May 20, 2005

Complete Game Program in PDF Format
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Note: See PDF for PDF of today’s ND-WVU baseball program, featuring color photos, Tale of the Tape stat comparision, pitching rotations, updated standings amd stat leaders, team notes and rosters, and an ND headshot page.

BIG EAST Baseball At The Eck – West Virginia Mountaineers (25-27, 10-12) vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (30-22-1, 11-9-1) … Fri., May 20, 2005, and Sat., May 21, 2005 … Frank Eck Stadium

Probable Pitching Rotations

F r i d a y – Game 1
WVU – Marty Fagler (Sr., LHP) … 2.77, 6-2, 65 IP, 45 Ks, 24 BB, 66 H (.270)

ND – Dan Kapala (So., RHP) … 3.81, 4-3, 59 IP, 28 Ks, 22 BB, 64 H (.278)

F r i d a y – Game 2
WVU – Kenny Durst (Fr., LHP) … 5.45, 0-2, 34.2 IP, 27 Ks, 19 BB, 38 H (.281)

ND – Tom Thornton (Jr., LHP) … 4.72, 5-5, 80 IP, 35 Ks, 16 BB, 92 H (.293)

S a t u r d a y
WVU – Wes Osbourn (So., LHP) … 5.30, 7-3, 69.2 IP, 29 Ks, 35 BB, 84 H (.301)

ND – TBA

TALE OF THE TAPE

Stat Comparison … WVU … ND
2004 Final Records … 23-329, 10-16 BE (8th) … 51-13, 20-6 BE (1st)
Lettermen Ret./Lost … 17/7 … 20/11
Current Batting Average … (2) .312 … (6) .297
Runs Per 9 Innings … 7.4 … 7.5
Home Runs … (1) 58 … (3) 38
Slugging Percentage … (1) .503 … (6) .421
Batters’ BB+HBP-K Ratio … -113 (161+36-310) … +35 (205+114-284)
On-Base Percentage … (7) .378 … (2) .398
Stolen Bases … (10) 17-28 … (6) 60-85
Stolen Base Percentage … .607 … .706
Overall Team ERA … (9) 5.90 … (6) 4.44
Opponent Batting Average … (8) .293 … (7) .292
Pitchers’ K-to-BB Ratio … 2.6 (281/148) … 1.6 (282/177)
Pitchers’ Ks Per 9 Inn. … (8) 5.7 … (9) 5.4
Pitchers’ Walks Per 9 Inn. … (3) 3.4 … (3) 3.4
Overall Fielding Pct./Errors … (3) .966/65 … (6) .960/83
Double Plays Turned … (8) 33 … (1) 54
Home Record … 16-12 … 20-4-1
Road Record (incl. neutral) … 9-15 … 10-18
Record In One-Run Games … 5-4 … 6-7
Extra-Inning Record … 1-1 … 3-4-1

BIG EAST Conference Standings (Conf. and Overall) 1. St. John’s – 16-4 (.800) 37-14
2. Boston College – 15-7 (.682) 34-17
3. Pittsburgh – 14-10 (.583) 30-20
4. Notre Dame – 11-9-1 (.548) 30-22-1
5. Rutgers – 11-10 (.524) 31-19
6. Connecticut – 10-10 (.500) 32-20
7. West Virginia – 10-12 (.455) 25-27
8. Villanova – 8-14-1 (.370) 28-19-2
9. Georgetown – 7-17 (.292) 25-30 10. Seton Hall – 6-16 (.273) 15-34

This Week’s Other BIG EAST Series – Pittsburgh won at Georgetown on 5/19 (6-1, 9-5; gm-3 on Fri.) … Rutgers at Seton Hall (5/20 rainout; Sat./Sun. series) … Connecticut at Boston College (Fri./Sat.) … St. John’s won 5/19 at Villanova (6-1; DH on Fri.)

