Feb. 15, 2004

With the 2004 season opener just days away, it’s time for the third installment of the Notre Dame Baseball Trivia Corner. The Trivia Corner made its debut at und.com on Jan. 19 (see http://und.ocsn.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/011904aaa.html), with those questions and answers included with Trivia Corner No. 2 (see http://und.ocsn.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/020404aaa.html). The answers for Trivia Corner #2 are included below, after the third installment of questions.

So, step up to the plate again and take your shot at some more Trivia Corner challenges. The point values again are weighted by difficulty, with a maximum of 100 points (plus bonus points). Check the Trivia Corner #4, during the 2004 season, for the answers to these questions. (submissions for future questions can be sent to lafleur.4@nd.edu).

Notre Dame Baseball Trivia Corner #3

2004 Season

Single (1 pt) – Who is the opponent for Notre Dame’s 2004 home opener?

Double (2 pts) – What current Notre Dame baseball player lettered with the Irish football team last fall?

Double (2 pts) – What current Irish player also was a standout high school soccer player (bonus point for adding his former prep teammate who is a current member of the ND soccer team)

Home Run (4 pts) – Notre Dame’s 2004 opponents include four different set of teams with the same nickname (or partial nickname). Name three of the sets of schools with the same nicknames form the four points (bonus point for complete answer).

Coaches

Single (1 pt) – Name Notre Dame’s first-year assistant coach and first-year volunteer assistant.

Double (2 pts) – What former ND basketball coach also coached the Irish baseball team?

Triple (3 pts) – Three recent ND assistant coaches currently are Division I head baseball coaches. Name them and their current schools.

Home Run (4 pts) – Notre Dame head coach Paul Mainieri and senior catcher Javi Sanchez both attended what south-Florida high school?

Paul Mainieri Era

Single (1 pt) – What is the most-common home state among Notre Dame players in the Paul Mainieri era?

Double (2 pts) – This former Irish pitcher started for the New York Yankees in opening week of the 2001 season (bonus point for adding the opponent).

Triple (3 points) – Name the former catcher who was a three-year captain with the Irish.

Home Run (4 pts) – Notre Dame participated in the 1996, 1997 and 2000 Service Academies Classics. In what city were those tournaments held?

2002 CWS Season

Single (1 pt) – How many wins did Notre Dame’s 2002 team total? (bonus point for adding the 2002 loss total)

Double (2 pts) – Who were the co-captains for the 2002 Irish squad?

Triple (3 pts) – Who delivered the hit that helped bring home the winning run at the 2002 BIG EAST Tournament, giving the Irish their first BIG EAST postseason title?

Home Run (4 pts) – Name the three other teams that joined the Irish in the 2002 NCAA South Bend Regional.

By The Numbers

Single (1 pt) – How high did Notre Dame’s 2001 team rise in the national polls (bonus for adding the opponent prior to that highest ranking)

Double (2 pts) – How many innings did Notre Dame and Rutgers play in their epic game to end the 2003 series?

Triple (3 pts) – The jerseys for Notre Dame’s 2004 players and coaches include every number from 1-30 except one. What number is missing from the ’04 squad?

Home Run (4 pts) – Mike Amrhein owns the longest hitting streak of the Paul Mainieri era. How man consecutive games did Amrhein register a hit in that 1997 season?

Alums

Single (1 pt) – This former Irish catcher is executive director of the Notre Dame Alumni Association.

Double (2 pts) – Name the former ND classmates who recently have reached triple-A in the Detroit Tigers organization (bonus point for adding that team’s name).

Triple (3 pts) – What two former ND baseball players are current board members with the Notre Dame National Monogram Club?

Home Run (4 pts) – Two former Notre Dame students (non-baseball players) are current Major League Baseball owners. Name them and their teams.

Great Games

Single (1 pt) – Who was the pitcher that threw the one-hitter vs. South Alabama in the 2002 NCAA South Bend Regional?

Double (2 pts) – Who did Notre Dame face in a rare 1998 fall game (bonus point for adding the stadium where that game was played)

Triple (3 pts) – Aaron Heilman and Danny Tamayo posted back-to-back shutouts in a 2001 doubleheader vs. what team?

