Oct. 15, 2007
The starting pitcher rotations and media coach assignments have been set for the Notre Dame baseball team’s upcoming Blue-Gold Series (Oct. 16-18; 4:30 starts). Two veteran leaders of the staff – Blue team senior lefthander Wade Korpi (Lake Worth, Fla.) and the Gold’s junior RHP David Phelps (Hazelwood, Mo.) – will draw the game-1 starts while freshman pitchers will fill the game-2 and game-3 starting spots: Brian Dupra (game-2) and Ryan Sharpley (game-3) for the Gold, and Cole Johnson (game-2) and Evan Danieli (game-3) for the Blue.
(Note: a delayed start is possible for Tuesday, due to rain, but the Irish would try to play the game later in the day, if needed – info. on any weather delays will be passed on via Irish Alert text-messaging and a short release on und.com.)
Fans wishing to follow the action can do so via links on und.com for GameTracker live stats and live audio (links to be finalized later today). Archived game video – that is sync’d with the audio – will be posted later in the week on und.com. The video will feature graphics and a three-camera production format. Video postgame interviews also may be available, as a bonus offering.
Sean Stires of ESPN 1490 will serve as the primary play-by-play man for the Blue-Gold Series, with the color commentary to include visits from head coach Dave Schrage, assistant coach/recruiting coordinator Scott Lawler and possibly Mike Frank of Irish Eyes.
All video and audio content – plus Iris Alert text messages – are free of charge, via quick signup processes at und.com (links below):
• Signup for All-Access video/audio – click on the “Multimedia” gold bar at the top of pages on und.com
• Signup for Irish Alert – http://my.textcaster.com/ServePopup.aspx?id=535
The guest media coaches for the Gold team will include (in order) WSBT radio’s Darin Pritchett, WSBT/channel-22 TV’s Pete Byrne and ESPN 1490/U-93 radio’s Vince Dadario while the Blue squad will be joined by Gold and Blue Illustrated’s Ryan O’Leary, WSJV/Fox-28’s Dean Huppert and Irish Eyes writer Colin Burns. Notre Dame pitching coach Sherard Clinkscales will serve as the bench manager for the Gold while Graham Sikes – the newcomer to the Irish coaching staff – will manage the Blue.
Pritchett, Dadario and Huppert will be making their Blue-Gold Series debuts while Byrne is the only returning media coach who was part of a winning team in the 2006 Blue-Gold Series. The 2006 opener saw the Gold (with Byrne in the dugout) defeat Burns and the Blue (2-1) while O’Leary similarly was on the wrong side of a one-run game, when the Gold lost game-2 of the ’06 series (4-3).
Each game is seven innings and pitchers are limited to 75-pitch outings. If the teams split the first two games, the winner of game-3 will be declared the winner of the BGS. If one team wins the first two games, the other team still could win the series based on run differential (which is not used if the teams split the first two games).
Korpi – who helped win the BGS in ’04 with the Gold and in ’05 with the Blue – has made three previous starts in the series, with no-decisions for the Gold in game-1 of the 2004 series (2.1 IP, 5 R/2 ER, 5 H, BB, K) and for the Blue in game-2 of the ’05 series (3.2 IP, 4 R, 3 H, 3 BB, 3 Ks) before winning game-2 for the Blue in 2006 (5 IP, 3 R/2 ER, 5 H, BB, K). His career stats in the series are as follows: 6.55 ERA, 1-0 record, 11 innings, 12 runs allowed (eight earned), 15 hits allowed, only four walks and seven strikeouts.
Phelps will be starting game-1 of the Blue-Gold Series for the third straight year, with his combined stats from the two previous starts (both no-decisions) including a 6.48 ERA, 8.1 IP, 7 R/6 ER, 8 H, 5 BB and 7 Ks. He started for the Blue in 2005 (3.1 IP, 6 R/5 ER, 5 H, 4 B, 2 Ks) and then had a better outing as the first starter for the Gold in 2006 (5 IP, R, 3 H, BB, HB, 5 Ks).
