May 26, 2005
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NOTRE DAME BASEBALL GAMEDAY NOTES – vs. Boston College (May 26, 2005)
BATTLE OF TOP LEFTIES – Thursday’s ND-BC game at the BIG EAST Tournament will showcase two of the league’s top lefthanded pitchers – ND junior Tom Thornton (a 2nd team all-BIG EAST pick in ’05) and BC senior Mike Wlodarczyk (one of four pitchers named 1st team all-BIG EAST) … Wlodzrczyk (7 IP, 4 H, 2 R/1 ER, 9 Ks) and Thornton (9 IP, 8 H, 2 R/1 ER, 5 Ks) both had impressive complete-game wins in the ND-BC doubleheader on April 9 in Brockton, Mass.
Tom Thornton CAREER STATS (LHP, Jr., 6-6/220; Middleboro, MA … 2004 Preseason All-BIG EAST) … see PDF
THORNTON’S SITUATIONAL PITCHING – Has allowed 42% of leadoff batters to reach (avg. of 3.8 per 9 IP) while allowing opponents to hit .314 with runners on base but just .233 with 2 outs … has totaled nearly the same number of groundouts (107) as flyouts (99) … averaging 6.1 IP per start … his 9-inning averages include 3.8 Ks, 1.8 walks, 10.4 hits allowed and 11.2 groundouts … LH batters are hitting .303 vs. him in ’05 (.293 by RH batters).
THORNTON 2005 GAME-BY-GAME (Second Team All-BIG EAST Selection; see PDF)
THORNTON’S CAREER APPEARANCES VS. BOSTON COLLEGE (see PDF … 2.38 ERA with 2-0 record in 3 GS, 10 Ks, 1 BB, 23 H in 22.2 IP)
TALL TOM TERRIFIC – Junior LHP Tom Thornton is the first pitcher in the 11-year Paul Mainieri era to toss three consecutive 9-inning complete-game victories (vs. Boston College, UConn and Villanova) … Thornton’s season ERA dropped from 5.59 to 3.84 during that stretch of three straight 9-inning CGs.
LEADER OF THE PACK – Thornton has been the season-long leader of a 2005 ND pitching staff that has coped with the departure of three key regulars (Grant Johnson, Chris Niesel and Joe Thaman) and the injury limitations of three current pitchers (Jeff Manship, John Axford and Jess Stewart).
DON’T WALK – Thornton enters the 2005 postseason with an impressive streak of surrendering just 2 walks in his previous 47.1 IP (avg. of 0.38 BB per 9 IP in those 7 GP).
AMONG THE BIG EAST’S BEST – Thornton is tied for 1st among the league’s pitchers in starts (14), also ranking 4th in innings (86.0), 6th in complete games (4) and 9th in wins (6-5) … in league games only, he finished 13th among the league’s pitchers with a 2.83 ERA, also ranking 4th in wins (5-2) and 5th in innings (54.1).
JUST THE STATS – Tom Thornton leads the 2005 staff in starts (14) and innings (86), also ranking 2nd in wins (6) and 3rd in Ks (36) and K-to-walk ratio (2.1) … situationally, he leads the staff in groundouts (107) and IP per outing (6.1), also ranking 2nd in low walks per 9 IP (1.8), and 3rd in groundouts per 9 IP (11.2) and opp. 2-out batting (.233).
HOME BOY – Thornton posted a 4-0 record and 2.25 in 2005 home games at Eck Stadium (15 Ks, 5 BB, 38 H/.277 opp. avg. in 36 IP) but was 2-5 with a 6.12 ERA on the road (21 Ks, 12 BB, 61 H/.308 in 50 IP)
SEASON RECAP – Tom Thornton bounced back from a 1-3 start to win 4 of next 5 decisions … his top ’05 outings include a no-decision at UCF (5 IP, 5 H, R, 3 BB, 3 Ks), 9-inning CG wins vs. BC (3-2; 8 H, 1 ER, 5 Ks), UConn (7-1; 6 H, 4 Ks) and Villanova (5-2; 10 H, BB, 2 Ks), and the win over WVU in the final series (5-1; 6 IP, 7 H, R, BB, K).
