Six Cape Cod League Players Highlight Another Busy Summer For Notre Dame Baseball Program

June 19, 2005

Several Notre Dame baseball players have begun play in some of the nation’s premier wooden-bat summer leagues, with 18 of the 23 returning Irish players set to compete in leagues throughout the nation. The Notre Dame summer-league players include six in the prestigious Cape Cod League plus two each in the Alaska, Northwoods, Jayhawk and Valley leagues (others will play in the Great Lakes, Coastal Plains, Texas and Central Illinois leagues).

(Note that the below list is the same that has been included since midseason in Notre Dame’s weekly gamenotes, with the exception of Craig Cooper returning to the Brewster Whitecaps.)

Two prospective senior leaders of Notre Dame’s 2006 team – shortstop Greg Lopez (Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox) and outfielder Craig Cooper (Brewster Whitecaps) – are among the Irish players who are continuing Notre Dame’s tradition of sending players to the prestigious Cape Cod League (Cooper also played for Brewster in ’04). The other Irish players on 2005 CCL rosters include righthander Dan Kapala (Falmouth Commodores) and three of his fellow juniors-to-be: catcher Sean Gaston and RHPs Jeff Manship and Derik Olvey (all with the Cotuit Kettleers).

Two other rising seniors – outfielder Cody Rizzo and DH Matt Bransfield – are experiencing the unique opportunity of playing in Alaska this summer, joining a Mat-Su Miners team that has featured several Notre Dame players in previous summers (including Matt Edwards, in ’04). Their classmate Alex Nettey has returned to patrol center field for the Fayetteville (N.C.) Swampdogs of the Coastal Plains League while another senior-to-be, infielder Eddie Smith, is playing for the DuPage County Dragons of the Central Illinois Collegiate League.

Brett Lilley is playing summer-ball in his home state of Ohio, with the Delaware Cows (all photos by Pete LaFleur).

Three freshmen who were regulars in Notre Dame’s 2005 lineup are playing in different leagues this summer. Brett Lilley continues Notre Dame’s recent history with the Delaware (Ohio) Cows of the Great Lakes League while his fellow infielder Ross Brezovsky has joined a team with even more history of featuring Irish players, the Hays (Kan.) Larks of the Jayhawks League (LHP David Gruener also is playing for the Larks). Outfielder Tony Langford has returned to his home state for the summer, as a member of the Euless LoneStars of the Texas Collegiate League.

Two rising juniors – LHP/1B Mike Dury and OF Danny Dressman – are playing in the Northwoods League with the Madison Mallards (Dury also played in Madison during the ’04 summer) while two former high school teammates who just completed their freshman seasons at Notre Dame will be playing in the Virginia-based Clark-Griffith League: LHP Wade Korpi (Staunton Braves) and RHP Joey Williamson (Luray Wranglers).

The team’s five other returning players – Tom Thornton, Steve Andres, Jeff Samardzija, Jess Stewart and Nick Mainieri – will be in South Bend or their hometown areas for various reasons (summer school/internships, independent workouts, playing in local leagues, football training, injury rehab, etc.).

Notre Dame’s summer players again will be checking in periodically on www.und.com for a Summer Diary series, after a popular series of those diary entries during the summers of ’02-’04 (look for tentative summer diary list soon on und.com).

Sean Gaston has joined teammates Jeff Manship and Derik Olvey on the Cape Cod League’s Cotuit Kettleers.

Irish players now have combined to play 30 times in the Cape Cod League during the 11-year Paul Mainieri era at Notre Dame, with several others invited over the years but unable to play in the Cape due to Team USA participation or injury. The Mainieri era has featured at least one ND player in the CCL every year except 1996, with multiple ND players on CCL rosters in ’95, ’97 and every year since ’99 (see list below).

The past eight summers have seen Notre Dame players be members of eight of the 10 Cape Cod League teams (since ’97), with the only exceptions being the Orleans Cardinals and the Chatham A’s.

Here are website links for the ND players’ summer-league teams (additional notes on the leagues and players follow below):

http://www.capecodbaseball.org
http://www.brewsterwhitecaps.com
http://www.kettleers.org
http://www.ydredsox.org
http://www.falcommodores.org
http://www.matsuminers.org
http://www.fayettevilleswampdogs.com
http://www.delawarecows.com
http://larks.hdnews.net
http://www.mallardsbaseball.com/current
http://www.stauntonbraves.com
http://www.luraywranglers.com
http://www.tcllonestars.com
http://www.dupagedragons.com

Notre Dame Baseball 2005 Summer Teams
Greg Lopez – Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox (Cape Cod League)
Dan Kapala – Falmouth Commodores (Cape Cod League)
Craig Cooper – Brewster Whitecaps (Cape Cod League)
Sean Gaston – Cotuit Kettleers (Cape Cod League)
Jeff Manship – Cotuit Kettleers (Cape Cod League)
Derik Olvey – Cotuit Kettleers (Cape Cod League)
Matt Bransfield – Mat-Su Miners (Alaska League)
Cody Rizzo – Mat-Su Miners (Alaska League)
Alex Nettey – Fayetteville (NC) Swampdogs (Coastal Plains League)
Brett Lilley – Delaware (OH) Cows (Great Lakes League)
Danny Dressman – Madison (WI) Mallards (Northwoods League)
Mike Dury – Madison (WI) Mallards (Northwoods League)
Ross Brezovsky – Hays (KS) Larks (Jayhawk League)
David Gruener – Hays (KS) Larks (Jayhawk League)
Wade Korpi – Staunton (VA) Braves (Valley League)
Joey Williamson – Luray (VA) Wranglers (Valley League)
Tony Langford – Euless LoneStars (Texas Collegiate League)
Eddie Smith – DuPage County Dragons Central (Illinois Collegiate League

Cape Cod League – a total of 190 former Cape Cod League players appeared on Major League rosters in 2003 … recent ND players who have played in the Cape Cod League include the following: IF Mike Amrhein (’95), CF Scott Sollmann (’95), C Jeff Wagner (Harwich Mariners, ’97 all-star), IF Brant Ust (Harwich, ’97), RHP Alex Shilliday (Harwich, ’98), IF Alec Porzel (Brewster, ’99), CF Steve Stanley (Brewster, ’99-’00), C Paul O’Toole (Brewster ’00, Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox ’01), OF Brian Stavisky (Hyannis Mets ’00, ’01), OF Matt Bok (Bourne Braves, ’01), 3B/C Andrew Bushey (YDR, ’01), 2B Steve Sollmann (YDR, ’01-’02), RHP Chris Niesel (Falmouth Commodores, ’02, ’03), RHP John Axford (Hyannis, ’02; Cotuit Kettleers, ’03), RHP Martin Vergara (Falmouth, ’02), 3B Matt Macri (Brewster, ’03), LHP Tom Thornton (Wareham Gatemen, ’04) and OF Craig Cooper (Brewster, ’04).

Craig Cooper has returned for a second second with the Cape Cod League’s Brewster Whitecaps.

Brewster Whitecaps – Cooper’s ’05 Brewster teammates are to include xxxx players from teams in the 2005 College World Series: Florida 1B Matt Laporta and OF Brian Leclerc, Texas C Preston Clark and Arizona State SS Andrew Romine and pitcher Kevin Dryanski … the team includes many other players from ’05 NCAA tournament teams: Miami RHP Danny Gil, IF Roger Tomas and OF John Jay, Stanford pitcher Erik Davis, South Carolina RHP Harris Honeycutt and OF Davy Gregg, USC infielder Matt Cusick, Florida State IF Ryan Malone and pitchers from Missouri (Max Scherzer), Virginia (Casey Lambert), Georgia Tech (Ryan Turner), South Alabama (PJ Walters) and Wichita State (Derek Roach) … South Florida RHP Chase Lirette will be a new BIG EAST rival of Cooper’s in ’06 … Bob Macaluso returns to coach the ’05 Brewster squad … former Brewster players active in the Major Leagues in recent years include: Geoff Blum, Brian Buchanan, Sean Casey, Brandon Duckworth, Matt Herges, Reed Johnson, Bobby Kielty, Mike Myers, Mike Neu, Augie Ojeda, Craig Paquette, Eduardo Perez, David Ross, Aaron Row and Chase Utley, Billy Wagner, Todd Walker and Kip Wells … Brewster share the east division title in ’04 … the Whitecaps again will play in ’05 at the Cape Cod Tech Field in Harwich, atop “the Hill” (a new stadium is scheduled to open in Brewster for the ’06 season).

Cotuit Kettleers – the three ND players are slated to be teammates with two Tennessee players, C Jonathan Arencibia and OF Julio Borbon, who are playing in the CWS … the Irish players will be able to compare NCAA Tournament stories with plenty of their Cotuit teammates, including: LSU pitcher Clay Dirks, IF Michael Hollander, Bryan Harris and J.P Padron, USC outfielder Roberto Lopez, Georgia Tech pitcher Tim Ladd and C Matt Wieters, Clemson pitcher Daniel Moskos, Mississippi State pitcher Josh Johnson and Jeffrey Rea, Missouri LHPs Nathan Culp and Taylor Parker, Arizona’s Jason Donald, Stetson OF Shane Jordan and Alabama OF Emeel Salem … South Florida’s Casey Hudspeth will be a new BIG EAST rival in ’06 …Cotuit is coached by former UNC head coach Mike Roberts (father of current Baltimore Orioles 2B Brian Roberts) … 34 former Cotuit players were active on 2004 Major League teams, with those players including the likes of Lou Merloni, Dave McCarty, Mark Bellhorn, Jeff Kent, Mike Matheny, Braden Looper, Mike MacDougal, Kirk Saarloos and Chase Utley.