Home Run (4 pts) – What was the promotional name given to the pair of games played between the Notre Dame and Miami baseball teams in the fall of 1988, prior to the ND-Miami football showdown?

Modern Era (1960-94)

Single (1 pt) – What was the primary home facility for the ND baseball team during the 1977-93 seasons?

Double (2 pts) – Where did the 1989 Irish team play in the NCAA Regionals? (one bonus point for adding the two teams that ND faced in the ’89 NCAAs)

Triple (3 pts) – Name the last ND pitcher to toss a no-hitter (7 or 9 innings), with a bonus point for adding the opponent.

Home Run (4 pts) – Who was the first known ND baseball player (since ’48) to hit above .400 in a season? (bonus for adding his batting avg.)

Old School (pre-1960s)

Single (1 pt) – Name the catcher and team co-captain of Notre Dame’s 1957 College World Series team (bonus point for adding the other captain).

Double (2 pts) – When did Notre Dame make its first NCAA Tournament appearance?

Triple (3 pts) – Name the three-sport star who was a top lefthanded pitcher, in addition to starring with the ND football and hockey teams during the early 1920s.

Home Run (4 pts) – Who is the last Notre Dame pitcher to toss a solo, nine-inning no-hitter? (bonus point for adding the opponent)

Fungos

Single (1 pt) – What position did current Irish second baseman Steve Sollmann play in high school?

Double (2 pts) – Who is the primary play-by-play radio voice of Notre Dame baseball?

Triple (3 pts) – What is the popular nickname for junior righthander Grant Johnson?

Home Run (4 pts) – Notre Dame’s first green-jersey game took place on St. Patrick’s Day 2001. Who was the opponent that day? (bonus point for adding the score)

Here are the questions and answers from the second installment of the ND Baseball Trivia Corner, with a maximum of 115 points (including bonuses):

2004 Season

(1 pt) – Who is Notre Dame’s first opponent of the 2004 season? (San Diego State)

(2 pts) – Which of the following is not a current uniform used by the Irish during official games: blue jersey, white jersey, pinstripe jersey, gray jersey, green jersey, blue BP top, gold BP top? (pinstripe)

(3 pts) – What current Irish player is the son of a former Notre Dame women’s tennis player, with bonus for adding her maiden name? (Danny Dressman; Diane Shillinburg)

(4 pts) – Eight members of the 2004 roster were prep quarterbacks. Name five of them to receive the four points m with a bonus point for listing all eight (Matt Macri, Martin Vergara, Steve Andres, Matt Bransfield, Nick Mainieri, Danny Dressman, Mike Dury, Matt Whittington)

Coaches

(1 pt) – What is the popular nickname of second-year Irish assistant coach David Grewe? (Red)

(2 pts) – Former Irish coach Pat Murphy coached what country to the 1987 European Championship? (Holland)

(3 pts) – This former Irish head baseball coach recently retired after several years as an assistant athletic director at Notre Dame. (Tom Kelly)

(4 pts) – Name the three schools where Paul Mainieri played college baseball, with a bonus point for naming his college coaches (LSU, Miami Dade-North and New Orleans)

Paul Mainieri Era

(1 pt) – Who were the keynote speakers at the 2002 and 2003 Notre Dame Baseball Opening Night Dinners? (Tommy Lasorda and Jim Hendry)

(2 pts) – What Mainieri-era player tied an ND record by hitting three home runs in a game, with bonus for naming the opponent? (Ken Meyer; Central Michigan)

(3 points) – Where did the 1995 Irish team open its season, in the first season of the Mainieri era, with a bonus for naming the opponent? (Anaheim Classic; Texas)

(4 pts) – Steve Stanley logged nearly 99% of the inning in center field during the 1999-2000 seasons. Five other players combined to play the remaining 15 innings in center field during that span. Name at least three of them, with bonus point for all five (Paul O’Toole, Ben Cooke, Mike Naumann, George Howard, John Heintz)

2002 CWS Season

(1 pt) – What team did the Irish face twice at the 2002 College World Series? (Stanford)

(2 pts) – What is the nickname of Florida State’s spirited cheering section that tried to distract the Irish during the 2002 Super Regional series? (The Animals)