NOTRE DAME CAREER STATS VS. BOSTON COLLEGE (see PDF)
BOSTON COLLEGE VETERANS – CAREER STATS VS. ND (also see 2005 series stats, included with these notes; see PDF)
vs.Thornton (’05 … ’04 BET … ’04 reg-season)
Albano – 3-for-6, 2 RBI, K … 5-3/BU, 6-3, 1B-MI/RBI … 1B-5/RBI, 1B-3, KL
Flynn – 3-for-9, 3 R, HBP, K … FF3, 1B-9/R, 543/GDP, KS … 5-3, F-8, HBP/R … KS, 2B-RL/R, 1B-9
Locke – 3-for-11, 2 R, K, SB … 1B-8/SB/R, F-7, 1B-MI, KL … F-8, 1-3, 4-3 … 1B-LS/R, FC, E6F MI, F-9
Preziosi – 2-for-8, RBI, R, SB … F-7, 1B-LS/SB, FC, F-7 LL … … E3M/R, P3 BU, 1-3/RBI, 1B-MI
McGuire – 1-for-3, HBP … 1B-7, HBP, 6-3/GDP, L-5
Weiss – 1-for-3 … 6-3, 1B-RS, 6-3
Dittrich – 1-for-3, RBI, K … L-5, 1B-LL/RBI, KS
Mackor – 1-for-4, K … 1-3, KS, 1B-RS, 4-3
McGill – 1-for-7, RBI, K, SB … 4-3/RBI, L-6, P-6, 5-3 … 1B-RL/SB, KL, E1F
Delaney – 1-for-10, RBI, R, 2B, 2 Ks … FC, KL, 3U, 3U … 5-3, 2B-RC/R, 5-3 … F-7/SF/RBI, 4-3, 6-3, KL
vs. Wlodarczyk
Nettey – 0-for-3, K … 6-3, F-9 RL, KS
Lilley – 1-for-3, R, 2B, SB … E6T/SB/FPO/PB/PB/R, 5-3, 2B LL
Edwards – 0-for-3, K … KL, 1-3, 1-3
Langford – 0-for-3, K … KS, 3-1, 5-3
Bransfield – 1-for-3, R, K … 1B RL/R, KS, 1-4-3
Cooper – 2-for-3, 2B, K … 2B-RC, 2B-8, KS
Dury – 0-for-3, 2 Ks … KS, FF-1, KS
Rizzo – 0-for-3, RBI, K … 5-3/RBI, KS, F-7 LC
Lopez – 0-for-2, K … 6-3, KS
vs. Dury (’04)
Locke – 1B-RC/PO/CS
Delaney – 1B-7/CS
vs. Doherty
Albano – KS (at ND)
Locke – F-8 RC (’04 BET)
Delaney – 4-3 (’04 BET)
vs. Bickford (’05)
Weiss – 4-3
Albano – 5-4
Preziosi – E5F/R
Fratis – P6 LF/BK
McGuire – 1B-MI/RBI
Delaney – 4-3
vs. Boggan (’05 … ’04)
Bransfield – L-5 LL
Andres – BB
Gaston – KS
Nettey – 6-3 … PR, FF-3
Cooper – 1B-8/SB … HBP
Edwards – F-9 … KS
Rizzo – 2B-LL … F-8
Lopez – 6-3 … F-9 RC
Lilley – 3U
Langford – 1-3
Brezovsky – KS 2-3
INSIDE THE NUMBERS – Here’s a look at some of the key stat comparisons of ND and BC (also see Tale of the Tape on next page for detailed comparison of 49 categories):
• The Long Ball – Notre Dame (40; 4th-most in BIG EAST) has nearly doubled BC’s home run total (24; 9th in BE) and owns a .424-.403 edge in slugging pct.