Rosters for the two teams are included below and will be available at the ballpark. Note that all newcomers currently have jerseys that do not include numbers – but all batters and pitchers will be introduced on the Eck Stadium PA system (in addition to possibly being displayed on the message board, above the scoreboard).
Junior RHP Brett Graffy (illness) and sophomore outfielder Michael Wright (minor injury) will not play in the series while three position players – fifth-year catcher Sean Gaston, junior DH Ryan Connolly and sophomore leftfielder Matt Grosso – will be limited to hitting duties. The three Irish baseball players who are members of the ND football squad also will not be competing in the BGS, due to their football commitments (those players include junior 1B Evan Sharpley, sophomore RHP Eric Maust and freshman CF Golden Tate).
Here are the rosters for the 2007 Blue-Gold Series (note that the team’s final roster for the 2008 spring season still is TBA):
BLUE TEAM (manager: Graham Sikes)
C/DH – #11 Sean Gaston (Gr.; Brownsburg, Indiana)
LHP – #13 Wade Korpi (Sr.; Lake Worth, Florida)
RHP – #23 Tony Langford (Sr.; Fort Worth, Texas)
SS – #2 Brett Lilley (Sr.; North Canton, Ohio)
2B – Jeremy Barnes (Jr.; Garland, Texas)
3B/1B – Eddy Mendiola (Jr.; Miami, Florida)
OF – Brayden Ashdown (So.; Waldorf, Maryland)
2B – Ryne Intlekofer (So.; Moorpark, California)
RHP – Steven Mazur (So.; Round Rock, Texas)
3B/CF – A.J. Pollock (So.; Hebron, Connecticut)
RHP – Andrew Scheid (So.; Highlands Ranch, Colorado)
1B/OF – Ty Adams (Fr.; Indianapolis, Indiana)
RHP – Evan Danieli (Fr.; East Hanover, New Jersey)
RHP – Justin Gingerich (Sr.; Goshen, Indiana/Bethel College)
RHP – Cole Johnson (Fr.; Hudson, Ohio)
C – Cameron McConnell (Fr.; Bannockburn, Illinois)
RHP – Todd Miller (Fr.; Franklin, Tennessee)
SS/IF – Greg Sherry (Fr.; Mendham, New Jersey)
OF – Andrew Wiand (Fr.)
GOLD TEAM (manager: Sherard Clinkscales
LF – #7 Ross Brezovsky (Sr.; Naples, Florida)
C – Chris Soriano (Sr.; Randolph, New Jersey)
DH – Ryan Connolly (Jr.; Binghamton, New York)
LHP – Sam Elam (Jr.; Mesquite, Texas)
RHP – David Phelps (Jr.; Hazelwood, Missouri)
RHP – Kyle Weiland (Jr.; Albuquerque, New Mexico)
OF/RHP – Billy Boockford (So.; Glen Ellyn, Illinois)
LHP/OF – David Mills (So.; Battle Creek, Michigan)
IF – Herman Petzold (So.; Saint Clair Shores, Michigan)
IF – Will Harford (So.; Chicago, Illinois)
1B/LHP – David Casey (Fr.; Whitefish Bay, Wis.)
IF – Mick Doyle (Fr,; LaGrange Park, Illinois)
RHP – Brian Dupra (Fr.; Rochester, New York)
LF/DH – Matt Grosso (So.; Marlborough, Connecticut)
C – Matt Katich (Fr.; New Castle, Pennsylvania)
C/1B – Matt Scioscia (Fr.; Westlake Village, California)
RHP – Ryan Sharpley (Fr.; Marshall, Michigan)
LHP/1B – Joe Spizzirri (Fr.; San Juan Capistrano, California)
OF – Bill Warrender (So.; Collegeville, Pennsylvania)