April 16, 1997

McKeown and Kalita Combine for First Irish One-Hitter Since 1993

Left-handers allow fewest hits in Notre Dame’s last 246 games as Irish top Bowling Green, 4-0

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – A pair of Chicago-area lefthanders–sophomore Chris McKeown (Arlington Heights) and freshman Tim Kalita (Oak Park)–combined on Notre Dame’s first one-hitter in four seasons, as the Irish downed visiting Bowling Green, 4-0, in non-conference baseball action Wednesday at Eck Stadium.

Notre Dame (25-13) posted its 16th victory in its last 18 games, scoring the game’s only runs in a fourth-inning flurry. The injury-plagued Irish pitching staff has allowed just two earned runs in the past two games and seven over the past 21 innings.

Bowling Green (16-15)–which was coming off a 16-3 win over Big Ten Conference leader Michigan– stranded 11 runners, including seven through the first five innings. Sophomore lefthander Chris Vaught (0-1) took the loss, allowing four runs (all earned) on nine hits over the first five innings, with five strikeouts.

McKeown (2-2) evened his season record after shutting out the Falcons through six one-hit innings. McKeown worked out of several jams, due to six walks and a pair of Irish errors, while striking out five BG batters. Kalita tacked on four strikeouts the rest of the way , with two walks, while picking up his first career save at Notre Dame.

The one-hitter is the first by a Notre Dame pitching staff in 246 games, since David Sinnes and Chris Michalak combined on a 2-0, seven-inning home win over Detroit-Mercy on May 1, 1993. The last nine-inning one-hitter by the Irish came five games earlier, when Sinnes posted a commanding 6-0 complete game win at Evansville, on April 24, 1993 (one of five one-hitters by the talented ’93 Irish pitching staff).

The last no-hitter by the Notre Dame pitching staff occurred on May 11, 1988, when Brian Piotrowicz turned in a seven-inning victory over Ball State (4-0).

McKeown surrendered a single to center by the second batter of the game, sophomore switch-hitter Drew Niles, before not allowing a hit by the next 24 batters he faced.

The Irish broke open a scoreless game with a four-run fourth inning. Senior catcher Mike Amrhein led off with single to left field and Vaught struck out Jeff Wagner before the Irish unleashed five straight hits. Freshman second baseman Brant Ust ripped a shot off Vaught’s glove before sophomore leftfielder Allen Greene moved Amrhein to third on a single to left, with Ust getting tagged out after overrunning second.

Freshman first baseman Jeff Felker followed with single to right, plating Amrhein, before junior shortstop Todd Frye lifted a two-run triple to right-center field. Senior third baseman J.J. Brock capped the rally with a single to center.

McKeown walked the bases loaded in the top of the fifth but forced Bob Niemet into an inning-ending groundout to Felker at first base.

The Irish again received a balanced offensive effort, with seven players combining on 10 hits while the #6-#9 combined to bat 5-for-12.

NOTES

• Senior centerfielder Randall Brooks sent a sharp first-inning single to the backhand side of third baseman Brian Cannon, becoming the ninth player in Irish baseball history to reach the 200-hit plateau … the milestone is all the more noteworthy due to the fact that Brooks had just nine at-bats during his freshman year … the only Irish players to reach 200 hits in three seasons have been Pat Pesavento (204 from 1986-88), Dan Peltier (257 from 1987-89) and Scott Sollmann (239 from 1994-96). Peltier and Sollmann both left school after being drafted at the end of their junior seasons while Pesavento added 92 hits in his senior year.
• Amrhein’s 2-for-4 day left his season batting average at .446, just behind the Notre Dame record of .447, set by Edwin Hartwell in 1993 … his 240 career hits place him fourth all-time at Notre Dame, just ahead of former teammate Scott Sollmann (239, from 1994-96) … Amrhein has hits in 35 of 38 games this season and has yet to go hitless in a nine-inning game.
• The triples on Wednesday by Greene, Frye and Brooks give Notre Dame a BIG EAST-leading 24 for the season … the school record for triples in a season is 41 (in 1994), one of several record the Irish are flirting with this season.
• During the recent 16-2 run, Notre Dame has recorded 10 or more hits in 13 games while averaging 9.4 runs per game during that stretch.
• Amrhein and Brooks are the second pair of Irish teammates to reach 200 career hits in the same season, joining Craig Counsell (235) and Joe Binkiewicz (244), who teamed together on the potent 1992 team.

