2008-09 Baseball Roster

#24 Sam Elam 2006-07 Baseball Roster

LHP


Height 6'3''
Weight 220 lbs.
Class Senior
Hometown Mesquite, TX
High School Poteet
Sam Elam - Baseball - Notre Dame Fighting Irish

SENIOR SEASON (2009): Rare commodity as 6-foot-3 hard-throwing lefthander who was projected byBaseball America as BIG EAST Conference[apos]s top prospectfor 2008 Major League draft (rankings prior to `07season) … likely to fill a relief role in 2009 … noted forarm strength, high release point and lively fastball … keysto his progress include repeating his delivery andimproved command … looking to turn in a steady andmore consistent season in 2009 – as his first three seasonswith the Irish included record-setting low hit totalsallowed (23 H in 45.0 innings; 4.6 H/9 IP, .146 opp.batting avg.) but plenty of free bases surrendered (35 BB,10 HBP, 9 WP; 9.4 BB+HB+WP per 9 IP) … his othercareer stats with the Irish include a 4.20 ERA, 0-2 recordand one save in 25 appearances (seven GS) … his fourcareer appearances in Notre Dame[apos]s Blue-Gold WorldSeries include a pair of tough-luck losses … spent thesummer of 2008 with the Hays Larks of the JayhawkLeague … made 10 appearances and two starts … went 0-1 with a 8.03 ERA in 12.1 innings of work … allowedjust three hits as opponents batted just .083 against himand struck out 14, but walked 28.

JUNIOR SEASON (2008): Member of serieswinningGold team in 2007 Blue-Gold World Series …tossed 1.0 inning, allowed two runs on a hit … walkedthree and struck out two … made just one appearance forthe Irish in the spring … pitched out of the bullpenagainst Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Mar. 26 … did not allowa hit in 1.0 inning of work, but surrendered a pair of runson four walks and four wild pitches … did register a pairof strikeouts … joined former classmates Kyle Weiland,Brett Graffy and David Phelps on the pitching staff of theCape Cod League[apos]s Falmouth Commodores in summer of2007 (14.79 ERA, 9 GP/2 GS, 14 IP, 17 Ks, 8 H, 26 BB,10 HB, 5 WP).

SOPHOMORE SEASON (2007): Part of victoriousGold squad in 2006 Blue-Gold World Series, despitelosing game-2 when eventual winning run (4-3) camehome on throwing error (3 IP, 4 R/3 ER, 3 H, 4 BB, 2Ks) … split time as starter and situational reliever whiletrying to find consistency in his outings and innings … setthe Notre Dame record for fewest hits allowed per 9.0innings (4.26; 15 H/31.2 IP), besting Ed Lupton[apos]s record(4.83, in `63) that was set in the wood-bat era and hadstood for nearly 45 years … also led staff in low opponentbatting average (.146), low batting by left-handed (.107)and right-handed (.160) hitters, low batting with runnerson base (.211) and low leadoff on-base percentage (.181)… his dominance in limiting opposing hits often wascounteracted by high walk totals (25; 7.1 BB/9 IP), inaddition to allowing other free bases (7 HBP, 5 WP) …his combined totals of BB+HBP+WP was 10.5 per 9 IP,leading to a 4.55 ERA, an 0-2 record and only one save… ranked third on staff in starts (7), fourth in opponenttwo-out batting average (.229) and fifth in Ks per 9 IP(7.1; 25 Ks), groundouts per 9 IP (10.8) andgroundout/flyout ratio (1.4) … did not allow a home runin his 13 appearances … allowed 2-of-6 inherited runnersto score … his first batters faced (out of the bullpen) hit1-for-6 (2 RBI, 4 Ks) … had a 9.35 ERA after his firstthree games pitched (all starts; 8.2 total IP) and thenmade three short relief stints before a solid start vs. IPFW(4 IP, 2 H, BB, 3 Ks,W; 3-2) … played lead role in a givingthe Eck Stadium fans a rare sight on April 18, 2007 – aftercombining with Purdue RHP Matt Bischofff to allow nohits through the first 7-plus innings … he did allow sixwalks by Purdue in that game (all in the first 6 IP) whilethe only hit vs. Elam (in 9 IP) came with two outs in the8th … Bischoff [apos]s perfect game ended on a leadoff singlefrom Jeremy Barnes in the 9th (the Irish won, 1-0 in the10th) … became the first Irish pitcher with a 1-hit, 9-inning appearance since RHP Grant Johnson[apos]s completegame in the record-setting 25-1 win over South Alabama(`02 NCAA Regional, at Eck) … saw his ERA plummetto 3.75 after the Purdue game … had another quality startvs. Ball State (4.1 IP, R, 2 H, 4 BB, K ,WP, 2 HB; 7-3) …inherited a 9th-inning jam and recorded final out to save6-4, series-clinching win at league leader Rutgers … wasrated by Baseball America as top prospect in wood-bat Jayhawk League during summer of `06, after stellarshowing with Hays (Kan.) Larks that included leadingleague in wins (5-0), ERA (0.95) and strikeouts (42)during league play (his Jayhawk League pitcher-of-the-yearstats also included only 7 BB in 28 IP of leagueaction) … Baseball America cited him for a summerfastball that touched 95 mph, to go along with’excellent command and clean mechanics’ during hissummer stint with the Larks … played alongside formerNotre Dame teammate Ross Brezovsky on `06 Larksteam that won Jayhawk League title, advanced toNational Baseball Congress World Series (Wichita,Kan.) and finished 40-16 … his overall stats (includingnon-league games): 2.77, 7-0 record, .127 opp. batting,14.2 Ks/9 IP (77 Ks in 48.2 IP) … his inning total withthe Larks matched his total of walks (28) and hits (21)allowed, for a solid 9.06 WHIP (BB+H/9 IP) … allowedonly one home run with Hays but did have other controlissues (8 HB, 6 WP) in his 20 GP (4 GS, 2 SV).