THE RACE – SJU and BC have clinched the first two BE Tournament spots while ND, Pitt, RU, UConn and WVU are battling for the final two (standings based on win pct.) … ND may need to win all three games of the WVU series to clinch a spot but could advance with 1-2 wins (pending results from the other series).

THE SERIES – ND leads the WVU series 28-13 (19-10 in Mainieri era), including 11-5 record in all games at ND … WVU owns the most wins at Eck Stadium (5-5) of any visiting team (since `94) … ND and WVU faced each other in the `96-’99 BIG EAST Tournaments (also in `03; ND 5-2 edge) … ND owns a 12-5 series edge in at WVU … the Irish have won 9 of the past 12 games in the series, including a sweep at WVU last season (5-3, 4-0, 6-2) … WVU is the only BIG EAST team ever to win two series at Eck Stadium (’96, ’03) … ND has lost just three of 47 all-time BIG EAST series at Eck Stadium (37 series wins, 7 splits; SJU won series in `98) … since `98, the Irish have played 33 BIG EAST series at Eck Stadium and lost just one (vs. WVU, in ’03; 27 series wins, 5 splits) … WVU’s last visit to Eck Stadium (1-0, 5-7, 1-5) featured a classic pitchers duel in the opener, as ND’s Chris Niesel nearly posted a no-hitter while Shawn Miller took the tough-luck, 1-0 loss (Lee Fritz had a 2-out bunt in the 7th and final inning for WVU’s only hit) … the series has featured 12 games won by one run or in extra innings and ND is 11-1 in those games … ND’s 2002 team fell to 0-4 in BIG EAST play (9-10 overall) after a 4-2 loss at WVU but rallied to win the nightcap (10-6), launching the Irish on to a BIG EAST regular-season (18-8) and tournament titles, a 50-18 overall record and a trip to the College World Series … ND head coach Paul Mainieri was born in West Virginia and his father Demie is a member of the WVU P.E. Hall of Fame … former ND All-American Aaron Heilman has an 18-K game at WVU in 2000.

LAST SEASON (5-3, 4-0, 6-2; at WVU) – The opener extended to 10 innings, with ND’s winning sequence including Cody Rizzo’s leadoff single and Greg Lopez’s RBI double down the rightfield line … Rizzo hit 3-for-5 (2 R) … ND’s Chris Niesel (7 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 6 Ks) and WVU’s Zac Cline (7 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 3 Ks) each had no-decision … Jeff Samardzija retired 6-of-7 he faced for the win while Ryan Doherty had the save (H, BB, K) … Matt Bransfield and Matt Edwards had RBI doubles for an early 2-1 lead … WVU was poised to win in the 8th on Michael Christoforo’s squeeze bunt but 1B Matt Edwards sent a barehanded throw to Javi Sanchez to tag out the runner … pinch-hitter Casey Bowling then ripped a linedrive that was headed for left field, but 3B Matt Macri dove to his left and snared the potential game-winning hit … WVU’s Stan Posluszny scored Lee Fritz on an early single and lated added a game-tying sac. fly (3-3) … Tom Thornton went the distance for a rare 9-inning, solo shutout in game-2 (6 H, 2 BB, 5 Ks, 9 GOs, 3 infield popups) … Thornton set down the side in the 1st and 3rd innings and allowed multiple baserunners in only the 5th … Steve Andres scored after a 1st-inning walk and added a 2-run triple in the 7th … Shawn Miller took the loss (8.1 IP, 10 H, 4 R, 2BB, 4 Ks, 2 WP, HB) … the Irish completed the rare 3-game BIG EAST road sweep, led by the clutch offense of Lopez (3-for-4, BB, 3 R, 2B) and Steve Sollmann (1-for-2, 2 BB, 2-run HR, 2 R) … Joe Thaman picked up the win (5 IP, 19 BF, H, R, 2 BB) after a pinch-count start from Grant Johnson … Ryan Doherty inherited a bases-loaded situation in the 9th but served up a game-ending flyout for the save … Travis McGrath took the loss (6 IP, 7 H, 5 R/4 ER, 5 BB, 8 Ks) … Lopez hit 6-for-12 in the series, Sollmann 5-for-11 … the win gave the ND program 3-game road sweeps of six different BIG EAST teams (also BC in ’98, GU in ’99, RU and SJU in ’01, SHU in ’02), with the ’04 team later adding a 3-game sweep at UConn.