• Get On, Get Home – One of the most consistent parts of ND’s 2005 offense has been on-base pct., as the Irish rank 2nd among BIG EAST teams (.400; with BC 7th at .374) … ND also owns a +40 “Red Ratio” (BB+HBP-Ks) that is 93 higher than BC’s plate-discipline ratio (-53).
• On The Bases – BC has thrived on stealing bases (league-best 113) while ND ranks just 6th in the BIG EAST (63 SBs)
• Steady Staff – The Eagles pitchers rank 2nd among BIG EAST staffs for ERA (2.56) and opp. batting avg. (.242) while the surging ND pitchers own a 4.31 season ERA and .289 opp. avg.
• K Crew – BC’s pitchers are averaging a league-best 9.1 Ks per 9 IP (including 25 in the ND series earlier this season) while the ND staff’s 5.4 Ks per 9 IP ranks 9th
• Avoiding the Long Ball – The BC pitchers have surrendered the fewest home runs (14) of any BIG EAST staff, compared to 26 served up by the ND pitchers
• Overcoming Miscues – The Irish have allowed 71 unearned runs this season, compared to just 50 allowed by BC
• Turning Two – The ND defense is the BIG EAST’s leader in double plays (58) while BC’s 30 DPs rank at the bottom of the conference
• Road Warriors – ND has totaled just 10 wins away from home this season while BC has racked up 24 road wins
• Winning the Close Ones – Recent ND teams have excelled in winning tight games but the ’05 Irish are just 6-7 in 1-run games and 3-4-1 in extra-innings (compared to BC’s 5-2 record in 1-run games and 4-0 in extra-innings)
• Senior Leaders – The current ND roster includes just 4 seniors while BC is led by a 9-member senior class
TALE OF THE TAPE (best viewed in PDF; BIG EAST Ranking in Parentheses) NOTRE DAME … stat category … BOSTON COLLEGE
51-12, 20-6 (1st) … 2004 Final Records … 33-27, 15-9 (4th)
20/11 … Lettermen Returning/Lost … 8/11
33-22-1, 14-9-1 BE (3rd) … Current Records … 36-18, 17-8 BIG EAST (2nd)
6-4 … Last 10 Games … 6-4
.299 (5) … Overall Batting Average … (6) .297
.284 (5) … BIG EAST Batting Average … (7) .276
7.3 (2) … Runs Per 9 Innings … (6) 6.7
40 (4) … Home Runs … (9) 24
14 (6) … BIG EAST Home Runs … (6) 14
10 (8) … Triples … (7) 13
92 (7) … Doubles … (8) 91
.424 (6) … Slugging Pct. … (8) .403
.400 (2) … On-Base Pct. … (7) .374
+40 … BB+HBPs-Ks … -53
63-of-91 (6) … Stolen Bases … (1) 113-of-150
.692 … Stolen-Base Pct. … .753
4.31 (5) … Overall ERA … (2) 2.56
2.80 (3) … BIG EAST ERA … (2) 2.31
.289 (6) … Opponent Batting Avg. … (2) .242
3.3 (3) … Walks Per 9 IP … (2) 3.2
5.4 (9) … Strikeouts Per 9 IP … (1) 9.1
1.7 (298/180) … K-to-Walk Ratio … 2.9 (465/162)
9 (4) … Saves … (4) 9
26 (5) … Home Runs Allowed … (1) 14
10 (3) … Complete Games … (1) 13
2 (7) … Shutouts … (2) 7
.960 (6) … Overall Fielding Pct. … (7) .957
71 … Unearned Runs Allowed … 50
58 (1) … Double Plays Turned … (10) 30
.967 (4) … BIG EAST Fielding Pct. … (8) .955
23-4-1 … Home Record … 12-8
10-18 … Record in All Road Games … 24-10
6-7 … Record in One-Run Games … 5-2
3-4-1 … Extra-Inning Record … 4-0
4 … Seniors … 9
9 … Juniors … 3
8 … Sophomores … 10
6 … Freshmen … 11
2 … Batters Hitting Above .350 … 1
4 … Batters Hitting Above .300 … 6
1 … Batters with Double-Digit HRs … 0
3 … Batters with 5-Plus HRs … 2
2 … Players with Double-Digit Stolen Bases … 4
1 … Pitchers with ERA Under 3.00 … 4
3 … Pitchers with ERA Under 4.00 … 5
