Toledo Rockets Land At Frank Eck Stadium

April 12, 2017

By Michael Scholl

Five Things To Know

• The Notre Dame baseball team looks to keep rolling on Wednesday night with a nonconference contest against Toledo set for 6:05 p.m. at Frank Eck Stadium. The game can be seen on ACC Network Extra, via WatchESPN, and heard live on WatchND and 103.1 FM. It’s Dollar Dog Wednesday at The Eck, with $1.00 hot dogs available while supplies last.
• The Irish have won four straight games, as well as seven of their last nine games and seven of the last eight at Frank Eck Stadium. In addition, Notre Dame has won 12 of its last 14 games against teams outside the Top 25. The lone losses in that stretch are to NC State and Pitt, with the Irish still winning two-of-three in those respective ACC series. The Irish are 13-9 in their last 22 games, with seven of the nine losses coming at No. 9 Clemson (three), versus No. 13 Florida State (three) and at No. 18 Michigan.
• Improved pitching is a major reason for the improvement over the last 22 games. The Irish started 1-8, but since then have posted a 13-9 record. During that stretch, Irish hurlers have posted an ERA of 3.02 while holding opponents to a .226 batting average. In addition, they boast a strikeout-walk ratio of 2.098 while closer Sean Guenther has recorded three saves.
• Offensive improvement has also been noticeable in the last 22 games. Of the eight Irish position players to have started at least 20 of the 22 games, seven boast batting averages above .250 during the stretch, paced by Cole Daily’s .315 average. In addition, the team fielding percentage has been .972 over the last 22 contests after sitting at just .939 over the first nine. In addition, over the last 22, Daily at short is the only player with more than three errors.
• Toledo is coached by former Irish player and assistant coach Cory Mee. He played for Notre Dame from 1989-92 with action at catcher, third and second base. He was a first-team CoSIDA Academic All-American. Mee then spent 1993 and 1995-99 as an assistant for Pat Murphy and Paul Mainieri. During his 10 seasons as part of Fighting Irish baseball as either a player or coach, Notre Dame won at least 40 games every season while advancing to five NCAA regionals.

On Deck

The Irish hit the road for the first time in ACC play since the opening two weeks saw them at Clemson and Pitt. This time Notre Dame travels to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, for a three-game set with No. 24 Wake Forest. All three games can be seen on ACC Network Extra, with audio available on WatchND and 103.1 FM in South Bend.

— ND —

Michael Scholl joined Fighting Irish Media in August 2016, coordinating communications for the baseball program and assisting with the football team at his alma mater. The South Bend native earned a degree in political science from the College of Arts & Letters in 2009 before going on to work in athletics communications at Providence College, Vanderbilt and Cincinnati.