Falmouth Commodores – Kapala’s teammates are to include several from ’05 CWS teams, among them Tulane 1B Mark Hamilton, IF Sean Morgan and OF Warren McFadden and Oregon State RHP Dallas Buck and LHP Kevin Gunderson … others from ’05 NCAA Tournament teams include USC outfielder Daniel Perales, Florida State LHP Brian Schultz, Clemson RHPs Stephen Faris and David Kopp, Rice LHP Cole St. Clair and IF Brian Friday, TCU righthander Sam Demel and infielders Shelby Ford and Chad Huffman, Vanderbilt RHP Mike Wagner and OF Aaron Garza, and Stetson C Jon Still and IF Brian Bocock … Jeff Trundy was the 2004 CCL manager of the year, with Falmouth losing to Yarmouth-Dennis in an 11-inning championship game … 2004 MLB rosters included several former Commodores, among them: Darin Erstad, Adam Kennedy, Tino Martinez, Eric Milton, Javier Lopez, Jeff Weaver and Kevin Cash.

Greg Lopez has joined a Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox team that won the 2004 Cape Cod League title.

Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox – Lopez joins the defending CCL champions, with the ’05 roster to include two players currently at the CWS (Florida 2B Adam Davis and Baylor LHP Corey VanAllen) plus several other players from ’05 NCAA Tournament teams: Stanford RHPs Nolan Gallagher and Blake Holler and OF Jim Rapoport, Florida State IF Bryan Henry, Arizona RHP Eric Berger and IF Brian Kervin, Georgia Tech RHP Brad Rulon, Arkansas lefthander T.J. Sinovich and IF Brock Bond, Virginia RHP Patrick McAnaney and Stetson 3B Braedyn Pruitt … Scott Pickler returns for his 7th season as the YDR head coach.

Alaska League – Bransfield and Rizzo follow LHP Tim Kalita (’98), OF Matt Strickroth (’99-’00), RHP Danny Tamayo (’00) and 1B/3B Matt Edwards (’04) as ND’s fifth and sixth players with the Mat-SU Miners in the past eight years … nine other recent ND players have competed with the Alaska Goldpanners: IF Craig DeSensi (’93), OF Ryan Topham (’93), RHPs Tim Kraus (’94), Darrin Schmalz (’94-’95) and Christian Parker (’95), IF J.J. Brock (’97), RHP Aaron Heilman (’98), IF Alec Porzel (’98) and RHP J.P. Gagne (’02) … other ND players who have been active in the Alaska League in recent years include two with the Kenai Peninsula Oilers: RHP Alex Shilliday (’97) and LHP Chris McKeown (’98).

Mat-Su Miners – Bransfield and Rizzo’s teammates in Mat-SU are slated to include several who also played in the ’05 NCAAs: Stanford OF John Hester and Michael Taylor, Arkansas RHP Josh Smith and Oklahoma LHP Kevin Duke … they also will play alongside fellow BIG EAST player Matt Johnson (Georgetown IF) and two future BIG EAST rivals in Louisville RHP B.J. Rosenberg and IF Nick Haley … former Mat-Su assistant Jimmy Smith will serve as coach of the ’05 Miners.

Cody Rizzo will be looking to continue his lateseason surge while playing alongside classmate Matt Bransfield in Alaska, with the Mat-Su Miners.

Delaware Cows – ND’s five-year connection with the Cows includes CF Steve Stanley and C Javi Sanchez in 2001, LHP Scott Bickford in ’02, SS Greg Lopez and RHP Ryan Doherty in ’03, and RHP Dan Kapala in `04 … Lilley’s teammates include the likes of Georgia Tech pitcher John Michael Vidic, Vanderbilt pitcher Greg Moviel, Ohio State OF Matt Angle, pitcher Dan DeLucia and IF Jason Zoeller, and Michigan pitcher Andrew Hess and IF Leif Mahler … others from teams that faced ND in ’05 include Ball State pitcher Ryan DeGeeter (BS) and IF/OF Eric Earnhart (BS), Cincinnati C Neall French and Dayton OF Bobby Getty and pitcher Luke Trubee.

Hays Larks – several Mainieri-era players have been on previous Larks teams, including current players Craig Cooper (’03), Cody Rizzo (’03, injured) and Tyler Jones (’02) … other recent ND players who have been on Hays teams include Javi Sanchez (’02), Ryan Kalita (’02) , J.P. Gagne (’01), Joe Thaman (’01), Andrew Bushey (’00), Matt Buchmeier (’00), Drew Duff (’99-’00), Paul O’Toole (’99), Mike Carlin (’98), Ben Cooke (’98-’99), Jeff Felker (’98-’99) and Pat Davis (also later was Hays assistant coach) … Brezovsky and Gruener will be joined by three players currently at the CWS with Baylor (pitchers Jake Weghorst and Randall Linebaugh and OF Seth Fortenberry), plus another who played in the ’05 NCAAs (Louisiana Lafayette pitcher Justin Randa) and two others who played against the Irish in ’05: Bowling Green IF Eric Lawson and Tyler Wasserman.

Ross Brezovsky (pictured) and David Gruener are the latest in a long line of Notre Dame players to join the Hays Larks summer team.

Euless LoneStars – Langford has joined a team with players from many of the nation’s top teams, including Baylor RHP Tyler Bollock, LHP Drew Jeffcoat, Arizona IF J.T. Bloodworth, Rice OF Tyler Henley and IF Derek Myers, Missouri IF John McKee, Wichita State RHP Jared Simon and C Tyler Weber and Clemson IF Stan Widmann … other ’05 LoneStar players whose teams faced ND this season include Texas State RHP B.J. Boening, Texas A&M RHP/IF Chance Corgan, RHP Blake Rampy and OF/IF Keith Stein, and Evansville LHP Cory Julian.

Other Summer-Team Notes – Dressman and Dury’s teammates with the Madison Mallards include Stanford IF Randy Molina, St. John’s OF Will Vogl and Purdue C Jordan Comadena … Nettey and Stanford IF/OF Darren Gemmol will be the ’05 Fayetteville Swampdogs players from ’05 NCAA Tournament teams … Korpi’s teammates at Staunton include the likes of LSU OF/1B Kade Keowen and IF Nicholas Pontiff, Miami pitcher Chris Perez, Raudel Alfonso, Emmanuel Miguelez and C Alex Garabedian, Virginia SS Mike Campagna and C Marr Bernstine and Marist SS Andy Kiriakedes (South Florida 3B Joey Angleberger will be a BIG EAST rival in ’06) … William’s teammates in Luray include Tulane LHP Peter Connick, Miami RHP Marecel Albir, LHP Andrew Lane, RHP Ricky Orta and C Eddy Rodriguez, College of Charleston OF Michael Harrington, Lousiana-Lafayette LHP Jeff Martinez and Marist RHP Eric Suppley (also Central Florida OF Tyson Auer and West Virginia IF/OF Kyle Matuszek and IF Doug Nelms, each of whom faced ND in ’05) … Smith teammates with the DuPage County Dragons include Florida State IF/OF/C Ruairi O’Connor, TCU LHP Omar Arif and Oklahoma OF Joe Dunigan (plus two from ’05 ND opponents, Texas A&M RHP Erik Paulson and Western Michigan RHP Derek Schlecker).

Matt Bransfield has headed to Alaska looking to turn in a strong summer season, as he did in ’03 with the Colorado Sox.

