September 8, 1998
Notre Dame fans traveling to East Lansing for this week’s football game versus Michigan State also will have the chance to watch the Irish baseball and women’s golf teams in action.
The Notre Dame and Michigan State baseball teams will play a fall exhibition game at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 12 at Oldsmobile Park, home of the Lansing Lugnuts (the single-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals). The game will count towards each team’s 1999 spring limit of 56 games but the result will not be included in either team’s spring record and will have no bearing on selection to the NCAA Championship, which will expand from 56 to 64 teams in the spring of 1999.
Tickets for the baseball game are $5.00 for adults and $3.00 for the following: students, faculty and staff with valid ID, children (18-and-under) and senior citizens. Tickets may be ordered by phone at 1-800-GO-STATE until Friday, Sept. 11. Tickets may be purchased on the day of the game only at Oldsmobile Park, beginning at 10:00 a.m.
The Irish and Spartans met in baseball during the spring of 1998, a 4-1 Spartans win on April 28 at Notre Dame’s Eck Stadium, behind the strong pitching of eventual first-round draft choice Mark Mulder.
The Irish women’s golf team will be one of 13 squads competing in the Mary Fossum Invitational, with Michigan State serving as the host school. The 54-hole tournament will be held on Saturday, Sept. 12 and Sunday, Sept. 13 at the on-campus Forest Akers West course (par 72; 5,826 yards). The teams will play 36 holes on Saturday and 18 on Sunday, with tee times on both days set for 8:30 a.m.. The event is open to the public.
Notre Dame’s starting six golfers will include junior captain Andrea Klee (Appleton, Wis.), who is coming off medalist honors at the Notre Dame campus championship. Other Irish participants in the play-six/count-four format will include: juniors Beth Cooper (Kalamazoo, Mich.) and Brigid Fisher (Augusta, Ga.), sophomores Mary Klein (Kokomo, Ind.) and Becca Schloss (Bloomsburg, Pa.) and Shane Smith (St. Petersburg, Fla.), a sophomore transfer from Southern Methodist University. Sophomore Danielle Villarosa (Verona, N.J.) and freshman Kristin McMurtrie (Calgary, Alberta) will compete as individuals at the tournament.
Forest Akers West golf course is located on the south side of the Michigan State campus, near the intersection of Harrison Road and Mt. Hope Road.
Oldsmobile Park-considered among the top stadiums in the Midwest Leagueis located 10 minutes west of the MSU campus, a few blocks east of the capitol on Michigan Avenue between Cedar Street and Lynch Street. The facility will represent the sixth professional ballpark that the Irish have played in during the past nine months, with those stadiums including: the Disney Wide World of Sports Complex (spring training home of the Atlanta Braves); Wolff Municipal Stadium (home of the AA San Antonio Missions); Three Rivers Stadium (home of the Pittsburgh Pirates); Old Kent Park (home of the A West Michigan Whitecaps); and Dodd Stadium (home of the AA Norwich Navigators).
Notre Dame head baseball coach Paul Mainieri has announced the following tentative lineup for Saturday’s game, with the position players to include four freshmen, two sophomores, two juniors and one senior:
Pos.Name Yr. Ht. Wt. Hometown 1998 Spring Stats2B Alec Porzel So. 6-0 180 Lisle, IL .265 (48-for-181), 7 HR, 39 RBI, 5-10 SB CF Steve Stanley Fr. 5-7 140 Upper Arlington, OH SS Brant Ust Jr. 6-1 190 Redmond, WA . 373 (81-for-217), 18 HR, 58 RBI, 11-16 SBC Jeff Wagner Sr. 6-3 225 Louisville, KY .330 &70-for-212), 14 HR, 49 RBI, 29 BB1B Paul O'Toole Fr. 6-1 195 Lakewood, OHLF Matt Strickroth Fr. 6-5 225 Mission Viejo, CA3B Jeff Perconte Jr. 5-10 175 Arlington Hts, IL .250 (27-for-108), 17 RBI, 14 R, 7-10 SBDH J.P. Drevline Fr. 5-11 195 Arlington Hts, ILRF Ben Cooke So. 5-9 160 Bay Village, OH .261 (12-for-46), 14 RBI, 10 R, 3-4 SB LHP Tim Kalita Jr. 6-1 210 Oak Park, IL 2.78, 4-0, 74.1 IP, 71 K/37 BB, .250 opp. avg.
The Irish plan on replacing their veteran startersWagner, Ust and Porzelafter the fourth inning. Freshman Ed Golom will enter at right field, with Cooke replacing Porzel at second base. Freshman Andy Bushey is slated to enter the game at third base, with Perconte sliding over to fill Ust’s shortstop position. Freshman Ken Meyer will be the midgame replacement at first base, with O’Toole replacing Wagner behind the plate. Juniors Matt Nussbaum and Larry Zimont also will be available as replacements in the outfield or at DH.
The planned rotation of relievers is as follows (all are righthanders):
Matt Buckmeier Fr. 6-0 170 Greenwood, INScott Cavey Jr. 6-5 195 Omaha, NE 5.11, 2-0, 24.2 IP, 21 K/4 BB, .300 opp. avg. Drew Duff Fr. 5-11 165 Sevierville, TNJason Rodda Fr. 5-11 175 Lakeland, FLAaron Heilman So. 6-4 195 Logansport, IN 1.61, 7-3, 9 SVS, 67 IP, 78 K/19 BB, .198 opp. avg.