.m. … Dan Duquette Sports Academy (Hinsdale, Mass.)
June 25 – Blue/Red scrimmage … 12:15 p.m. … Wahconah Park (Pittsfield, Mass.)
June 25 – vs. Pittsfield Dukes … 5:00 p.m. … Wahconah Park (Pittsfield, Mass.)
June 26 – Practice … 12:00 p.m. … Alumni Field (Keene, N.H.)
June 27 – Blue/Red scrimmage … 1:00 p.m. … Alumni Field (Keene, N.H.)
June 27 – vs. Keene Swamp Bats … 7:00 p.m. … Alumni Field (Keene, N.H.)
June 28 – Practice … 11:00 a.m. … Fuessenich Park (Torrington, Conn.)
June 29 – Blue/Red scrimmage … 12:00 p.m. … Fuessenich Park (Torrington, Conn.)
June 29 – vs. Torrington Twisters … 7:00 p.m. … Fuessenich Park (Torrington, Conn.)
June 30 – Practice … 1:00 p.m. … Salve Regina University (Newport, R.I.)
July 1 – Blue/Red scrimmage … 2:00 p.m. … Cardines Field (Newport, R.I.)
July 1 – vs. Newport Gulls … 6:35 p.m. … Cardines Field (Newport, R.I.)
Note: After the 22-player Team USA roster is announced on July 2, the team will play a total of seven exhibition games at the Durham (N.C.) Bulls Athletic Park before competing in the 35th annual USA vs. Japan Collegiate All-Star series (July 25-29; in the U.S.), in addition to playing a series versus Taiwan and then heading to Cuba in August for the World University Championship.
2006 USA BASEBALL NATIONAL TEAM TRYOUT ROSTER
Player … Pos. … Yr. … School … Hometown
Pedro Alvarez … IF (3B) … Fr. … Vanderbilt … New York, NY
J.P. Arencibia … C … So. … Tennessee … Miami, FL
Jake Arrieta … RHP … So. … TCU … Plano, TX
Bryan Augenstein … RHP … So. … Florida … Sebastien, FL
Darwin Barney … IF (SS) … So. … Oregon State … Beaverton, OR
Mike Bianucci … IF … Fr. … Auburn … Fairfax, VA
Julio Borbon … OF … So. … Tennessee … Santo Domingo, DR
Ramon Corona … IF/OF … So. … North Carolina State … Coral Gables, FL
Preston Clark … C … Fr. … Texas … Rockwall, TX
Collin Cowgill … OF … So. … Kentucky … Lexington, KY
Zack Cozart … IF (SS) … So. … Mississippi … Collierville, TN
Brandon Crawford … IF (SS) … Fr. … UCLA … Pleasanton, CA
Ike Davis … 1B/LHP … Fr. … Arizona State … Scottsdale, AZ
Tony Delmonico … UTIL … Fr. … Tennessee … Knoxville, TN
Ross Detwiler … LHP … So. … Missouri State … Wentzville, MO
Sean Doolittle … OF/LHP … So. … Virginia … Tabernacle, NJ
Tim Federowicz … C/1B … Fr. … North Carolina … Apex, NC
Todd Frazier … IF (SS) … So. … Rutgers … Toms River, NJ
Christian Friedrich … LHP … Fr. … Eastern Kentucky … Evanston, IL
Nick Hill … LHP … Jr. … Army … Bluff City, TN
Tommy Hunter … RHP … Fr. … Alabama … Indianapolis, IN
Roger Kieschnick … OF … Fr. … Texas Tech … Rockwall, TX
Austin Krum … OF … So. … Dallas Baptist … Highlands Ranch, CO
Sean Morgan … RHP … So. … Tulane … Sugar Land, TX
Wynn Pelzer … RHP … So. … South Carolina … Holly Hill, SC
David Price … LHP … So. … Vanderbilt … Mufreesboro, TN
Jared Prince … OF/RHP … Fr. … Washington State … Poulsbo, WA
Wes Roemer … RHP … So. … CS Fullerton … Glendora, CA
Tyson Ross … RHP … Fr. … California … Oakland, CA
Joe Savery … LHP/IF … So. … Rice … Bellaire, TX
Nick Schmidt … LHP … So. … Arkansas … High Ridge, MO
Aaron Shafer … RHP … Fr. … Wichita State … Moscow Mills, MO
Damon Sublett … IF/RHP … So. … Wichita State … Wichita, KS
Cole St. Clair … LHP … So. … Rice … Santa Ana, CA
Kyle Weiland … RHP … Fr. … Notre Dame … Albuquerque, NM
Weiland converted 16-of-17 save chances while compiling a 2.37 ERA during the 2006 season (photo by Pete LaFleur).