Matt Bransfield (Jr., DH/1B/C, 6-1/205, Bats: R; Englewood, CO) – previously has played summer ball with the Colorado Sox of the Rocky Mountain League (’03) and the Waynesboro (Va.) Generals of the Valley League (’04) … ranked 4th on ’05 team in batting avg. (.313) and on-base pct. (.409) … had 8 multi-hit games (none with 3-plus), also 4 multi-RBI games (1 w/ 3 RBI) … missed 18 games after suffering broken hand in ’05 season opener … led ’05 team with .448 batting vs. LHPs (.254 vs. RHPs) … also ranked 2nd on team in leadoff on-base pct. (.542) and 4th in batting with runners on (.321) … hit .286 with 2-outs (6 RBI), .314 with runners in scoring position … 2-for-7 (.286) with the bases loaded, 2-for-3 as a pinch-hitter … delivered RBI 7-of-10 times with runners on 3rd and fewer than 2 outs … advanced runners 51% of the time … ended ’05 with an even plate-discipline ratio (10 BB + 7 HBP – 17 Ks) … his other ’05 stats included 32 GP/29 GS, 30 hits in 96 ABs, 6 doubles, 16 RBI, .375 slugging, .409 on-base, 2 sac. flies, 2 sac. bunts and 1-of-1 SBs (1 E) … 21 of his 29 starts came at DH (6 at C, 2 at 1B) … made 10 starts batting cleanup, 12 in the 6-hole, 5 in 5-hole (batted 7th twice in postseason) … hit .273 in ’05 BIG EAST regular-season games (15 GP/13 GS, 12-for-44, 5 RBI, 6 R, 2 BB, 2 HBP, 10 Ks, 2 SAC, SF) … batted 77 points higher in ’05 home games (.345, 19-for-55, 11 RBI, 6 R, 4 2B, 6 BB, 5 HBP, 7 Ks, SAC, SB, E) than on the road (.268, 11-for-41, 5 RBI, 8 R, 2 2B, 4 BB, 2 HBP, 10 Ks, SAC, 2 SF) … hit safely in 7 of his final 8 GP in ’05 … ranked 5th on team with .278 batting in post-finals games during May and June (10-for-36, 5 RBI, 3 R, 2 2B, 2 BB, 4 HBP, 9 Ks, SAC, SB) … team’s 4th-best hitter at the 2005 NCAA Gainesville Regional (.286, 2-for-7, R, 2B, BB, 3 Ks) … ranked as team’s 2nd-leading hitter during 13-game midseason homestand.448, 13-for-29, 8 RBI, 3 R, 4 2B, 3 BB, 2 HBP, 6 Ks, E) … had leadoff pinch-hit single and scored as ND rallied to force extra-innings in 3-2 win over UConn … scored 3 times in series finale at Rutgers (H, BB) … had RBI groundout and run-scoring single to help beat Cleveland State in 7-6 game … plated 3 runs in 9-8 win over Valparaiso … batted 2-for-3 with walk, double and run scored in NCAA elimination-game win over Stetson (7-4) … will enter ’06 season as a .308 career hitter in 124 GP/100 GS (115-for-373, 71 R, 21 2B, 3 3B, 12 HR, 84 RBI, .477 slug, 35 BB, 19 HBP, 66 Ks, .388 OB, 9 SF, 4 SAC, 1-4 SB, E) … 7-for-19 (2-for-3 in ’05) as a pinch-hitter during his ND career … a .295 career hitter in all games vs. BIG EAST teams (56-for-190, 38 RBI, 8 HR) and a .250 career hitter in NCAA regional action (6-for-24, RBI, 3 R, 2B, 4 BB, HBP, 7 Ks).

Ross Brezovsky made just three errors after his midseason shift to second base.

Ross Brezovsky (Fr., IF, 5-10/170, Bats: L; Naples, FL) – shared ’05 team lead with 2 triples, also ranking 4th in doubles (8) and 5th in sac. bunts (6) … totaled 12 multi-hit games (2 w/ 4 hits, 3 w/ 3 hits) and 4 multi-RBI games (season-high 5-RBI game) … hit .320 vs. LHPs (.239 vs. RHPs) … compiled a .298 leadoff on-base pct. while batting .270 with runners on, .288 with them in scoring position and .246 with 2 outs (8 RBI)… 0-for-6 with the bases loaded … delivered the RBI 7-of-14 times (50%) with runners on 3rd and fewer than 2 outs … advanced runners 44% of the time … owned a -21 plate-discipline ratio (17 BB + 4 HBP – 42 Ks) … his other ’05 stats included a .261 batting avg. in 56 GP/53 GS (49-for-188, 35 R, 2 3B, 2 HR, 20 RBI, .356 slugging, .329 on-base, 4 sac. flies, 3-5 SBs, 13 Es/.944 fielding pct. … grounded into 11 double plays … his 53 starts included 15 at 3B, 34 at 2B (all in final 35 games) and 3 at SS (plus a single start at LF) … hit mostly at bottom of the order (24 in 8-hole, 13 in 9 hole, 12 in 7-hole), plus 4 as leadoff hitter (early-season) … made 10 errors at 3B in first half of season but totaled just 3 Es at 2B in second half of ’05 (34 GP) … made just a single E in final 15 games of season (81 chances) … batted .200 in BIG EAST regular-season games (21 GP/18 GS, 12-for-60, 3 RBI, 10 R, HR, 2B, 4 BB, 14 Ks, SB, 4 SAC, SF) … hit 34 points higher on the road (.278, 30-for-108, 11 RBI, 18 R, HR, 3 3B, 4 2B, 4 BB, 4 HBP, 28 Ks, 2 SAC, SB, 9 Es) than at home in ’05 season (.244, 19-for-78, 9 RBI, 17 R, HR, 3 2B, 13 BB, 14 Ks, 4 SAC, 2 SB, 4 Es) … hit .238 in post-finals games during May and June (15-for-63, 4 RBI, 13 R, HR, 2B, 5 BB, HBP, 18 Ks, 2 SAC, 2 Es) … batted 1-for-13 at the NCAA Gainesville Regional (R, BB, 4 Ks) after going 2-for-9 at the BIG EAST Tournament (RBI, 2 R, 2B, K) … drove in 5 runs vs. Cleveland State on April 30 (13-3; 4-for-4, HR, 2B, BB) for his first multi-RBI game since opening week … had similar 4-hit game two weeks later in 21-1 win at Pittsburgh (4-for-4, RBI, 4 R, HR, BB) … helped upset #17 USC with pair of RBI (13-6; 1-for-4, SF) … scored 3 times in 5-2 win over Villanova (2-for-3, SB) … plated Alex Nettey with groundrule double to end 4-3 win over Florida A&M … closed Dayton series with 3-for-4 game (2 R, HBP; 10-11) … hit 3-for-5 vs. Oral Roberts (R) en route to earning all-tournament spot at Alamo City Irish Baseball Classic (.357, 5-for-14, 3 R, 3B, 2 Ks, E).

Craig Cooper became just the second player in BIG EAST history to lead the conference in batting average during back-to-back seasons.

