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Macri Takes Break From Launching Long Balls To Toss In His Summer Baseball Diary From The Cape Cod League

July 26, 2003

The third entry for the Summer Baseball Diaries at und.com has arrived from the nation’s premier college wood-bat league, as rising junior shortstop Matt Macri has checked in from the Cape Cod League. Macri has been hitting mostly in the 3-hole for the Brewster Whitecaps while playing third base for a team that includes three college shortstops. His seven home runs currently rank second in the league, trailing only the nine hit by Falmouth Commodores corner infielder Joey Metropoulos (who plays his college ball at USC). Two other players in the league have five home runs while several have hit four, with Macri nearly out-homering the rest of his team (who have combined for 11).

Macri’s home run and RBI total (16, just four shy of the league lead) have made up for a .160 batting average (for perspective, the team average is just .219) – and he also owns nearly as many walks (28) as strikeouts (34) while stealing six bases in eight attempts (his other stats include two doubles, one triple and 10 errors).

Brewster stood tied for the Eastern Division lead at 19-15-1 heading into the all-star break, with Macri one of three representatives from the Eastern Division that were to compete in the All-Star Game’s home run derby (July 26). He also was part of a select group of hand-picked Cape Cod League players who recently were invited to Fenway Park for a special workout showcase hosted by the Red Sox.

Many of Brewster’s games have been telecast this summer on College Sports Television (DirectTV 610; check www.cstv.com or www.capecodbaseball.org for schedules of remaining broadcasts).

The updated Summer Diary schedule is listed below. Contact has been made with Matt Edwards – who has endured a summer without computer access – and he will file the next diary entry on Tuesday, July 29, after returning home to Mechanicsville, Va.

Notre Dame Baseball 2003 Summer Diary Schedule (dates are approximate)

July 12 – Javi Sanchez (Madison Mallards; Northwoods League)

July 18 – Tom Thornton (Newport Gulls; Northeast League)

July 26 – Matt Macri (Brewster Whitecaps; Cape Cod League)

July 29 – Matt Edwards (Waynesboro Generals; Shenandoah League)

July 31 – Greg Lopez (Delaware Cows; Great Lakes League)

Aug. 5 – Craig Cooper (Hays Larks; Jayhawk League)

Aug. 10 – Matt Bransfield (Colorado Sox; Rocky Mountain League)

Here are some photo links of Macri from the official Cape Cod League website:

http://www.photoreflect.com/scripts/prsm.dll?eventorder?photo=02LW004Y0J0011&start=0&album=0&adjust=-1

http://www.photoreflect.com/scripts/prsm.dll?eventorder?photo=02LW004Y0O0115&start=0&album=0&adjust=-1

http://www.photoreflect.com/scripts/prsm.dll?eventorder?photo=02LW004Y0O0120&start=0&album=0&adjust=-1

http://www.photoreflect.com/scripts/prsm.dll?eventorder?photo=02LW004Y0O0130&start=0&album=0&adjust=-1

http://www.photoreflect.com/scripts/prsm.dll?eventorder?photo=02LW004Y0O0131&start=0&album=0&adjust=-1

http://www.photoreflect.com/scripts/prsm.dll?eventorder?photo=02LW004Y0O0227&start=0&album=0&adjust=-1

http://www.photoreflect.com/scripts/prsm.dll?eventorder?photo=02LW004Y0O0259&start=0&album=0&adjust=-1

ND Baseball 2003 Summer Diaries (Entry #3, Matt Macri; July 26)

Hello Irish fans, this is Matt Macri checking in from Brewster, Mass. I’m playing here in the Cape Cod League and having a great summer so far. Also playing here in the Cape are two junior pitchers, Chris Niesel for the Falmouth Commodores and John Axford for the Cotuit Kettlers. I’ve kept in touch with them and from what I’ve heard they are doing pretty well.

Each player on our team is assigned to a host family and I couldn’t ask for a better situation. I live with the Midland family, which consists of the mother (Linda), her 11-year-old daughter Julia and a four-year-old boy McKeon. Julia is a very intelligent young girl with all the qualities of becoming a future Notre Dame student. McKeon is a typical four-year-old boy with far more energy than I have. He loves baseball and is at almost every one of our games, cheering boisterously from the stands.

One of the great things about being part of the Notre Dame family is the fact that no matter where you go across the country, there are always a few Irish fans cheering you on and the Cape is no exception. At almost every one of our games, there are a few fans with ND hats on that take time out of their day to introduce themselves and chat some Irish news.

One Irish fan in particular is our announcer, Jim Nowak. He’s not an alumnus of Notre Dame, but he loves it just the same. He’s a man with an unforgettable voice and more Notre Dame stories and facts than you can imagine. He’s a great guy that adds so much more allure for people to come out and watch us play.

Currently, our team is in first place in the eastern division and we are anxiously awaiting a trip to the playoffs. I’m really looking forward to the playoffs, mainly for the experience and the chance to bring a championship to Brewster. It’s hard to believe how much the Brewster community gets behind our team and a championship is the best way to show my appreciation for accommodating such a great league. It’s amazing that, regardless of where you are or whom you are talking to, everyone in Brewster knows how the team is doing, how the game went the night before, who you play tonight and what your stats are. The community is very supportive of the team, which just makes this experience even better.

One of the things that makes this experience so great is the teammates that I have. We have players from all across the country from USC to Seton Hall. I think that one of the main reasons our team is doing so well is because of the friendships and camaraderie that we have developed.

In a typical day, I work the Whitecaps kid’s clinic from 9 to 11:30 in the morning, get a bite to eat and head to the field for some early work and batting practice. Most of our games are at 5:00 but some are at 7:00 if the field has lights. We generally have one day off a week, so on those days I usually head out to the beach, go fishing or go golfing.

Hopefully, all my teammates are as ready and excited as I am for the upcoming season. We have a lot of key guys coming back and some freshmen that I’ve heard great things about…. GO IRISH!

Matt Macri