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Kyle Weiland UPDATED BIO. CAPSULE (Fr., RHP, 6-4/175; Albuquerque, N.M.)
(see roster link on und.com for preseason bio., including pre-ND info.; roster bio. page also includes link to articles on Weiland and link to his 2006 game-by-game stats)
Named by Collegiate Baseball magazine to its 2006 Freshman All-America team while joining Notre Dame DH/2B Jeremy Barnes as second team all-BIG EAST Conference selections (other Freshman All-America teams still are TBA) … currently ranks 3rd in nation with 16 saves, trailing only Don Czyz of Kansas (19) and Oregon State’s Kevin Gunderson (17) … in addition to Gunderson, four other closers currently in the CWS are among the national save leaders: Georgia’s Joshua Fields (15), UNC’s Andrew Carignan (14), Miami’s Chris Perez (12) and Rice’s Cole St. Clair (11) … ended up 13 innings shy of the NCAA minimum for the national ERA leaders (his 2.37 would have ranked 36th on that list) … among BIG EAST pitchers, his 16 saves were nearly double the total by the next player on that list (Georgetown’s Daniel Kennedy had 9 saves) … his 30 appearances ranked 3rd among BIG EAST pitchers, behind South Florida’s Chase Lirette (36) and Louisville’s Griffin Bailey (34) … Lirette (30) was the only BIG EAST pitcher to finish more games than Weiland (29) … if Weiland had met the inning minimum, his 2.37 ERA would have ranked 3rd-best in the BIG EAST (behind the 2.00 posted by teammate Wade Korpi and the 2.04 by UConn’s Tim Norton) while his .224 opp. batting avg. would have been 5th, behind Norton (.190), Korpi (.204), Scott Barnes of St. John’s (.218) and another ND teammate, Jeff Manship (.223) …
IN THE ND RECORD BOOK – His 16 saves blew past the ND freshman record (9, by Aaron Heilman in ’98) and then bested the ND overall season record (13) set by J.P. Gagne in 2003 … already ranks 4th in ND record book for career saves, trailing only John Corbin (20; ’97-’00), Ryan Doherty (20; ’03-’05) and Gagne (19; ’00-’03) … surpassed 40 innings in the 2006 season and thus qualified for the ND single-season ERA charts … his 2.37 season ERA ranks 25th in the ND record book and 8th-best in the 12-year Paul Mainieri era, behind Heilman (1.61 in ’98; 1.74 in ’01), Korpi (2.00 in ’06), Tom Thornton (1.81 in ’03), Grant Johnson (1.87 in ’04), Peter Ogilvie (1.90 in ’01) and Darin Schmalz (2.23 in ’96) … Mike Coffey (37, in ’89) and Heilman (31, in ’98) are the only ND pitchers ever to log more appearances in a season than Weiland (30; one shy of Heilman’s freshman record) … three other ND pitchers – Corbin (’00), Gagne (’03) and Doherty (’04) – also had 30 GP in a season (each of those former closers had the chance to see Weiland pitch this season) … limited opponents to a .224 batting avg. that ranks 3rd-best ever by an ND freshman behind Heilman’s .198 in ’98 and the .201 allowed by Larry Mohs in ’94 … his 49.1 innings are among the most by an ND closer in recent history and most since Gagne logged 53.0 in ’03 (he also had a 7-inning start that season) …
Weiland – picured during midseason – was impressive in his final outing of the 2006 season, logging 7.0-plus innings out of the bullpen as the Irish battled the College of Charleston in a 16-inning NCAA Tournament classic (photo by Matt Cashore).