Craig Cooper (Jr., OF, 6-2/220, Bats: R; Plainview, NY) – played for the Hays Larks (Jayhawk League) in the summer of ’03 before heading to the Cape Cod League (Brewster Whitecaps) in the summer of ’04 … earned 3rd team all-BIG EAST honors in ’05 (2nd team in ’04) … finished 2nd on ’05 team in six categories – slugging pct. (.502), RBI (58), home runs (7), doubles (14), stolen bases (14-of-17) and total bases (105) – also ranking 3rd in batting avg. (.325), on-base pct. (.446), runs (48), hits (68), walks (33) and games played (60), 5th in hit-by-pitch (14) and games started (58) … shared team lead with 17 multiple-RBI games (2 w/ 5 RBI, 2 w/ 3 RBI), also 3rd with 16 multi-hit games (7 w/ 3 hits) … finished 2nd on team in batting with runners in scoring position (.434), with 2-outs (.369) and with runners on (.368), also 4th in 2-out RBI (17) and 5th in leadoff on-base pct. (.419) … hit .327 vs. RHPs (3rd on team) and .323 vs. LHPs (4th) … 2-for-8 (.250) with the bases loaded … delivered the RBI 22-of-30 times (73%) with runners on 3rd and fewer than 2 outs … advanced runners 58% of the time (3rd on team) … ranked 2nd on team with +25 plate-discipline ratio (33 BB + 14 HBP – 22 Ks) … his other ’05 stats included 209 ABs, 2 sac. flies, 4 sac. bunts, 3 errors and a triple … grounded into 6 double plays … finished 3rd among BIG EAST players in overall RBI (58), trailing teammate Matt Edwards (69) and Pitt sophomore 2B Jim Negrych (59) … also ended 7th among BE players with a .446 overall on-base pct., plus 5th in HBP (14) and 9th in walks (33) … repeated as BIG EAST batting champ (.403, in league games, after .470 in ’04) … joined former BC player Kevin Penwell (’95, ’96) as only repeat batting champs in 21-year history of BIG EAST baseball … moved into 3rd place on BIG EAST career batting list, at .420 (68-for-162), behind Joe Cirone (.443, 51-for-115; Rutgers, ’97-’00) and Marteese Robinson (.432, 83-for-192; Seton Hall, ’85-’87) … joins Cirone as only players in past 18 seasons to hit above .420 or higher in their BIG EAST career … also repeated as BIG EAST leader for on-base pct. in conference games (.529; .471 in ’04) while finishing 8th in league slugging pct. (.582), 6th in RBI (19) and 10th in doubles (6) and walks (12) … only four players in the league finished with a higher OPS (on-base plus slugging) during ’05 BE games than his 1.111: Negrych (1.311), Pitt junior CF Ben Copeland (1.205), fellow ND junior OF Cody Rizzo (1.111; .514 OB, .648 slugging) and WVU junior 1B Stan Posluszny (1.122) … his other ’05 BIG EAST stats included 27 hits in 67 ABs and 23 GP/21 GS (19 RBI, 14 R, 2 HR, 6 2B, 13 BB, 6 HBP, 9 Ks, 5 SB, 3 SAC, SF, 2 Es) … his 58 starts in ’05 included 23 in RF and 20 in LF (15), plus starts at 1B (9), CF (4) and DH (2) … made 12 starts as leadoff batter included 11 late-season games, also batting in the cleanup (23), 5th (8), 6th (7), 7th (3) and 3rd spots (5, mostly lateseason) … hit 33 points lower on the road (team-best .312, 39-for-125, 25 RBI, 27 R, 4 HR, 9 2B, 19 BB, 4 HBP, 15 Ks, 6 SB, 3 SAC, E) than in ’05 home games (.345/4th on team, 29-84, 33 RBI, 21 R, 3 HR, 3B, 5 2B, 14 BB, 10 HBP, 5 Ks, SAC, 8 SB, 2 Es) … compiled team-best .361 batting avg. in post-finals games during May and June (26-for-72) with 19 RBI, 17 R, 2 HR, 6 2B, 10 BB, HBP, 9 Ks, 2 SAC, 2 SB, E) … hit 2-for-14 at the NCAA Gainesville Regional (2 RBI, 2 R, 2B, 3 BB, 3 Ks), after batting 5-for-13 with 5 runs scored at the BIG EAST Tournament (RBI, BB, K) … earned BIG EAST player-of-the-week and national hitter-of-the-week (NCBWA) honors during final week of the regular season, after batting team-best .565 with 13 RBI in 6 GS (13-for-23, 8 R, 2 HR, 2 BB, HBP, 2 Ks, SF, E), vs. Pitt, USC and West Virginia … saw his career-best 13-game hitting streak end on the NCAAs (.460 clip, 23-for-50, 17 RBI, 13 R, 2 HR, 5 2B, 4 BB, HBP, 5 Ks, SAC, SB) … only Alex Nettey (15) had a longer his streak in the ’05 season … his top postseason games including going 3-for-5 and scoring 3 times from leadoff spot in BIG EAST title-game win over Pitt (11-4) before stroking 2-run double in 3-0 NCAA elimination-game win over North Carolina … hit ND’s first game-ending HR (9-7 vs. Purdue; April 20) since ’02 CWS (Brian Stavisky; 5-3 vs. Rice) and then hit grand slam in next AB, vs. Valparaiso (9-8; 5 RBI) … smacked ND’s first leadoff HR of season and added another HR in 21-1 win at Pittsburgh, having a hand in 7 runs (3-hole; 3-for-5, 5 RBI, 4 R, BB) … helped upset #17 USC, 13-6 (3-for-5, 2 RBI, R, 2B) … 6-for-9 series vs. WVU included 2-for-2 in 3-1 opener (R, BB), 3-for-3 in 7-3 finale (3 RBI, 2B, SF) … helped post 4-2 win at UCF (3-for-4, 2 RBI, R, BB, SB) … 3-for-4 in first win over Southwest Missouri (2 RBI, 2 R, HR) … HR vs. South Dakota State (2 RBI, 3 R, 2 BB) and Cincinnati (1-for-3, 2 R, BB, SB) … helped avert loss to Cleveland St. (7-6; 3-4, 3 RBI, 2 R, 3B, BB, 2 SB), adding 3 RBI in 13-3 win (H, R, SB) … will enter ’06 season with a .332 career batting avg. in 164 GP/135 GS (168-for-506, 112 R, 33 2B, 4 3B, 17 HR, 121 RBI, .514 slugging, 73 BB, 20 HBP, 67 Ks, .443 OB, 4 SF, 10 SAC, 36-47 SB, 6 Es) … ranks 12th on the ND career SB list (36) … a .188 career hitter in NCAA regional action (10 GS; 6-for-32, 6 RBI, 5 R, HR, 2 2B, 5 BB, SF, 3 Ks).

Sean Gaston ranked among Notre Dame’s top hitters during the final month of the season.

Sean Gaston (So., C, 6-0/185, Bats: L; Brownsburg, IN) – played with the Waterloo (Iowa) Bucs of the Northwoods League during the summer of ’04 … finished 3rd on ’05 team in sacrifice bunts (7), 4th in RBI (28) and 5th in batting avg. (.293) … totaled 12 multi-hit games (1 w/ 4 hits, 4 w/ 3 hits), plus 5 with multi-RBI (1 w/ 4 RBI) … ranked 4th on team in 2-out RBI (15) and batting with runners in scoring position (.322), plus 5th in 2-out batting (.302) … also finished 5th on team with .296 batting vs. RHPs (.282 vs. LHPs) … advanced baserunners 59% of the time (2nd-best on team) … compiled a .347 leadoff on-base pct. while batting .293 with runners on … 2-for-7 with the bases loaded (.286)… delivered the RBI 10-of-14 times (71%) with runners on 3rd and fewer than 2 outs … owned a -8 plate-discipline ratio (5 BB + 4 HBP – 17 Ks) … his other ’05 stats included 50 GP/43 GS, 46 hits in 164 ABs, 27 runs, 5 doubles, a triple, a home run, .354 slugging, .326 on-base, 2 sac. flies, 4-of-4 stolen bases and 4 errors … grounded into 4 double plays … made all 43 of his starts at catcher while batting all over the lineup, with 12 starts in the 6-hole, 8 starts each in the 8- and 9-holes, plus starts in the 2nd (2), 4th (2), 5th (4) and 7th (7) spots … ranked 5th on team with .286 batting in ’05 BIG EAST regular-season games (18 GP/17 GS, 16-for-56, 13 RBI, 6 R, HR, 2B, 3 BB, HBP, 6 Ks, 4 SB, 4 SAC, SF, 3 Es) … hit 30 points higher in ’05 home games (.310, 22-for-71, 14 RBI, 9 R, HR, 3 2B, 2 BB, 7 Ks, 3 SB, E) than in all ’05 road games (.280/4th on team, 26-for-93, 14 RBI, 18 R, 3B, 2 2B, 3 BB, 4 HBP, 10 Ks, 3 SAC, SB, 3 Es) … ranked 4th on team with .310 batting in post-finals games during May and June (9-for-29, 5 RBI, 3 R, 3B, HBP, 3 Ks, SAC) … hit .346 in his final 8 GP of the ’05 season (9-for-26, 5 RBI, 3 R, 3B, 2B, HBP, SAC, 2 Ks) … back injury limited him to just three post-finals starts in regular season … ranked 2nd on team with .333 batting at the ’05 NCAA Gainesville Regional (3 GP/2 GS, 3-for-9, RBI, R, HBP, K) … hit 3-for-10 at the BIG EAST Tournament (RBI, R, 3B, K) … ranked 5th on team with .321 batting in April (17-53, 11 RBI, 6 R, HR, 2 2B, 3 BB, HBP, 7 Ks, 2 SAC, 3 SB, 3 Es) … his top postseason games included RBI single, triple and run score to help deliver BIG EAST title-game win over Pittsburgh (11-4) … and had HBP, run scored and RBI single in NCAA elimination-game win over Stetson (7-4) … went 4-for-8 in doubleheader vs. Villanova (5 RBI, 2 R, BB, 3-run HR) … hit 9th-inning single prior to Greg Lopez’s 3-run HR as ND tied series finale vs. VU (ended 7-7) … singled for key hit in comeback win over UConn (3-for-4, SB) … 4-for-6 in 13-9 loss to Dayton (RBI, R) … 3-for-4 in second win over Southwest Missouri (RBI, 3 R, HBP) and 3-for-5 in comeback vs. Northern Illinois (RBI, 3 R, 2B) … lead role in win over Bowling Green (3-for-4, 2 RBI, 2 R, 2B) … will enter ’06 season with a .299 career batting avg. in 73 GP/55 GS (66-for-221, 38 R, 8 2B, 3B, HR, 39 RBI, .357 slug, 10 BB, 4 HBP, 26 Ks, .336 OB, 3 SF, 7 SAC, 8-8 SB, 5 Es).

Tony Langford proved to be a valuable two-way player during the 2005 season.