Bowling Green 0 (16-15)                                   Univ. of Notre Dame 4 (25-13)Name (Pos)                 AB  R  H RBI  BB SO PO  A      Name (Pos)                 AB  R  H RBI  BB SO PO  A--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Jason Blankenship lf......  4  0  0  0    1  1  1  1      Pat O'Keefe rf............  4  0  0  0    0  1  3  0Drew Niles ss.............  4  0  1  0    1  1  1  3      Randall Brooks cf.........  4  0  2  0    0  1  2  0Brian Cannon 3b...........  2  0  0  0    2  1  2  3      Mike Amrhein c............  4  1  2  0    0  1  9  1Bob Niemet 1b.............  3  0  0  0    1  1  8  0      Jeff Wagner dh............  4  0  0  0    0  2  0  0Matt Best dh..............  4  0  0  0    0  0  0  0      Brant Ust 2b..............  4  0  1  0    0  2  0  1Matt Mlynarek cf..........  3  0  0  0    1  2  1  0      Allen Greene lf...........  4  1  2  0    0  0  1  0Matt Craig rf.............  4  0  0  0    0  0  1  0      Jeff Felker 1b............  3  1  1  1    0  0  8  1Brad Simon c..............  0  0  0  0    2  0  3  0      Todd Frye ss..............  2  1  1  2    1  1  2  1 Donny Schone pr/c......... 2  0  0  0    0  0  6  1      J.J. Brock 3b.............  3  0  1  1    0  1  0  3Alan Gilhousen 2b.........  2  0  0  0    0  1  1  0      Chris McKeown p...........  0  0  0  0    0  0  2  0 Jay Harrington 2b......... 1  0  0  0    0  1  0  0       Tim Kalita p.............. 0  0  0  0    0  0  0  1 Jake Long ph.............. 1  0  0  0    0  1  0  0      Chris Vaught p............  0  0  0  0    0  0  0  1 Rick Blanc p.............. 0  0  0  0    0  0  0  0 Andy Smith p.............. 0  0  0  0    0  0  0  0--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Totals.................... 30  0  1  0    8  9 24  9      Totals.................... 32  4 10  4    1  9 27  8Score by innings:                      R  H  E----------------------------------------------Bowling Green         000 000 000   -  0  1  1Univ. of Notre Dame   000 400 00    -  4 10  3----------------------------------------------E - Brian Cannon(1), Rand. Brooks(5), Jeff Felker(4), Todd Frye(14).LOB - Falcons 11, Irish 5.3B - Rand. Brooks(3), Allen Greene(3), Todd Frye(1).SB - Matt Craig(7). CS - Bob Niemet(1), Todd Frye(1).Bowling Green          IP   H   R  ER  BB  SO  AB  BF     Univ. of Notre Dame    IP   H   R  ER  BB  SO  AB  BF---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Chris Vaught........  5.0   9   4   4   0   5  23  23     Chris McKeown.......  6.0   1   0   0   6   5  20  26Rick Blanc..........  2.0   1   0   0   1   2   6   7     Tim Kalita..........  3.0   0   0   0   2   4  10  12Andy Smith..........  1.0   0   0   0   0   2   3   3Winner - C. McKeown 2-2.  Loser - Chris Vaught 0-1.  Save - Tim Kalita (1).WP - Tim Kalita(1). PB - Donny Schone(1).Start: 5:00   Time: 2:25   Attendance: 90

Play-by-play
Bowling Green inning 1

Blankenship grounded out to 3b. Drew Niles singled to center field. Brian Cannon struck out looking. Bob Niemet struck out. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

Univ. of Notre Dame inning 1

Pat O’Keefe grounded out to ss. Rand. Brooks singled, advanced to second on an error by 3b. Mike Amrhein reached on a fielder’s choice; Rand. Brooks out at third 3b unassisted. Jeff Wagner grounded out to ss. 0 runs, 1 hit, 1 error, 1 LOB.