0-3 vs. SJU, 1-2 vs. Pitt, 0-2 vs. RU, 3-0 vs. UConn, 3-0 vs. WVU, 2-0-1 vs. VILL, 1-1 vs. GU, 2-0 vs. SHU … Common Opponents … 1-1 vs. SJU, 1-2 vs. Pitt, 2-1 vs. RU, 2-1 vs. UConn, 2-0 vs.WVU, 3-0 vs. VILL, 2-1 vs. GU, 3-0 vs. SHU
NOTRE DAME-BOSTON COLLEGE 2005 SERIES STATS
Summary – ND took 2-of-3 from BC earlier this season despite the fact that the Eagles owned the edge in batting average (.245-.204), runs (10-8), stolen bases (10-4) and staff ERA (2.16, to 2.25) … ND claimed two close wins thanks to better fielding in the series (.972/3 Es-.940/7 Es) and a significant edge in extra-base hits (10-4) … BC was unable to take the series despite owning the edge in clutch hitting, batting .300 with runners in scoring position (to ND’s .143) and .351with 2 outs (to ND’s .273).
Free-Pass Freezeout – ND’s plate-discipline ratio (BB+HBP-Ks) is +40 for the season but the Irish had their worst stretch in that ratio during the BC series, finishing -22 (1 BB, 2 HBP, 25 Ks).
See PDF for 2005 ND-BC Series Stats
LILLEY, EDWARDS LEAD FOUR NOTRE DAME ALL-BIG EAST HONOREES – Freshman third baseman Brett Lilley (North Canton, Ohio) has continued Notre Dame’s 10-year domination of the BIG EAST baseball rookie-of-the-year award, becoming the fourth Irish newcomer to receive that honor in the past decade … Lilley, who also earned 3rd-team honors, was one of four Notre Dame players honored at the 2005 BIG EAST Championship banquet … senior first baseman Matt Edwards earned 1st-team honors for the second time in his career while junior outfielder and Craig Cooper (who repeated as the BIG EAST batting champion) was a 3rd-team selection … Notre Dame players now have combined for 56 all-BIG EAST honors during 10 seasons in the league, with the 3rd-team designation making its debut in 2001. Lilley is the seventh ND freshman ever to earn all-BIG EAST honors and the program’s fourth third baseman to earn all-BIG EAST honors.
EDWARDS A FIRST-TEAMER AGAIN – Matt Edwards became Notre Dame’s first player ever to earn all-BIG EAST honors as a first baseman and is the seventh ND player to earn 1st team all-BIG EAST honors in multiple seasons (also in ’03, as a 3B/1B) … he joins 2B/CF Randall Brooks (’96-’97), DH Jeff Wagner (’96-’99), infielder Brant Ust (’97-’99), RHP Aaron Heilman (’99-’01), CF Steve Stanley (’01-’02) and 2B Steve Sollmann (’01, ’04) in that elite group … Edwards has the option of applying for a 5th year of eligibility in 2006 and could join Wagner, Ust and Heilman as the program’s only BIG EAST 1st-team honorees in three-plus seasons.
THORNTON GETS WELL-DESERVED HONOR – Tom Thornton’s all-BIG EAST honors ostensibly arrived a year late, as he turned in a more consistent and statistically impressive season in 2004 (when he was overlooked even for 3rd team all-BIG EAST) … he becomes the 11th different Notre Dame pitcher to earn all-BIG EAST honors, joining a group that includes current big-leaguers Heilman and Brad Lidge … the full list of previous ND pitchers who have been all-BIG EAST includes: Darin Schmalz (2nd team in ’96 and ’97), Lidge (1st team, ’98), Heilman (2nd team in ’98; 1st team in ’99-’01), Alex Shillday (2nd team, ’98), Danny Tamayo (1st team, ’01), J.P. Gagne (3rd team in ’01 and ’03), Chris Niesel (1st team in ’03, 2nd team in ’04), Ryan Kalita (2nd team, ’03), Grant Johnson (1st team, ’04) and Ryan Doherty (2nd team, ’04).