Tony Langford (Fr., OF/DH, 5-11/175, Bats: R; Fort Worth, TX) – finished 4th on ’05 team in RBI (28) and 5th in slugging pct. (.384) and home runs (3) … totaled 7 multiple-RBI games (1 w/ 5, 1 w/ 3) and 12 multi-hit games (4 w/ 3 hits) … also ranked 3rd on team in 2-out RBI (16), 4th in 2-out batting (.309) and 5th in batting with runners on base (.319) and in scoring position (.317) … owned a .286 leadoff on-base pct. … hit .274 vs. RHPs and .302 vs. LHPs … 0-for-5 with the bases loaded … delivered the RBI 9-of-16 times (56%) with runners on 3rd and fewer than 2 outs … 1-for-3 as a pinch-hitter … advanced baserunners 47% of the time … owned a -14 plate-discipline ratio (3 BB + 2 HBP – 19 Ks) … his other ’05 stats included a .283 batting avg. in 51 GP/39 GS (45-for-159, 16 R, 7 2B, .384 slugging, .303 on-base, a sac. fly and sac. bunt, 1-1 SBs and an error) … grounded into 8 double plays … his 39 starts included 20 in LF, 17 at DH and 2 in RF while batting mostly in 5-hole (18), plus 10 starts in the 6-hole and 9 in the 7-hole (also single starts batting cleanup and 8th) … hit .273 in BIG EAST regular-season games (21 GP/20 GS, 21-for-77, 15 RBI, 9 R, 2 HR, 4 2B, BB, HBP, 6 Ks, SB, SF) … owned similar batting numbers in ’05 road games (.279/5th on team 15 RBI, 6 R, 2 HR, 3 2B, BB, 9 Ks) and home games (.286, 26-for-91, 13 RBI, 10 R, HR, 4 2B, 2 BB, 2 HBP, 10 Ks, SAC, SB, E) … hit .246 in post-finals games during May and June (14-for-57, 10 RBI, plus 6 R, HR, 2B, BB, 8 Ks) … batted 2-for-11 at the NCAA Gainesville Regional (3 GP/2 GS, R, 2B, K) … helped beat Stetson in 7-4 NCAA elimination game (2-for-5, R, 2B) … played lead role in 13-6 upset of #17 USC (3-for-5, 2-run HR, 2 R) … hit 4-for-10 to help sweep WVU in final week of regular season (2 RBI,R, BB) … went 3-for-4 in his first start with the Irish, vs. Southwest Missouri (3 RBI, R, BB), followed by 2-for-4 game vs. Evansville (2B) and 2-for-5 vs. South Dakota State (RBI) … added 3-for-6 effort in game-2 vs. Georgetown (RBI, 2 R, 2B) … homered twice to fuel late comeback in extra-inning loss at Rutgers … hit 3-for-4 in win over Bowling Green (RBI, 2 R, 2B, SAC … also emerged as a key righthanded reliever, compiling a 3.63 ERA in 17.1 IP (16 H/.258 opp. avg./HR, 6 BB, 13 Ks, WP, BK, 3 HB) … worked out of jam to win 12-inning game vs. Purdue (0.2 IP, BB, K) and came back next day to save win over Valparaiso (1.2 IP, H, 3 BB, K) … helped beat Pittsburgh in BIG EAST winners-bracket game (4-2; IP, H, K) … logged nine straight appearances without being charged for a run (9.2 IP, H, 4 BB, 8 Ks) … allowed 2-of-9 inherited baserunners to score.

Brett Lilley impacted games in a number of ways during the ’05 season.

Brett Lilley (Fr., 2B/3B, 5-7/165, Bats: L; North Canton, OH) – earned Louisville Slugger 2005 Freshman All-America honors, as selected by Collegiate Baseball magazine … also named BIG EAST Conference rookie of the year and 3rd team all-BIG EAST … completed one of the top seasons ever by an ND freshman, leading the Irish in six statistical categories including a .502 season on-base pct. that was best among all BIG EAST players and just shy of the ND freshman record (.509, by Eric Danapilis in 1990) … first ND freshman in 15 years to claim the team batting title outright (.355) while joining Danapilis (.429, in ’90) and Pete Schmidt (.367, in ’71) as the only freshmen ever to lead the Irish in batting … his team-record 30 times hit-by-pitch ranked 2nd among all players in Div. I during the ’05 season and are tied for 4th in the NCAA record book … in addition to totaling 76 hits, he racked up 64 “free passes” (34 walks, 30 HBP) to join Ryan Topham’s 63-walk season in ’94 as the most free passes in one season ever by an Irish player … led team in batting with runners on base (.413), in scoring position (.448) and with 2-outs (.439, 12 RBI) while ranking 3rd on the team with a .515 leadoff on-base pct. … advanced runners a team-best 66% of the time (typically batting from the 2-hole), delivered the RBI 73% of the time (2nd-best on team, 11-of-15) with a runner on 3rd and fewer than 2-outs, and owned a team-best .368 batting avg. vs. RHPs (4th with .323 vs. LHPs) … was ’05 squad’s runaway leader in the “Red Ratio” that measures plate discipline, with a +31 (34 BB + 30 HBP – 33 Ks) while the rest of the team was -16 … his midseason switch from second to third base helped turn ND’s season around, with the Irish going 24-10-1 the rest of the way after playing .500 ball (14-14) before Lilley’s move to the hot corner … totaled just 8 errors in 35 games at 3B (29 E-free games; .923 fielding pct.), after four of his teammates had combined for 18 third-base Es in first half of the season …collected hits in 55 of 63 games, reached base in 58 (all but 5) and went hitless in back-to-back games just twice all season (he never went three games without a hit) … two of the games in which he failed to reach base were 7-inning BIG EAST games while another saw him make just one plate appearance (vs. Ball State, after an early 12-0 deficit) … when excluding the seven-inning games and the BSU loss, he reached base in 52 of 54 “full-duty” games during the ’05 season … finished as the BIG EAST overall leader in on-base pct. (.502) while ranking 6th in total walks (34) and runs (56), 8th in hits (76) and 9th in batting avg. (.355) … led all BIG EAST freshmen in batting avg., on-base pct. and walks (2nd in runs) … players ranked above Lilley in batting avg. and hits were senior and juniors, with the exception of BC sophomore Jared McGuire (,381, 82 H) and West Virginia sophomore Justin Jenkins (.359, 79 H) … those players also happened to play third base, thus pushing Lilley down to 3rd team all-BIG EAST … finished as team leader in batting, OB, HBPs and sac. bunts (9) while joining senior 1B Matt Edwards as only players to start all 63 games (Greg Lopez was only other player to appear in all 63) … finished 2nd on the team in hits, runs and walks, 4th in stolen bases (9), total bases (81) and RBI (28) … his 20 multi-hit games were 2nd only to Edwards and included a 5-hit game vs. Cincinnati, 4 hits vs. UConn and six 3-hit games (one coming vs. Stetson in the NCAAs) … finished 3rd on the team with 9 multi-RBI games – including the BIG EAST title game vs. Pitt and the NCAA elimination game vs. Stetson … his other ’05 stats included 5 doubles, a .379 slugging pct., 14 errors and a .949 fielding pct. – plus a .333 batting avg. in BIG EAST games (20 R, 6 HBP) … 51 error-free games were highlighted by a 21-game span without an error (96 chances) from March 24-April 21 (spanning time at 2B and 3B) and 14-game E-free stretch that included five postseason games …despite splitting time at 2B and 3B (a position he had never played in his baseball career), he made just one error in 24 BIG EAST regular-season games (.990 fielding pct., 103 chances) … his .502 OB pct. ranks 9th in ND record book and 2nd-best since ’94, behind Steve Stanley’s .506 in ’02 … Brian Stavisky (64, in 2000) is only ND freshman ever to start or play in more games … his 172 fielding assists broke ND freshman record set by SS Paul Turco (167, in ’96) … Brant Ust (66, in ’97) is only ND freshman ever to score more runs … the only players in NCAA history to have more HBPs in a season are Richmond’s Andrew Slater (33, in ’97), Elon’s Gary Morris (32, in ’05) and Fairleigh Dickinson’s Steve Dembowski (32, in ’79) … already ranks 7th on ND career HBP list … hit .381 in first 46 games before slumping in final 10 games of regular-season (.235), then rebounding to be ND’s 2nd-best hitter of ’05 postseason (.360, 9-for-25, 5 RBI, 5 R, 5 HBP, 6 Ks) … hit .417 in NCAA Gainesville Regional (5-for-12, 3 RBI, 2 R, 4 HBP, K) … ranked 2nd on team in batting avg. for both home games (.415, 39-for-94, 15 RBI, 30 R, 2 2B, 18 BB, 10 HBP, 14 Ks, 6 SAC, 7 SB, 8 Es) and all road games (.308, 37-for-120, 13 RBI, 26 R, 3 2B, 16 BB, 20 HBP, 19 Ks, 3 SAC, 2 SB, 6 Es) … made 51 of his 63 starts batting from the 2-hole, with his 12 leadoff starts including five in the final three weeks of the season … had 4 HBP (one shy of tying NCAA record) in opening-week win at Central Florida (4-2) … first ND freshman ever to post a 5-hit game in a home opener (vs. Cincinnati, 2 RBI, R, 2 SB) … hit 2-for-4 with key opposite-field double to help upset #17 USC (13-6; 2 RBI, R, SAC) … went 4-for-4 in second game of UConn doubleheader … helped post key lateseason win at Pittsburgh (2-for-5, 3 R, HBP) … played key roles in the NCAA elimination-game wins over Stetson (3-for-5, 2-run single; 7-4) and North Carolina (RBI single, 2 HBP; 3-0) … had back-to-back hitless games during the Spring Break trip but then went 10 weeks before his only other stretch of consecutive games without a hit.

Greg Lopez (left) played a key role in Notre Dame claiming its fourth straight BIG EAST Tournament title.