Bowling Green inning 2

Matt Best flied out to cf. M. Mlynarek struck out. Matt Craig flied out to rf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

Univ. of Notre Dame inning 2
Brant Ust flied out to lf. Allen Greene tripled to right center. Jeff Felker grounded out to p. Todd Frye struck out looking. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

Bowling Green inning 3

Brad Simon walked. A. Gilhousen popped up to p, bunt. Blankenship lined out to ss. Drew Niles flied out to lf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

Univ. of Notre Dame inning 3

J.J. Brock struck out. Pat O’Keefe fouled out to 1b. Rand. Brooks grounded out to 3b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

Bowling Green inning 4

Brian Cannon grounded out to 1b unassisted. Bob Niemet walked. Bob Niemet out at second c to ss, caught stealing. Matt Best reached on an error by ss. M. Mlynarek walked; Matt Best advanced to second. Matt Craig grounded out to 2b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 2 LOB.

Univ. of Notre Dame inning 4

Mike Amrhein singled to right field. Jeff Wagner struck out. Brant Ust singled to left field; Mike Amrhein advanced to second. Allen Greene singled to left field; Brant Ust out at second lf to 3b to 2b; Mike Amrhein advanced to third. Jeff Felker singled to right field, advanced to second on the throw, RBI; Allen Greene advanced to third; Mike Amrhein scored. Todd Frye tripled to right center, 2 RBI; Jeff Felker scored; Allen Greene scored. J.J. Brock singled to center field, RBI; Todd Frye scored. Pat O’Keefe flied out to rf. 4 runs, 6 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

Bowling Green inning 5
Brad Simon walked. Donny Schone pinch ran for Brad Simon. A. Gilhousen struck out looking. Blankenship flied out to rf. Drew Niles walked; Donny Schone advanced to second. Brian Cannon walked; Drew Niles advanced to second; Donny Schone advanced to third. Bob Niemet out at first 1b to p. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 3 LOB.

Univ. of Notre Dame inning 5

Donny Schone to c. Harrington to 2b for A. Gilhousen. Rand. Brooks struck

out. Mike Amrhein singled to third base. Jeff Wagner grounded out to 3b; Mike Amrhein advanced to second. Mike Amrhein advanced to third on a passed ball. Brant Ust struck out. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

Bowling Green inning 6
Matt Best fouled out to 1b. M. Mlynarek struck out. Matt Craig reached on an error by 1b. Matt Craig stole second. Donny Schone flied out to cf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.

Univ. of Notre Dame inning 6
Rick Blanc to p for Chris Vaught. Allen Greene flied out to cf. Jeff Felker grounded out to ss. Todd Frye walked. Todd Frye out at second c to ss, caught stealing. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

Bowling Green inning 7
Tim Kalita to p for C. McKeown. Harrington struck out. Blankenship walked. Drew Niles struck out. Brian Cannon walked; Blankenship advanced to second. Bob Niemet grounded out to ss. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.

Univ. of Notre Dame inning 7
J.J. Brock fouled out to 1b. Pat O’Keefe struck out. Rand. Brooks tripled to right center. Mike Amrhein struck out looking. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.

Bowling Green inning 8

Matt Best grounded out to 3b. M. Mlynarek grounded out to p. Matt Craig reached on an error by cf, advanced to second on the error. Matt Craig advanced to third on a wild pitch. Donny Schone flied out to rf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, 1 LOB.

Univ. of Notre Dame inning 8
Andy Smith to p for Rick Blanc. Jeff Wagner struck out. Brant Ust struck out looking. Allen Greene fouled out to 3b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

Bowling Green inning 9
Jake Long pinch hit for Harrington. Jake Long struck out. Blankenship struck out looking. Drew Niles grounded out to 3b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

Game Notes:
Randall Brooks notches his 200th career hit, the ninth Notre Dame playerto reach that milestone. Amrhein notched his 240th career hit to passScott Sollmann for fourth place all-time at Notre Dame.