May 21, 2007
Three Notre Dame baseball players – sophomore pitcher David Phelps, junior shortstop Brett Lilley and freshman third baseman A.J. Pollock – received all-BIG EAST Conference honors, on Monday night at the league’s annual pre-tournament banquet. Phelps was named to the first team, joining former All-Americans Aaron Heilman (in ’99) and Chris Niesel (in ’03) as the youngest Notre Dame pitchers ever named to the BIG EAST’s top team. Notre Dame staked its claim for having this season’s top leftside infield combination in the BIG EAST, as the Irish were the only team with its shortstop and third baseman among the 41 total all-BIG EAST honorees (Lilley and Pollock both were third-team selections).
Brett Lilley’s .504 on-base percentage ranks among the best in the nation (photo by Matt Cashore).
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Only three BIG EAST teams totaled more all-conference picks than Notre Dame, which had to replace six former all-BIG EAST performers from its 2006 team (with those players lost via graduation or the Major League draft). Phelps spent the past month locked in a two-way battle for BIG EAST pitcher-of-the-year honors, with Louisville junior Zack Pitts ultimately taking home that award. Pollock also was a leading candidate for BIG EAST rookie of the year and finished the regular season as the league’s top freshman hitter, but Louisville pitcher Justin Marks was named rookie of the year in recognition of his own strong season.
Phelps – who joins Heilman and Niesel as the only Notre Dame sophomore pitchers ever named first team all-BIG EAST (none have done so as freshmen) – finished the regular season as the league leader in overall ERA (1.87; 14th in the nation) and strikeouts (93; also first with 37 Ks “looking”) while tying for the second-highest win total (8-4). He currently is one of just six pitchers in the nation with an ERA under 2.00, eight or more wins and 90-plus strikeouts. Phelps also ranks first among BIG EAST pitchers in overall pickoffs (6), second in innings pitched (101.1) and eighth in low opponent batting average (.243). In regular-season BIG EAST games, he finished second in ERA (2.14, trailing only Seton Hall’s Keith Cantwell) plus first in strikeouts (67) and innings (71.1), second in Ks looking (26) and pickoffs (4), third in wins (5-3) and 10th in low opponent batting avg. (.242).
Lilley previously was a third team all-BIG EAST selection in 2005 and a second-team pick in ’06, with his honor this season making him the seventh Notre Dame position player ever named all-BIG EAST three or more times. He currently leads the BIG EAST in overall on-base percentage (.504) and times hit-by-pitch (26; also 3rd nationally) while ranking fifth in triples (3), sixth in runs scored (54), ninth in walks (30), 10th in fielding assists (151) and 12th in batting average (.361). Lilley also finished as the BIG EAST leader in on-base pct. during 2007 league play (.517), plus first in HBPs (12), sixth in walks (17) and eighth in batting average (.367) and 11th in assists (25). His other overall stats for the season include 13 RBI from his leadoff spot, 69 hits, 6 doubles, a home run, a .440 slugging pct., 26 strikeouts, 4 sacrifice bunts, 5-of-6 stolen bases, 13 errors and a .946 fielding pct. (while starting all 54 games).
A.J. Pollock has fashioned one of the top offensive seasons ever by a Notre Dame freshman (photo by Pete LaFleur).
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Pollock’s lateseason surge landed him third on the BIG EAST overall batting charts (.382), trailing only a pair of senior outfielders. He also ranks sixth among BIG EAST players in on-base pct. (.469) and ninth in walks (30) while his solid debut season included finishing fourth among BIG EAST players in league batting average (.386), plus third in hits (39) and sixth in on-base (.457). His other overall stats for the 2007 season include 39 runs, 73 hits, 12 extra-base hits (3 HR, 2 3B, 7 2B), 28 RBI, .487 slugging, 3 HBPs, 18 Ks, 9 sac. bunts, 11-of-13 SBs, 19 Es and a .901 fielding pct. (in 52 GP/50 GS). Pollock 9s on pace to post the third-best season batting average ever by a Notre Dame freshman and could become just the fourth freshman ever to lead the Irish in batting. He is the 10th Notre Dame freshman ever to receive all-BIG EAST honors, with others including Lilley and current Notre Dame sophomores Kyle Weiland and Jeremy Barnes.
Phelps is the eighth different Notre Dame pitcher (all RHPs) ever to receive the prestigious first team all-BIG EAST distinction, with others including current big leaguers Brad Lidge (’98) and Heilman (’99, 2000 and ’01), plus Danny Tamayo (’01), Niesel (’03), Grant Johnson (’04) and his former teammates Jeff Manship and Jeff Samardzija (both in ’06).
Lilley joins an impressive group of six previous Notre Dame position players who were named first team all-BIG EAST three or more times, led by former DH Jeff Wagner (a four-time honoree in from ’96-’99). The five others who have been named all-BIG EAST three times include infielder Brant Ust, centerfielder Steve Stanley, outfielder Brian Stavisky, second baseman Steve Sollmann and OF/1B Craig Cooper. Heilman is the only Notre Dame pitcher ever to collect three or more all-BIG EAST honors.
Five players who ended the regular-season among the league’s top-12 leaders in overall batting average were placed on the third team. That impressive collection of third teamers includes Pollock, Lilley, Kemp, Villanova third baseman Derek Shunk and West Virginia centerfielder Adam White.
Pollock, Marks (2nd team) and St. John’s outfielder Brian Kemp (3rd team) were the only freshmen among the 41 total players who received 2007 all-BIG EAST honors.