FRESHMAN SEASON (2006): Split pair of reliefdecisions in 2005 Blue-Gold World Series (3.2 IP, 3 R,6 H, 3 BB) … showed glimpses of potential despitepitching only 12.1 innings, with 3-to-1 ratio of Ks towalks (19/6), a lowly .178 opp. batting average and a2.19 ERA that ranked third on the staff (8 H, 3 HB) …allowed 1-of-4 inherited runners to score while his firstbatters faced hit 3-for-9 (BB, HBP, 3 R, K) … madedebut with inning versus Oklahoma (UER, H, BB, 2 Ks;3-4) … K[apos]d batter in Metrodome loss to Minnesota (0-8) … logged two shutouts innings with four Ks inspring-break win over Iowa (16-2, in San Antonio) …pitched another game in his home state on that trip,with shutout inning vs. Southern Illinois (BB, HB, K; 12-1) … made his first of two BIG EAST regular-seasonappearances in 8-3 road loss to Georgetown (1.2 IP, H,BB, K) … added shutout inning against Valparaiso (K; 12-0) before longest outing of season, in 15-1 win overOakland (3 IP, R, 3 H, BB, HB, 5 Ks) … did not registeran out in brief appearance vs. Rutgers (2 R, H, 2 BB;11-5) before his shutout inning helped defeat ClevelandState, 12-1 (H, K) … made two postseason appearances- against St. John[apos]s at BIG EAST Tournament inClearwater, Fla. (IP, H, 3 Ks; 1-10), and at Kentucky inNCAA Regional (0.1 IP; 4-10).

PREP & PERSONAL: Standout pitcher as juniorand senior at Poteet HS … first burst onto scene insummer and fall of 2004 … dominating closer as seniorin `05 (2.21, 9-2, 92 Ks, 45 IP) … averaged better thantwo strikeouts per inning over final two prep seasons(146 Ks in 71 IP) … Team One Baseball rated him nation[apos]s#147 prep prospect, while Baseball America slotted him34th in Texas … had big win in `05 regional semifinals,entering tie game in 7th and logging 4.0 innings to beatArlington Heights … posted 2.20 ERA as a junior (54Ks, 26 IP) … logged 11 straight games in relief withoutallowing a hit or run … MVP of Mt. PleasantTournament (four shutouts, no-hit relief stints) …selected for Texas Scout North- South Game (atAmeriquest Field, home of Texas Rangers) … also playedfirst base at PHS … pitched in Perfect Game Wood BatNational Championships (Ft. Myers, Fla.) … listed asfifth-best prospect at South Showcase (held at Baylor) …honor-roll student and member of National HonorSociety … one of four Teas natives on current Irish squadand one of 18 all-time Texas natives to monogram withNotre Dame baseball … former ace closer John Corbinalso recently wore jersey number 24 for the Irish, from1997-2000 … born June 16, 1987, in Dallas … son ofRusty and Belynda Elam … full name is Samuel DavidElam … posted 3.13 GPA in `07 spring semester and a3.10 in fall of `07 … an anthropology and computerapplications major, enrolled in the College of Arts andLetters.

Elam[apos]s Career Statistics

Year G/GS/CG IP H R ER BB K WP HB BK AVG HR W-L SV ERA
2006 11/0/0 12.1 8 4 3 6 19 0 3 0 .178 0 0-0 0 2.19
2007 13/7/0 31.2 15 17 16 25 25 5 7 0 .146 4 0-2 1 4.55

20081/0/01.002 24240 0.00000-0018.00

Totals25/7/045.02323 213546910 0.15200-21 4.20