Feb. 21, 2011
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Notre Dame freshman 1B Trey Mancini and senior OF Herman Petzold were each honored on Monday following stellar weekends at the 2011 BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge. Mancini was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll and earned honorable mention all-BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge, while Petzold was named first team all-BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge presented by CollegeBaseball360.com.
Petzold (Saint Clair Shores, Mich.) entered last weekend with exactly three base hits and no RBI in 10 at-bats over 11 career games – all of the bench. He also had played exclusively as a middle infielder, but Petzold started the season opener against Michigan State in right field and performed as if he has played his entire career there. He batted .417 (5-for-12) with a walk, hit by pitch, sacrifice bunt, two doubles, three runs scored and five RBI in three starts against Michigan State, Purdue and Penn State. Petzold also played a flawless right field. He recorded four put outs without an error.
Without a doubt, Petzold’s biggest hit of the weekend came in the 19-2 rout of Purdue. With the Irish trailing 2-0 in the top of the third inning, Petzold drilled an 0-2 offering into the left centerfield gap for a one-out, three-run double to give Notre Dame a 3-2 lead. Notre Dame continued the momentum with an 11-run fourth inning and never looked back. He went 3-for-6 against the Boilermakers with two runs scored and four RBI – career-bests in hits, at-bats, runs scored and RBI.
Mancini (Winter Haven, Fla.), who was plunked in a pinch-hit appearance in the season opener against Michigan State, started the final two games of the BIG EAST/Big Ten Challenge. He proceeded to hit .500 (4-for-8) with a stolen base, sacrifice fly, triple, home run, three runs scored and three RBI over his first two career starts. Mancini went 1-for-3 with a run scored, stolen base and RBI sacrifice fly in the victory over Purdue. He backed up his debut performance with an even better one against Penn State. Mancini went 3-for-5 with a triple, solo home run, two runs scored and two RBI. His home run was the fifth of six over the 24 games in the challenge.
Notre Dame returns to action next weekend with a three-game series in the Great Northwest against Seattle University. The Irish and Redhawks open the weekend set at 6:00 p.m. PT on Friday, Feb. 25 at Everett Memorial Stadium in Everett, Wash. The final two games of the series will be played at Bannerwood Park in Bellevue, Wash.
— ND —