SERIES STATS – Matt Edwards is a .393 career vs. WVU (11-for-28, 4 RBI, 2 R, 2B, BB, 3 Ks, SB), followed by Steve Andres (.333, 4-for-12, 4 RBI, 3 R, 3B, 5 BB, 3 Ks, SB), Cody Rizzo (.308, 7-for-26, 5 RBI, 2 R, 2B, 5 Ks), Greg Lopez (.300, 6-for-20, RBI, 4 R, 3 2B, BB, 2 Ks) and Matt Bransfield (.136, 3-for-22, 2 RBI, 2 R, 2B, BB, 5 Ks) … career stats for the WVU hitters vs. ND include: Lee Fritz (.281, 9-for-32, RBI, 2 R, 2B, BB, HBP, 5 Ks, Travis D’Amico (.240, 6-for-25, 3 RBI, 2 R, 2B, 2 BB, SB, 4 Ks), Stan Posluszny – .200 (5-for-20, 6 RBI, 2 R, 2B, 3 BB, 4 Ks) and Doug Nelms – 0-for-9 (3 Ks).

IRISH NOTES – Tom Thornton and Dan Kapala both are 3-0 at Eck Stadium in `05 … Thornton owns a 2.40 ERA, 14 Ks, 4 BB and 31 H allowed in 30 IP at The Eck in `05 (Kapala is 2.76, 14 Ks, 9 BB, 28 H in 29.1 IP in `05 home games) … WVU won 21-1 over Seton Hall two weeks ago and ND matched that score earlier this week at Pittsburgh … ND his a season-high 4 HRs in that game (2 by Craig Cooper) … the 21 runs are 3rd-most by an ND team in the 11-year Paul Mainieri era, trailing only two games in the ’02 College World Series season (23-1 vs. Detroit and 25-1 vs. South Alabama in the NCAA Regional) … it marked the first time the Irish have reached 20 runs in a BIG EAST game (the ’98 team had a 19-7 win over Georgetown) and first time they have won a BIG EAST game by more than 15 runs (the ’03 team won 18-3 at St. John’s) … top hitters in that big game included Ross Brezovsky (4-for-4, RBI, 4 R, HR, BB), Cooper (3-for-5, 5 RBI, 4 R, 2 HR) and Greg Lopez (3-for-5, 3 RBI, R) … Cody Rizzo homered for the second time in the series (3-run shot) and reached base nine times in the series (5-for-8, BB, 3 HBP, 2 HR) … ND is in the midst of playing eight games in seven days … the Irish have scored 49 first-inning runs … ND’s 114 HBP rank 6th in Div. I history (one behind ASU’s 2000 total) … the Irish are on pace for 121 HBPs in the regular season, which would rank 4th (Nevada’s 1997 team hold the record, with 125) … ND is 24-2 when leading at the end of the 6th inning, 15-1 when holding the opponent to 0-1 runs, 18-3-1 when outhitting the opponent, 21-8 when scoring the game’s first run, 17-8-1 when scoring a 1st-inning run, 24-11 when making 0-1 errors and 7-3 when hitting multiple HRs … Matt Edwards has 188 RBI in 183 games to rank 6th on the ND career RBI chart (one behind ’99 grad. Jeff Wagner) … Cody Rizzo’s 67 career HBP rank 5th in the NCAA record book, one behind former Wisconsin-Milwaukee player Clay Schwartz (’97) … Brett Lilley’s 23 HBP this season are five shy of Rizzo’s team record (28, in ’03) … Lilley has 55 free passes (also 32 walks) to go along with his 65 hits … Lilley’s 44 error-free games this season include 209 since making the switch to 3B (in 25 GP).