COOPER RARE REPEATER IN THE OUTFIELD – Craig Cooper earlier was a 2nd-team all-BIG EAST pick in 2004 (when he also led the league in batting) and becomes just the third ND outfielder to be an all-BIG EAST pick in multiple seasons (outfield typically is one of the most competitive positions for all-conference honors) … CF Steve Stanley was a 2nd-team selection in 1999 and 1st team in ’01 and ’02 while Brian Stavisky was a 2nd-team in ’00 and ’01 (at RF) and again in ’02 (at LF) …. Cooper would have a chance to match Stanley and Stavisky with a third all-BIG EAST season in 2006 … the only other ND outfielders to be all-BIG EAST picks are CF Scott Sollmann (’96, 1st team) and RF Kris Billmaier (’03, 3rd team).
ANOTHER TOP ROOKIE – Brett Lilley follows DH Jeff Wagner (1996), infielder Brant Ust (’97) and 2B Steve Sollmann (’01) as the fourth Irish player to earn BIG EAST rookie-of-the-year since Notre Dame joined the conference in ’95-’96 … Rutgers (2) is the only other team with multiple BIG EAST rookies of the year in the past 10 seasons … ND also ties Seton Hall and Villanova for the most rookie-of-the-year recipients in the 21-year history of BIG EAST baseball … Wagner, Ust and Steve Sollmann were 1st team all-BIG EAST selections as rookies while just three other ND freshmen previously collected all-BIG EAST honors (each 2nd team): RHP Aaron Heilman (’98), CF Steve Stanley (’98) and RF Brian Stavisky (’00) … previous Notre Dame 3B to earn all-BIG EAST honors include: Ust (1st team, ’98), Andrew Bushey (1st team ’01, 3rd team ’02) and Matt Macri (1st team, ’04) … Edwards earned 1st-team honors in ’03, after splitting time at 1B and 3B.
Brett Lilley BIO. CAPSULE – his midseason switch from 2B to 3B helped turn ND’s season around, with the Irish going 19-8-1 the rest of the way after playing .500 ball (14-14) before Lilley’s move to the hot corner … has totaled just 7 errors in 28 games at 3B (23 error-free games), after four of his teammates had combined for 18 third-base errors in the first half of the season … leads the BIG EAST with a .506 on-base pct. while ranking 6th in walks (34) and 12th in batting average (.354), with each of those numbers leading all BIG EAST freshnen … also ranks 7th among BIG EAST players in total runs (51) and finished among the league leaders in walks during conference games (7th, 14) and conference on-base (7th, .460) … 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 games for a .990 fielding pct. spanning 103 fielding chances … leads the Irish in on-base pct. (.506; 7th in ND history), hit-by-pitch (25; 2nd in ND history, 19th in NCAA history) and sac. bunts (9), also 2nd in batting avg. (.354), hits (67), runs (51) and walks (34), 3rd in stolen bases (9) and 4th in total bases (72) … joins Matt Edwards as only players to start all 56 games, also ranking 2nd on team with 18 multi-hit games and 4th with seven multi-RBI games … his other season stats include 23 RBI, 5 doubles, a .381 slugging pct., 27 Ks, 12 errors and a .954 fielding pct. – plus a .333 batting avg. in BIG EAST games (20 R, 6 HBP) … his 45 error-free games include a 21-game span without an error (96 fielding chances) from March 24-April 21 (spanning time at 2B and 3B) … grades out as possibly ND’s most clutch hitter in the 2005 regular-season – leading the team in 2-out batting (.415) and batting with runners on base (.415) while ranking 2nd in batting with runners in scoring position (.407), 3rd in leadoff on-base pct. (.492) and 5th in 2-out RBI (11) … team’s runaway leader in the “Red Ratio” that measures plate discipline, at +32 (34 BB + 25 HBP – 27 Ks) … had 4 HBPs (one shy of tying NCAA record) in early-season win at Central Florida, became first ND freshman ever to post 5-hit game in a home opener (vs. Cincinnati, 2 RBI, R, 2 SB) and hit 2-for-4 with a key opposite-field double to help upset #17 USC (13-6; 2 RBI, R, SAC).