(3 pts) – What player came off the bench to hit a grand slam in the 25-1 NCAA Regional win over South Alabama? (Brent Weiss)

(4 pts) – Who was the winning pitcher of the pivotal comeback win at West Virginia, sparking the Irish after a 9-10 start?, with a bonus for adding the starting pitcher in that game? (Martin Vergara; J.P. Gagne)

By The Numbers

(1 pt) – How many strikeouts did Aaron Heilman total in his dominating game at West Virginia in 2001?, with a bonus for adding how many walks he allowed (18 Ks; 2 BB)

(2 pts) – What was the first season of Notre Dame varsity baseball? (1892)

(3 pts) – What is Dan Peltier’s ND record for career batting average? (.406)

(4 pts) – How many games did ND’s record scoring streak span, before ending during the 2002 season, bonus for adding the team that ended the streak (230; Rutgers)

Alums

(1 pt) – This former Irish baseball player recently joined the Notre Dame athletic department’s compliance office. (Allen Greene)

(2 pts) – Name the two former ND baseball players who currently are Division I head coaches, also listing the schools. (Steve Whitmyer at Navy and Cory Mee at Toledo)

(3 pts) – Name the former ND pitcher who won a World Series title with the Philadelphia Phillies. (Ron Reed)

(4 pts) – This former Irish baseball player went on to be a Rhodes Scholar and currently is a professor at Notre Dame , with bonus for naming his hometown when he came to ND. (Don Sniegowski; Toledo, Ohio)

Great Games

(1 pt) – Who saved the two wins at Florida State in the 2003 NCAA Super Regional? (J.P. Gagne)

(2 pts) – Who was the opponent during the 2001 NCAA Regional game that was delayed due to a tornado, with a bonus point for naming the pitcher on the mound at the time the game was halted (Tulane; Matt Laird)

(3 pts) – What West Virginia player broke up Chris Niesel’s 2003 no-hit bid with a bunt single? (Lee Fritz)

(4 pts) – Alec Porzel’s 15th-inning home run ended the longest game in Eck Stadium history. Who was the opponent that day, with a bonus for adding the final score? (West Virginia; 5-3)

Modern Era (1960-94)

(1 pt) – Name the grandson of a legendary Notre Dame football coach who pitched for the Irish in the modern era, with a bonus for adding his hometown when he came to ND. (Pat Leahy; Yakima, Wash.)

(2 pts) – Name the former Irish catcher whose family donated the message-board scoreboard at Eck Stadium. (Jim Montagano)

(3 pts) – This former Irish player owns the program’s best career hitting pct. in NCAA Tournament action (min. 20 ABs), with a bonus for adding his NCAA batting avg. (Matt Haas; .514)

(4 pts) – Name the first Academic All-American in Notre Dame baseball history. (catcher Tim Pollock)

Old School (pre-1960s)

(1 pt) – Name the two Heisman Trophy-winning football players who also earned monograms with the Notre Dame baseball program. (Angelo Bertelli and Johnny Lujack)

(2 pts) – Name the first grandfather and grandson to earn monograms with Notre Dame baseball. (Dennis and Pat O’Keefe)

(3 pts) – This popular player was the only non-surviving member of the 1957 College World Series team , when that team held its first-ever reunion back on the Notre Dame campus in the fall of 2001. (Gene Duffy)

(4 pts) – This Notre Dame football player also is one of the first ND baseball players known to have hit three home runs in a game. (Andy Pilney)

Fungos

(1 pt) – What three current BIG EAST schools are not among the 11 that play BIG EAST baseball? (Miami, Providence and Syracuse)

(2 pts) – Who currently serves as the Notre Dame baseball team’s official batboy, with a bonus point for naming his godfather (Tommy Mainieri; Tommy Lasorda)

(3 pts) – Notre Dame’s streak of 15 straight seasons with 40-plus wins is the nation’s third-longest streak. What two teams have longer streaks, with one total bonus point for listing the length of those streaks (Florida State and Wichita State; each with 26)

(4 pts) – What is the real first name of “Cappy” Gagnon, a member of the ND security administration and a diehard baseball historian? (Russell)