Greg Lopez (Jr., SS, 6-0/190, Bats: R; Upper Arlington, OH) – played for Delaware (Ohio) Cows of Great Lakes League in summer of ’03 (dnp in summer of ’04) … one of three players who appeared in all 63 games of ’05 season … was nominated for Academic All-America honors, with 3.36 cumulative GPA as a double major in pre-professional studies and anthropology … ranked 3rd on team in RBI (34), HBP (16, 5th in ND history; 3rd among BIG EAST players in ’05), sac. bunts (7) and games started (62), also 5th in hits (57) and total bases (72) … compiled a team-best 14 total sacrifices (7 SF) … had 8 multi-RBI games (1 w/ 4 hits, 3 w/ 3 RBI) while ranking 5th on team with 13 multi-hit games (5 w/ 3 hits) … ranked 3rd on team in batting vs. LHPs (.333; compared to .250 vs. RHPs) … compiled a .353 leadoff on-base pct. while batting .303 with runners on base, .242 with them in scoring position and .279 with 2 outs (5 RBI) … 3-for-4 with the bases loaded … delivered the RBI 20-of-27 times (74%) with runners on 3rd and fewer than 2 outs … advanced runners 52% of the time … owned a -17 plate-discipline ratio (11 BB + 16 HBP – 44 Ks) … his other ’05 stats included a .274 batting avg. in 208 ABs (35 R, 7 doubles, triple, 2 home runs, .346 slugging, .347 on-base, 7 sac. flies, 0-2 stolen bases, 23 errors/.925 fielding pct.) … grounded into 3 double plays … his 44 error-free games in ’05 included 15 to open season and a single E in 19 games prior to lateseason Michigan game … had only 4 multi-E games in ’05 (none with 3-plus Es) … made 59 starts at SS (plus 3 at 3B, in midseason) while batting in the 9th (35), 8th (24) and 7th (2) spots, plus a start in the 2-hole vs. Stetson at NCAAs … hit .247 in ’05 BIG EAST regular-season games (24 GS, 19-for-77, 14 RBI, 12 R, HR, 3B, 3 2B, 7 BB, 6 HBP, 15 Ks, 2 SF, 10 Es) … batted 28 points higher in home games (.289, 28-for-97, 16 RBI, 23 R, HR, 3B, 6 2B, 3 BB, 11 HBP, 21 Ks, 2 SAC, 13 Es) than in all ’05 road games (.261, 29-for-111, 18 RBI, 12 R, HR, 2B, 8 BB, 5 HBP, 23 Ks, 5 SAC, 7 Es) … hit .273 during post-finals games in May and June (18-for-66, 5 RBI, 6 R, 2 2B, 4 BB, 3 HBP, 3 SAC, 12 Ks, 10 Es) … went 3-for-13 at the NCAA Gainesville Regional (.231, 2 R, 2B, BB, 3 Ks, 2 SAC, 3 E) after batting 4-for-10 at the BIG EAST Tournament (K, SAC) … helped Irish post NCAA elimination-game wins over Stetson (1-for-3, 2B, R, 2 SAC, batting in 2-hole; 7-4) and North Carolina (1-for-3, R, BB; 3-0) … tied series finale vs. Villanova with 3-run HR in 9th (ended 7-7; 3-for-5, HBP) … hit 3-for-5 as part of 21-1 win at Pittsburgh (3 RBI, R) … helped upset #17 USC, 13-6 (2-for-4, RBI, 2 R, 2B, HBP) … led 7-1 win over UConn (3-for-4, 2 RBI, 2 R, 2B) … hit 3 doubles in gm-2 vs. Georgetown (2 RBI, R, BB) … hit 3-for-3 in 11-10 loss to Dayton (4 RBI, R, SAC, SF) … had 3 RBI in comeback win over Northern Illinois (1-for-3, R, SF) … will enter ’06 with a .289 career batting avg. in 172 GP/159 GS (156-for-539, 91 R, 22 2B, 3B, 4 HR, 94 RBI, .356 slugging, .351 on-base, 12 SF, 25 SAC, 5-12 SBs, 51 Es) … ranks 7th in ND history with 25 sac. bunts, 8th with 29 HBPs, 9th with 418 fielding assists and 4th with 37 total sacrifices, behind Cory Mee (47, ’89-’92), Steve Stanley (45, ’99-’02) and Craig Counsell (38, ’89-’92) … a .305 career hitter in all games vs. BIG EAST teams (72-for-236, 34 RBI, HR), including .400 at the BIG EAST Tournament (10-for-25, RBI, 2 E, 2 HBP, 3 Ks) … a .172 career hitter (5-for-29) in NCAA regional action (10 GP/6 GS; 3 R, 2B, BB, SB, 3 Ks, 3 SAC).

Alex Nettey emerged as the starting centerfielder while turning in a solid offensive season, after making just 18 combined starts in the ’03 and ’04 seasons.

Alex Nettey (Jr., OF, 6-1/200, Bats: R; Dolton, IL) – played for Fayetteville (N.C.) Swamp Dogs of Coastal Plains League during summer of ’04 and Bluff City (Ill.) Bombers in summer of ’03 … shared the ’05 team lead in triples (2) and sac. bunts (9; 4th among BIG EAST players), 3rd in doubles (11), stolen bases (12-of-19) and total bases (86), 4th in hits (65), runs (44), HBP (15; also 15th among BE players), games played (60) and games started (59) … also finished 4th on team with 15 multi-hit games (1 w/ 4 hits, 3 w/ 3 hits), plus 4 multi-RBI games (none with 3-plus RBI) … ranked 4th on team with .305 batting vs. RHPs (.237 vs. LHPs) … advanced baserunners 55% of the time (5th-best on team) … compiled a .418 leadoff on-base pct. while batting .292 with runners on, .273 with them in scoring position and .219 with 2 outs (5 RBI) … 1-for-6 with the bases loaded … delivered the RBI 12-of-17 times (71%) with runners on 3rd and fewer than 2 outs … owned an even plate-discipline ratio (14 BB + 15 HBP – 29 Ks) … his other ’05 stats included a .288 batting avg. in 226 ABs (2 HR, 24 RBI, .381 slugging, .367 on-base, sac. fly, 5 errors) … made all 59 starts in CF, batting mostly leadoff (33; none in final month), plus starts in the 7th (8), 9th (6), 2nd (6), 5th (4) and 8th (2) spots … 4 of his 11 doubles came in final 8 games of regular season (after shift out of leadoff spot) … had 22-game errorless streak that ended in season finale … hit .242 in ’05 BIG EAST regular-season games (24 GS, 23-for-95, 6 RBI, 12 R, HR, 3B, 7 2B, 5 BB, 3 HBP, 15 Ks, 2 SB, 4 SAC, SF, 2 Es) … finished 8th among BIG EAST players with 7 doubles in conference play … hit 67 points higher in ’05 home games (.321/5th on team, 36-for-112, 14 RBI, 29 R, 2 HR, 6 2B, 6 BB, 8 HBP, 13 Ks, 4 SAC, 5 SB, 3 Es) than in all road games (.254, 29-for-114, 10 RBI, 16 R, 2 3B, 5 2B, 8 BB, 7 HBP, 16 Ks, 5 SAC, 7 SB, 2 Es) … batted .257 in post-finals games during May and June (18-for-70, 7 RBI, 14 R, 5 2B, 5 BB, 3 HBP, 9 Ks, 5 SAC, 6 SB) … hit 2-for-10 at NCAA Gainesville Regional (2 RBI, 2 R, BB, HBP, SAC, 3 SB, E), after batting 2-for-12 at the BIG EAST Tournament (RBI, 2 R, HBP, K) … played key roles in NCAA elimination-game wins over Stetson (diving catch, squeeze bunt, RBI groundout, 4 times on-base; 7-4) and North Carolina (1-for-2, BB, HBP, R; 3-0) … helped upset #17 USC with 2-for-4, 3-run game (13-6; RBI, 2B, BB) … hit 2-for-4 vs. West Virginia as Irish clinched postseason berth (7-3; RBI, 2 R, 2B) … snapped 1-for-18 slump vs. Purdue at Coveleski Stadium (4-for-6, HR, SB) … hit 3-for-6 in series finale vs. Villanova (7-7) … doubled and scored game-ending run vs. Florida A&M (4-3; 2-for-3) … hit 3-for-4 vs. Oral Roberts (RBI, R, 2B) as all-tournament pick at Alamo City Irish Baseball Classic (.385, 5-for-13, 2 RBI, 2 R, 2B, 3 BB, HBP, 1-2 SB) … had 2-run HR for only hit in game-2 vs. Georgetown (1-for-7, SAC) …hit 3-for-4 vs. Bowling Green … will enter ’06 with a .268 career batting avg. in 117 GP/77 GS (83-for-310, 64 R, 16 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, .352 slug, 21 BB, 19 HBP, 43 Ks, .350 OB, SF, 10 SAC, 15-of-22 SBs, 5 Es)

Cody Rizzo found several ways to impact the 2005 games, including ranking among the team leaders in walks, hit-by-pitch and stolen bases.