BIG EAST LEADERS

Batting Avg.
1. Jared McGuire, BC – .404
5. Lee Fritz, WVU – .380
9. Doug Nelms, WVU – .364
13. Edwards, ND/Jenkins, WVU – .357
15. Brett Lilley, ND – .355

BIG EAST Avg.
1. Nelms, WVU – .422
7. Justin Jenkins, WVU – .371
9. Lee Fritz, WVU – .368
11. Craig Cooper, ND – .362

Home Runs
1. Matt Edwards, ND – 13
2. Justin Jenkins, WVU – 12
3. Stan Posluszny, WVU – 11
5. Chad McKown, WVU – 10
13. Kyle Matuszek, WVU – 8

BIG EAST Home Runs
1. Jeff Hourigan, UConn – 6
Stan Posluszny, WVU – 6
3.Chad McKown, WVU – 5
5. Kyle Matuszek, WVU – 4
7. Cody Rizzo, ND – 3

Overall RBI
1. Matt Edwards, ND – 61
2. Craig Cooper, ND – 49
3. Stan Posluszny, WVU – 46
5. Lee Fritz, WVU – 45
8.Justin Jenkins, WVU – 43

BIG EAST RBI
1. Jeff Hourigan, UC – 24
2. Stan Posluszny, WVU – 20
3. Matt Edwards, ND – 19
4. Fritz/Nelms/McKown, WVU – 18

Slugging Pct.
1. Copeland, Pitt – .670
3. Matt Edwards, ND – .653
5. Justin Jenkins, WVU – .643
10. Stan Posluszny, WVU – .552

On-Base Pct.
1. Brett Lilley, ND – .502
7. Matt Edwards, ND – .473
9. Craig Cooper, ND – .449

Stolen Bases
1. Copeland, Pitt – 27
8. Cody Rizzo, ND – 15

Triples
1. Ben Copeland, Pitt 7

Doubles
1. Justin Jenkins, WVU – 22
5. Matt Edwards, ND – 17
8.Chad McKown, WVU – 16

Walks
1. Jim Negrych, Pitt – 41
2. Matt Edwards, ND – 40
3. Stan Posluszny, WVU – 38
5. Brett Lilley, ND – 32

Runs
1. Todd Frazier, RU – 56
4. Matt Edwards, ND – 52
7.Justin Jenkins, WBU – 48
Brett Lilley, ND – 48

Hits
1. Johnny Defendis, RU – 76
3. Justin Jenkins, WVU – 75
4. Lee Fritz, WVU – 73
5. Matt Edwards, ND – 70
8. Brett Lilley, ND – 65

Overall ERA
1. Robert Brant, Pitt – 2.30
7. Marty Fagler, WVU – 2.77

BIG EAST ERA
1. Hansen, SJU – 1.23
6. Marty Fagler, WVU – 2.70
14. Dan Kapala, ND – 3.83
15. Tom Thornton, ND – 3.91

Opp.Batting Avg.
1. Hansen – .158

Wins
1. Mike Wlodarczyk, BC – 9-2
4. Wes Osbourn, WVU – 7-3
5. Jeff Samardzija, ND – 6-1
Marty Fagler, WVU – 6-2

BIG EAST Wins
1. Anthony Varvaro, SJU – 6-0
Billy Mildowny, Pitt – 6-1
Mike Wlodarczyk, BC – 6-1
5. Jeff Samardzija, ND – 4-1
Tom Thornton, ND – 4-2
Wes Osbourn, WVU – 4-2

Strikeouts
1. Anthony Varvaro, SJU – 75

Saves
1. Craig Hansen, SJU – 12
2. Todd Dunham, WVU – 7
5. Ryan Doherty, ND – 5

Appearances
1. Craig Hansen, SJU – 27
5. Dan Kapala, ND – 21

Innings
1. Eduardo Pena, GU – 89.1
4. Tom Thornton, ND – 80.0
10. Wes Osbourn, WVU – 69.2