Matt Edwards BIO CAPSULE – leads all BIG EAST players in overall RBI (62) while ranking 2nd in home runs (13) and walks (42), 3rd in total bases (134), 4th in runs (55), doubles (18), on-base pct. (.480), slugging pct. (.654) and OPS (1.134 on-base plus slugging), and 6th in batting (.366) and hits (75) … in conference games only, he finished 4th in doubles (8), 5th in RBI (20), 6th in walks (15) … ND team leader in nine categories: batting avg. (.366), slugging pct. (.654), home runs (13), RBI (62), runs (55), hits (75), doubles (18), walks (42) and total bases (134) … joined Lilley as only players to start all 56 games (Lopez is only other to play in all 56) … also ranks 2nd on team in on-base pct. (.480) and 5th in stolen bases (6) … leads team with 23 multiple-hit games (2 w/ 4 hits, 5 w/ 3 hits) and 2nd on team with 15 multi-RBI games (1 w/ 5 RBI, 2 w/ 4 RBI, 5 w/ 3 RBI) … his other ’05 stats include 6 HBP, 26 Ks, a triple and 13 errors … leads team in 2-out RBI (19) and leadoff on-base pct.(.657) … also 3rd in batting with runners on base (.340), 4th with runners in scoring position (.349) and 5th with 2 outs (.309) … batting .374 vs. RHPs (2nd-best on team), .340 vs. LHPs (3rd) … ranked 2nd on team with .529 batting in final week of regular season (9-for-17, 5 RBI, 5 R, 2 2B, 7 BB, 2 Ks, SB, 2 Es) … hit .329 in ’05 BIG EAST regular-season games (20 RBI, 2 HR, 8 2B, 15 BB) … a .319 career hitter in all games vs. BIG EAST teams (89-for-279, 67 RBI, 10 HR) … ranks 5th in ND history with 189 career RBI, 7th with 33 HRs, 11th with .576 slugging pct. and 48 doubles, 14th with 102 walks and 17th with a .348 career batting avg. … needs 2 doubles to become 10th player in ND history with 50 doubles in his career … needs 5 hits to become 4th ND player with 80-plus hits and 40-plus walks in same season (Marci, in ’04, was first to do so since 1989) … had rare stretch of 12 straight games with at least one walk (21 total BB) from April 29-May 18, ultimately drawing 23 walks in final 15 games of regular season … posted his second 4-hit game of ’05 in regular-season finale, vs. West Virginia (RBI, R, 2B, SB) … ranks 3rd on team with +22 Red Ratio/plate-discipline ratio (42 BB + 6 HBP – 26 Ks) … owns a .407 career batting avg. with 8 RBI in BIG EAST Tournament play (11-for-27, HR, 2B, 5 BB) … 2nd on team with .314 batting in all ’05 road games (33-for-105, 29 RBI, 6 HR, 8 2B, 19 BB) plus team-best .420 in ’05 home games (42-for-100, 33 RBI, 7 HR, 3B, 10 2B, 23 BB … has logged 96 consecutive starts with the Irish and has played in 178 of 179 games during the past three seasons (starting 176), since returning from broken leg that halted his freshman season early in ’02 … first ND player since ’98 to hit 3 HR in game (vs. Western Michigan on 3/29; 6 RBI, 2 IBB) … launched grand slam vs. Texas-San Antonio and homered next day vs. Southwest Missouri, as part of all-tournament performance at the Alamo City Irish Baseball Classic.