Cody Rizzo (OF, Jr., 6-1/200, Bats: R; Temecula, CA) – saw his ’03 summer with Hays Larks (Jayhawk League) cut short due to injury and did not play in summer of ’04 … led ’05 team and ranked 7th among BIG EAST players with 17 stolen bases (in 23 attempts) while ranking 2nd on team and in BIG EAST with 21 HBP (3rd in ND history), 3rd in home runs (6), 4th in slugging pct. (.423), doubles (8) and walks (22) and 5th in runs (41) and on-base pct. (.404) … totaled 9 multi-hit games (2 w/ 3 hits) and 4 multi-RBI games (season-high 3-RBI game) … ranked 4th on team with .436 leadoff on-base pct., 5th in 2-out RBI (13) … hit .250 with runners on base, .190 with them in scoring position and .246 with 2 outs (13 RBI) … batted .281 vs. RHPs, .184 vs. LHPs … 0-for-4 with the bases loaded … delivered the RBI 6-of-10 times with runners on 3rd and fewer than 2 outs … 1-for-2 as a pinch-hitter … advanced runners 50% of the time … late surge landed him 15th among BIG EAST leaders in conference batting avg. (.352), also 3rd in on-base pct. (.514), 4th in slugging pct. (.648) and stolen bases (7), and 8th in home runs (4) – all for conference games … the Pittsburgh duo of Jim Negrych (1.311) and Ben Copeland (1.205) were the only players with a higher OPS (on-base plus slugging) in BIG EAST games than his 1.162 … ranked 4th on team with +8 plate-discipline ratio (22 BB + 21 HBP – 35 Ks) … his other ’05 overall stats included a .252 batting avg. (41-for-163) in 60 GP/50 GS, 41 runs, 24 RBI, a .423 slugging pct., 2 sac. flies and 6 errors (at RF and C), plus a triple and sac. bunt … grounded into 7 double plays … made 37 starts in RF while starting 13 late-season games behind the plate (was an all-state catcher as a prep but previously just 4 starts at C with the Irish, in ’03) … batted mostly in the 5th (18), 6th and 7th spots (15 games each), plus 2 in 8th .. ranked 2nd on team with .353 batting in ’05 BIG EAST regular-season games (22 GP/18 GS, 19-for-54, 11 RBI, 19 R, 4 HR, 4 2B, 5 BB, 13 HBP, 8 Ks, 7 SB, 2 Es) … hit 29 points higher in road games (.262, 27-for-103, 17 RBI, 20 R, 4 HR, 3B, 4 2B, 12 BB, 11 HBP, 27 Ks, SAC, 7 SB, 5 Es) than in ’05 home games (.233, 14-for-60, 7 RBI, 21 R, 2 HR, 4 2B, 10 BB, 10 HBP, 8 Ks, 10 SB, E) … batted .277 in post-finals games during May and June (18-for-65, 10 RBI, 13 R, 4 HR, 3 2B, 2 BB, 8 HBP, 11 Ks, 6 SB, 4 Es) … hit 1-for-10 at the NCAA Gainesville Regional (RBI, HBP, 2 Ks, 2 Es) … a .216 career hitter in NCAA regional action (8-for-37, 12 GP/11 GS, 6 RBI, 5 R, 2 HR, 3 BB, 4 Ks, 3 HBP) … went 4-for-13 at BIG EAST Tournament (2 RBI, 2 R, HR, HBP, 2 SB, 6 Ks, E) … had hits in 11 of his final 12 games played in ’05, batting .357 in those 12 GP (15-for-42, 7 RBI, 11 R, 4 HR, 2 2B, 2 BB, 5 HBP, 4 SB, 2 Es) … hit just 2 HRs in first 49 games before smacking 4 HRs (3 vs. Pitt) in ND’s final 13 games of ’05 … stroked 2-out, 2-run HR for 3-0 lead in 1st inning of BIG EAST title game vs. Pittsburgh (11-4) … his 5-for-8 series at Pitt included reaching base 4 times and having a hand in 5 runs during 21-1 win (2-for-3, 3 RBI, 3 R, HR, BB, HBP) … homered previous day in 8-5 loss (2-for-3, 2 R, HBP) … helped secure postseason spot by batting 2-for-3 in final regular-season game vs. West Virginia (7-3; R, 2B, HBP) … smacked 2-run HR and hit 3-for-3 to help complete sweep of UConn (3 R, HBP, 2 SB) … hit 3-for-5 in 13-9 loss to Dayton (RBI, 2 R, HR, 2B, SB) … helped Irish rally past Northern Illinois (2-for-2, RBI, 2 R, 3B, BB, HBP) … will enter ’06 season with a .278 career batting avg. in 170 GP/157 GS (147-for-529, 133 R, 24 2B, 3 3B, 14 HR, .414 slug, 37 BB, 70 HBP, 98 Ks, .394 OB, 9 SF, 3 SAC, 23-31 SB, 15 Es) … a .292 career hitter vs. BIG EAST teams (65-for-223, 39 RBI, 6 HR) … first two seasons featured total of just 15 walks and 6 SBs (followed by 22 BB, 17 SB in ’05) … already ranks 4th in the NCAA record book with 70 career times hit-by-pitch, trailing only Tony Hurtado’s 92 (San Francisco. ’97-’00), Gabe Somarriba’s 81 (Florida Atlantic, ’99-’02) and the 74 by former Texas player Jeff Ontiveros (’99-’02).

Danny Dressman will be joining teammate Mike Dury on the Madison Mallards during the summer of ’05.

Danny Dressman (So., OF, 5-9/180; San Jose, CA) – Hit .273 in 35 games played as member of deep Irish outfield unit (8 GS, 15-for-55, 9 R, 2B, 3B, 10 RBI, 5 BB, HBP, 12 Ks, 4 SAC, 1-2 SB) … delivered 3-for-4 game in opening win over Florida A&M (3 RBI, R, BB; 18-3) before having a hand in three runs of 4-2 win at Central Florida (1-for-3, 2 RBI, R, SAC) … scored twice in 10-2 win over Dayton (1-for-5, 2 Ks) … went 2-for-2 in win over Chicago State (3 RBI, R, 3B, BB; 15-3) … came through as starter to help post 3-2 win over Boston College, in Brockton, Mass. (1-for-4, R, 2B, K) … went 2-for-5 in 7-7 tie vs. Villanova (R, K) … will enter ’06 with .267 career batting avg. in 81 GP (36 GS, 47-for-176, 34 R, 9 2B, 3B, 28 RBI, 23 BB, HBP, 37 Ks, 4 SF, 9 SAC, 3-6 SB).

Eddie Smith (Jr., IF, 5-11/165, Bats: L; Olympia, WA) – hit .292 in 19 GP (2 GS, 7-for-24, 3 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 2 HBP, 2 Es) … made his debut with the Irish in opener vs. Florida A&M (1-for-2, RBI, R; 18-3) … drew start at SS in 4-2 win at Central Florida … hit 2-for-4 vs. Ball State (RBI, R) … walked and scored in 9-3 loss vs. USC.

Dan Kapala (So., RHP, 6-5/225; Royal Oak, MI) – filled key setup role in ’04 and for first half of ’05 before making shift into weekend rotation … led ’05 staff in appearances (25; 6th among BIG EAST pitchers) while ranking 2nd in ERA (3.20), wins (7-3; 6th among BIG EAST pitchers) and innings (81.2; 10th among BIG EAST pitchers), 3rd in strikeouts (41) and starts (9), and 4th in low opp. batting avg. (.268) … totaled team-best 16 Ks “looking” while ranking 2nd on staff with 95 groundouts … allowed just .241 opp. batting with runners on (2nd-best on staff) while holding opponent to .342 leadoff on-base pct. (3rd-best on staff) … limited opposing LH hitters to .256 batting (3rd-best on staff) … allowed just 9.26 hits (3rd-best) and 2.98 walks (5th) per 9 IP while averaging 10.47 groundouts (5th-best on staff) … both of his postseason starts were ended by rain delays, picking up wins over Pittsburgh in 11-4 BIG EAST title game (5.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R/3 ER, 3 BB, 5 Ks, WP; 11-4) and North Carolina in 3-0 NCAA elimination game (8 IP, 8 H, BB, 3 Ks, 12 GOs/including 3 double-play balls) … beat Southwest Missouri at Alamo City Classic (1.2 IP, 3 H, R, K; 12-11) … helped beat Seton Hall (3 IP, BB, K; 4-1) … a rough 5th inning sent him to loss in first start of his ND career, vs. Boston College’s ace (4.2 IP, 8 H, 7 R/5 ER, BB, K, HB; 2-8) … bounced back for complete-game win in opener vs. UConn that extended to 8 innings (6 H, 2 R, BB, 2 Ks, WP; 3-2) … followed with another CG win over Villanova (7 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 4 BB, 3 Ks, HB; 9-4) and then beat Cleveland State during BIG EAST bye week (5 IP, 7 H, 2 R/ER, 2 Ks; 13-3) … suffered tough-luck loss at St. John’s (8 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 3 Ks, HB; 2-3) … helped Irish secure BIG EAST Tournament spot with final-week win over West Virginia (7 IP, 5 H, R, 5 Ks, BK, HB; 3-1) … pitched in relief of Tom Thornton in NCAA opener vs. UNC (2 IP, 2 H, BB; 1-5) … posted a 4-0 record, 2.48 ERA and 2-to-1 K-to-walk ratio (19/9) in ’05 home games (33 H/.236 opp. avg. in 36.1 IP) but is just 2-3 with a 4.58 ERA on the road in ’05 (19 Ks, 17 BB, 43 H/.299 in 37.1 IP) … will enter ’06 with a 3.03 career ERA and 9-5 record in 53 appearances (9 GS, 2 SV, 121.2 IP, 121 H/.261 opp. avg.11 HR, 43 BB, 81 Ks, 7 WP, 11 HB).