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2006 STATISTICAL SUMMARY – Played a lead role in helping ND currently rank 21st nationally in staff ERA (3.52), 27th in Ks per 9.0 IP(7.9) and 12th in win pct. (.722; 45-17-1) … led ’06 staff in saves (16) and GP (30) while his 2.37 ERA was 4th-best, behind LHPs Korpi (2.00) and Mike Dury (2.17) and RHP Jess Stewart (2.31) … compiled 4th-best opp. batting avg. on staff (.224), behind Korpi (.204), Dury (.208) and Manship (.224) … totaled 5th-most strikeouts (48) and innings (49.1) on staff (also 5th with 15 Ks “looking”) … had the most wild pitches (6) and hit batters (8) on staff, with his other stats including a 2-4 record (2-1 in final three decisions, with loss coming in 16-inning NCAA game) … his 1.71 groundout/flyout ratio (58 total GOs) was 2nd on the staff behind Manship’s 1.82 … allowed 9-of-16 inherited runners to score (56%) while first batters hit 8-for-26 (.308) vs. him (3 BB, HBP, 6 R, 7 Ks) and opposing batters reached 50% of the time (21-of-42) when leading off any inning (the rest of the staff allowed just 33% of leadoff batters to reach) … despite those rocky starts to his appearances, he led the staff with a lowly .183 opp. batting avg. when runners were on base (17-for-93) and also had the lowest 2-out opp. batting avg. on the staff (.145; 9-for-62) … after facing the first batters in his outings (.308, 8-for-26), he held opposing hitters to a combined .210 batting avg. (31-for-148) … his 9-inning averages: 8.8 Ks (3rd-best behind Korpi’s 11.1 and Manship’s 10.6), 3.6 BB, 7.1 H (3rd-best, behind Korpi’s 6.5 and Dury’s 6.5), 10.6 GOs and 39.0 batters faced … averaged nearly 20 outs per 9.0 IP via Ks or GOs (19.4) … limited RH hitters to .198 batting avg. (23-for-116) … the only Irish pitcher with better success v. RH hitters actually was a LHP (Dury, .167) … his opp. batting avg. by LH hitters was .276 (7th on staff) … his season ERA stood at 4.60 in early April, with a .259 opp. batting avg. (14-for-54), nearly as many walks (12) as Ks (13) and almost as many hits allowed (14) as innings (15.2) at that point (10 GP) … his impressive second half of the season included a 1.34 ERA and .208 opp. batting avg. in final 20 GP, with better than a 4-to-1 K-to-walk ratio (35/8) and just 25 H in 33.2 IP … converted first nine save chances and final seven save opp.’s … only failed save came in series finale vs. St. John’s on April 15, but the Irish rallied (7-5) to give him the win (2 IP, 2 R/1 ER, 4 H, BB, K, WP, 2 inher. runners scored) … helped ND staff allow just 18 home runs all season … allowed a costly HR in his second appearance (pinch-hit blast in extra innings of loss to Memphis) but he did not allow a long ball in his final 28 GP (40 IP) … led the way for an ND bullpen that allowed just 3 HRs all season (in 102 IP) and none in final 21 GP (79 IP) … was part of amazing 25-game stretch in which the entire ND pitching staff did not allow a home run (spanning nearly 1,000 BF) …
2006 HIGHLIGHTS – His signature outing came in NCAA Lexington Regional, logging season-high 7.0-plus innings before heartbreaking 5-4 loss to College of Charleston in 16 innings … the ND and CC pitching staffs combined to throw 19 straight zeroes up on the scoreboard before the decisive rally … threw 103 pitches (60 strikes), with his 21 outs including 7 Ks and 9 GOs … allowed four leadoff batters to reach but limited CC to 1-for-9 batting with runners on base and 0-for-8 with 2-outs … his clutch pitches in that game included: blowing an 0-2 pitch by Jess Easterling in the 10th (runner on 3rd; 2-outs); striking out Chris Campbell in the 12th (runner on 2nd; 2-outs; behind 0-2 before four straight breaking balls and full-count K) … inducing 1-out flyout and groundout in 13th (with runners on 1st and 2nd); and a rightside groundout from Campbell to end the 14th (with a runner on 3rd) … his only other extended outing came in finale of showdown series at UConn, logging 5.0 IP as game ended 1-1 after 13 innings due to the travel curfew (0 R, 2 H, 2 BB, 7 Ks) … picked up wins over St. John’s (2.0 IP, 2 R/1 ER, 4 H, BB, K; 7-5) and IPFW (1.2 IP, K; 4-3) while his top saves included shutout outings vs. then-#15 Texas A&M (2.0 IP, 4 BB, K; 5-4), Illinois (0.1 IP; 4-2), Central Michigan (2.0 IP, 2 H, 3 Ks; 11-9), Ball State (0.2 IP; 6-4), South Florida (1.0 IP, H, 2 Ks; 9-6), Rutgers (2.2 IP, 2 H, 4 Ks; 14-12), Purdue (1.0 IP, H; 2-1) and UConn (0.2 IP; 7-6) – plus pair of saves at BIG EAST Tournament vs. USF (1.1 IP, H, 2 Ks; 3-1 opener) and in 5-3 elimination game vs. SJU ( 2 IP, R, 3 H, BB, 3 Ks).