April 29, 2016

By Russell Dorn

Non-ACC Series: Ohio
April 29-May 1, 2016
6:05 p.m. / 4:05 p.m. / 1:05 p.m. (All ET)
Frank Eck Stadium (Notre Dame, Ind.)

Team Information:

Notre Dame: 24-16, 9-10 ACC (37-23, 17-13 ACC In 2015)
2015 Postseason: 1-2 @ ACC Tourney & 1-2 NCAA Champaign Regional

Ohio: 17-22, 5-10 MAC (36-21, 17-10 MAC In 2015)
2015 Postseason: 4-0 @ MAC Tournament (Champions) & 0-2 @ NCAA Champaign Regional

Rankings: Neither team ranked

Series Coverage (Links on UND.com/NDBaseball):
Live Video: WatchND
Live Audio: WHME 103.1 FM in South Bend (Chuck Freeby, pbp)
Live Stats: Gametracker
Twitter Reports: @NDBaseball

Projected Pitching Matchups:
G1: ND RHP Peter Solomon (3-4, 4.26 ERA) vs. Ohio RHP Jake Miller (2-7, 5.15 ERA)
G2: ND LHP Sean Guenther (3-3, 4.38 ERA) vs. Ohio RHP Jake Rudnicki (4-2, 4.88 ERA)
G3: ND TBD vs. Ohio TBD

Weather Report (as of Friday, April 29):
Friday, April 29: 59/42 & Cloudy (20%)
Saturday, April 30: 55/46 & PM Rain (100%)
Sunday, May 1: 60/42 & Cloudy (20%)

Series History: Ohio leads 16-14
Aoki vs. Ohio: 1-3 (1-3 at Columbia)
First Meeting: 4/17/1950: L, 4-1 – Home

Last Four Meetings:
4/15/1972: L, 13-2 – Away
4/14/1972: L, 4-0 – Away
4/24/1971: L, 7-6 – Home
4/23/1971: L, 14-3 – Home

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – After an intense seven Atlantic Coast Conference series to begin the season, the University of Notre Dame baseball team (24-16) steps out of conference this weekend with a three-game series against the Ohio Bobcats (17-22) at Frank Eck Stadium.

It’s a busy weekend at The Eck, as Friday marks Boy Scouts Day, Saturday is Alumni/Monogram Day and Sunday is Military Appreciation Day.

Saturday will be an exciting day for the Irish as several alums will be in town to celebrate the Notre Dame Monogram Club’s 100th birthday.

Set to throw out the first pitch is Aaron Heilman (’01), a three-time All-American and first round pick in the 2001 Major League Baseball Draft.

Also in town are James Stouffer (’63), Dick Nussbaum (’74, ’77) the Monogram Club President from 2011-13, Ken Schuster (’74), James Abbatiello (’77), Bryan Smith (’82), Scott Siler (’82), Jim Dee (’84), Justin Scholl (’97) and Brant Ust (’00), a former All-American, 1999 sixth round MLB Draft pick and current Executive Director of the Monogram Club.

Here’s what you need to know about this weekend’s series against Ohio:

– The Irish step out of ACC play this weekend to play the Ohio Bobcats for the first time in 44 years … the two teams were both chosen for the NCAA Champaign Regional in 2015, but they didnt face off against each other, as Ohio went 0-2 against Illinois and Wright State, and ND beat Wright State before falling to Illinois and then Wright State to close out its season.

– Notre Dame and Ohio met virtually every year from 1956 to 1972, alternating two-game series at each programs home venue on a yearly basis.

– Junior Cavan Biggio continues to turn in quite a 2016 campaign, as he leads the Irish in walks (43), runs (37) and on-base percentage (.492) … he also has 46 hits, seven doubles, two triples, four homers, 25 RBI, 69 total bases and six hit by pitch and is a perfect 11-for-11 in stolen bases … he has started all 40 games this season at second base.

– While others have a strong case, sophomore Jake Shepski would certainly be a leading candidate for breakthrough player of the year if the Irish gave out the individual award … over the last 21 games, Shepski is splitting .329/.402/.671 with 26 hits, four doubles, one triple, seven homers, 21 RBI, 10 walks and 15 runs scored … his seven home runs lead the team … he is tied for second in the ACC in homers in league games only (6).

– Senior Lane Richards has been a mainstay at shortstop throughout his Irish career and has started all 192 games in which he has been active ââ’¬¦ fellow senior Zak Kutsulis isn’t far behind, as the Homer Glen, Illinois native has played in 196 games with 179 starts.

– Speaking of Kutsulis, he recently recorded the 1,000th putout of his career to move into elite company in Notre Dame history ââ’¬¦ with 1,009 for his career, he sits in ninth place in school history in the category and is 20 away from moving into a tie for eighth place.

For more information on the Notre Dame baseball team, follow the Irish on Facebook (/NDBaseball), Twitter (@NDBaseball) and Instagram (notredamebaseball).

Russell Dorn, athletics communications assistant director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since 2011 and coordinates all media efforts for the Notre Dame volleyball, rowing and baseball programs. A native of Greenwood, South Carolina, Dorn graduated from Furman University in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in history before earning his master’s degree in sports administration from Georgia State University in 2011.

–ND–