Jeff Manship will be hoping to build off a strong summer in the Cape Cod League.

Jeff Manship (So., RHP, 6-1/195; San Antonio, TX) – ranked 5th on staff in low opponent batting avg. (.270) and games started (7) while being eased back from offseason elbow surgery and overcoming midseason finger injury … allowed staff-best .220 batting with runners on, also 2nd on staff in opponent 2-out batting (.220) … led staff in groundouts per 9 innings (11.91) and groundout-to-flyout ratio (2.00), also 2nd on staff in Ks per 9 IP (7.94) and 5th in fewest hits allowed per 9 IP (9.53) … averaged 19.9 outs per 9 IP via Ks or GOs … help opposing RH hitters to .226 batting (2nd-best on staff) … made debut of his ND career in his home state, vs. Texas State in Round Rock (IP, 3 H, 4 R/3 ER, BB, K, loss; 5-10) … his first six appearances all were short, predetermined starts … tossed 2 shutout innings vs. Georgetown (2 H, 2 BB, K; 8-9) … started 3-0 win over Boston College (in Brockton, Mass.) while combining with classmate Jeff Samardzija for the key shutout (3 H, K) … suffered finger injury after fielding ball vs. UConn in mid-April (sidelined for 13 days) … ultimately had 4-inning start at St. John’s (3 H, R, BB, 3 Ks; 1-3) before pitching out of the bullpen in final month of the season (4 GP) … saved 5-1 win over West Virginia on final weekend of regular season (3 IP, 2 BB, 4 Ks; 5-1) … lost lead in BIG EAST Tournament opener vs. Boston College but bounced back for 6-5 win (3 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 4 Ks, 3 WP) … won NCAA elimination-game game vs. Stetson (1.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, BB, K, WP; 7-4).

Derik Olvey (So., RHP, 6-2/205; Pelham, AL) – ranked 5th on staff with 48.1 innings pitched while compiling a 5.59 ERA and 2-2 record in 16 appearances (5 GS, 25 Ks, 15 BB, 61 H/.307 opp. avg./5 HR, 3 WP, 6 HB) … allowed just a .327 opponent leadoff on-base pct. (2nd-best on staff) … also ranked 4th on staff on low opponent batting avg. by RH hitters (.258) and low walks per 9 IP 2.79), plus 5th in total groundouts (49) … allowed 5-of-9 inherited baserunners to score … had solid opening-week relief outing in 2-1 loss at Central Florida (3 IP, 4 H, R, BB, K) … came out of bullpen for strong outing vs. Texas-San Antonio (6.1 IP, 6 H, R, BB, 3 Ks, WP; 4-9) … posted wins over Seton Hall (5 IP, 4 H, BB, 2 Ks; 4-1) and Bowling Green ( 6 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 Ks, WP, HB; 14-2) … owned a 3.58 ERA and 2-0 record after his first 13 appearances before rough outings vs. top teams Michigan, USC and Florida … will enter ’06 season with 5.09 career ERA and 3-2 record in 20 GP (7 GS, 63.2 IP, 75 H/.292 opp. avg./5 HR, 18 BB, 32 Ks, 4 WP, 8 HB).

Mike Dury has returned to the Northwoods League as a member of the Madison Mallards.

Mike Dury (So., LHP/1B, 6-5/230; Indianapolis, IN) – led staff in ERA (1.38) while ranking 2nd in low opponent batting avg. (.258), appearances (24; 6th among BIG EAST pitcher) and saves (2) … also owned team-best .176 opp. batting by LH hitters and held opponents to staff-best .152 batting with 2-outs … his .268 opponent batting with runners on base ranked 5th on the staff … his 9-inning averages included 8.65 hits allowed and 11.77 groundouts (both 2nd-best on staff), plus just 2.42 walks per 9 IP (3rd on staff) … also 2nd on staff in groundout-to-flyout ratio (1.48) … allowed 7-of-17 inherited baserunners to score … dropped his ERA from 3.38 to 1.38 over his final 12 appearances, not being charged with a run in that stretch (15.1 IP, 10 H, 4 BB, 11 Ks) … tossed 3 shutout innings to pick up 5-0 win over Manchester (K) … saved BIG EAST title game vs. Pitt, taking mound after 2-hour rain delay (3.1 IP, H, BB, 2 Ks; 11-4) … also saved NCAA elimination game vs. Stetson (2 IP, H, 3 Ks; 7-4) … logged 2 shutout innings in win at Pittsburgh (BB, 3 Ks; 21-1) … hit .209 in 22 games played, mostly as a DH (10 GS, 9-for-43, 6 R, 2 2B, HR, 2 BB, HBP, 2 SF, 11 Ks) … hit 2-for-4 vs. Texas State (2 RBI, SF) … helped post wins over Cincinnati (2-for-5, RBI, R, 2B) and Chicago State (3-for-5, 3 RBI, 2 R, HR, 2B, HBP) … delivered pinch-hit single and scored in NCAA regional vs. Florida … will enter the ’06 season with a 1.56 career ERA and 3-0 record in 35 appearances (40.1 IP, 39 H/.257 opp. avg./3 HR, 11 BB, 27 Ks, 3 WP, HB), in addition to a .220 batting avg. (48 GP/14 GS, 13-for-59, 10 R, 2 2B, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 5 BB, 3 HBP, 15 Ks, 2 SF).

Wade Korpi (Fr., LHP, 5-10/190; Lake Worth, FL) – finished 3rd on ’05 staff in starts (9), 4th in wins (4-3), innings (54.1) and groundouts (54) and 5th in strikeouts (32) and appearances (18) … his other stats included a 5.47 ERA, 33 BB, 73 H (3 HR, .327 opp. avg.), 4 WP, 7 HB, 2 pickoffs and a balk … made his college debut as opening-week starter vs. Florida A&M (5.1 IP, 7 H, 3 R/2 ER, 5 BB, 3 Ks, HB; 4-3) … tossed relief inning for first win of season, vs. Cincinnati (H; 10-4) … picked up next two wins as starter vs. Western Michigan (5 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 3 Ks; 9-5) and Toledo (6 IP, 6 H, 2 R/ER, 3 Ks, 3 HB; 6-2) … posted season-high 8 Ks in 10-4 loss to Central Michigan (5 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 4 BB) … drew start vs. Purdue (6 IP, 11 H, 6 R/3 ER, BB, K; 9-7) … registered final win in 7-2 game vs. Oakland (4 IP, 4 H, R, 3 BB, K, WP) … allowed just a single earned run in 5 IP as starter and tough-luck loser vs. #19 USC (5 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 2 Ks, HB, 3-9) … lost final game of season as starter vs. Florida in NCAA regional (2.1 IP, 3 H, 5 R, 3 BB, 2 Ks, 2 WP, 2 HB; 3-23).

Joey Williamson (Fr., RHP, 6-1/190; Lantana, FL) – went 1-1 with a 6.66 ERA in 14 appearances (2 GS, 25.2 IP, 18 Ks, 9 BB, 37 H/.330 opp. avg./0 HRs, 2 WP, 9 HB, BK) … ranked 4th on staff with 10.52 groundouts per 9 IP, 5th in Ks per 9 IP (6.31) and groundout-to-flyout ratio (1.07) … allowed 5-of-10 inherited baserunners to score … helped beat Florida A&M in his college debut (3 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 2 Ks, WP; 4-3) … hard-luck loser (5 UER) in 13-9 game vs. Dayton in Mesa (2.1 IP, 5 H, 6 R/1 ER, 3 BB, 4 Ks) … beat Chicago State in first start of season (4 IP/planned rotation, 8 H, 3 R, BB, K, BK, HB; 15-3) … touched for 2 UERs in 3 IP vs. Ball State (4 Ks) … made second start vs. Valparaiso (3 IP, 9 H, 6 R, K, 2 HBP; 9-7) … allowed just an UER in 3 IP vs. Oakland (H, 2 Ks, WP; 7-2).

David Gruener (Fr., LHP, 6-2/210; Gig Harbor, WA) – finished rookie season with a 5.95 ERA, 0-1 record and a save in 14 appearances (1 GS, 9 Ks, 10 BB, 29 H/.329 opp. avg./0 HRs, 19.2 IP, WP, BK) … did not allow an inherited runner to score (0-of-8) … saved win over Florida A&M in his college debut (4 IP, 5 H, 2 R/ER, BB, 3 Ks, BK; 18-3) … tossed 2 shutout innings in 10-2 win over Dayton, in Mesa (H, BB, 2 Ks) … had a 10.64 ERA after his fist 6 GP but did not allow a run in his final 8 appearances (8.2 IP, 6 H, 6 BB, 3 Ks) for the final ERA of 5.95 … started in 5-0 shutout vs. Manchester, as part of a planned rotation (3 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 2 Ks; 5-0).