Craig Cooper BIO. CAPSULE – earlier tabbed for national hitter-of-the-week honors, as selected by the National College Baseball Writers of America, capping off an award-filled past few days that also saw him named the BIG EAST player of the week for the first time in his career after repeating as the BIG EAST batting champ (the second player ever to do so, and first in nearly 10 years) and surging near the top of the BIG EAST record book list for career batting average in conference games … led the BIG EAST with .403 batting in ’05 conference games, ending up 16 points ahead of second-place finishers Doug Nelms of West Virginia and Dan McDonald of Seton Hall (both hit .386) … also led the league in batting as a sophomore (.470, in ’04), joining former Boston College player Kevin Penwell (’95 and ’96) as the only repeat batting champions in the 21-year history of BIG EAST baseball … recent run-producing tear landed him in the No. 2 spot on the BIG EAST overall RBI charts (55), trailing only his teammate Edwards (62) … in addition to returning atop the BIG EAST charts for conference batting avg., he also repeated as the league’s leader for on-base pct. in conference games (.529, after .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 2005 BIG EAST games than Cooper’s 1.111: Pittsburgh sophomore 2B Jim Negrych (1.311) and junior CF Ben Copeland (1.205), Cooper’s classmate and fellow junior OF Cody Rizzo (surged to 1.111; .514 OB, .648 slugging) and WVU junior 1B Stan Posluszny (1.122) … hit 13-for-22 (.565, 13 RBI, 8 R, 2 HR, 3 2B, 2 BB, HBP, 2 Ks) and extended his career-best hitting streak to 10 games as the Irish won four straight BIG EAST games during final week of regular season (one at Pittsburgh and a three-game series vs. West Virginia) while gaining a midweek split with a USC team that was ranked as high as 17th in the national polls … ranks 3rd in BIG EAST record book for career batting avg. in BIG EAST games, at .420 (68-for-162) … the only players in BIG EAST history to hit at a higher clip in conference action for their career are former Rutgers player Joe Cirone (.443, 51-for-115; ’97-’00) and former Seton Hall standout Marteese Robinson (.432, 83-for-192; ’85-’87) … joins Cirone as the only players in the past 18 seasons to hit above .420 or higher in their BIG EAST career … made rare leadoff start in series finale at Pittsburgh and opened game with HR, later adding 3-run shot in 21-1 win (3-for-5, 5 RBI, 4 R, BB) … also hit 3-for-5 to help upset USC (13-6, 2 RBI, R, 2B) before shifting to the 3-hole for the WVU series (6-for-9) … 5th recent ND player to earn a national player-of-the-week honor and program’s 19th to receive BIG EAST player-of-the-week honors … batting .487 (18-for-37) with 16 RBI (8 R, 5 2B, 2 HR, 3 BB, HBP, 4 Ks, SAC, SB) during his current 10-game hitting streak, 2nd-longest by an Irish player in 2005 behind a 15-game midseason streak from Alex Nettey … ranks 2nd among ND players in six categories – slugging pct. (.533), RBI (55), HR (7), 2Bs (13), stolen bases (14) and total bases (97) – also ranking 3rd in batting avg. (.335), on-base pct. (.458), runs (41), hits (61) and walks (29), 4th in HBP (14) and games played (53), and 5th in sac. bunts (4) and starts (51) … ranks among the team’s top clutch hitters, batting a team-best .435 with runners in scoring position while also ranking 2nd on the team in 2-out batting (.393) and batting with runners on base (.373), 3rd in 2-out RBI (14), and 5th in leadoff on-base pct. (.442) … in addition to Brooks, Stanley and Stavisky, the only other ND outfielders to be all-BIG EAST picks are CF Scott Sollmann (’96, 1st team) and RF Kris Billmaier (’03, 3rd team).
NOTRE DAME BASEBALL 2005 ROSTER (postseason roster, as of May 25; see PDF)