March 12, 2006
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Notre Dame Baseball Gameday Notes – vs. Illinois (March 12, 2006; San Antonio, Texas)
TODAY’S GAME – Notre Dame (4-5) looks to keep rolling at the UTSA Classic, after rallying to beat Texas A&M (5-4) before scoring early and often in a 16-2 win over Iowa … senior LHP Tom Thornton will take the mound for the Irish, looking for his 22nd career win at Notre Dame … today’s game would be the first meeting between ND and Illinois since the Irish beat the Illini 9-5 en route to winning the 2001 Fresno State Classic (one month later, ND had claimed the No. 1 national ranking) … ND and Illinois were rained out of a scheduled game at the 2004 Round Rock Classic … the Irish traditionally have overcome early struggles by winning 80% of their games in April during the Mainieri era (compared to winning just 55% of the Mainieri-era games in Feb. and 70% in March).
ALAMO CITY FAVORITES – ND junior RHP Jeff Manship, who won the game vs. Iowa, is a San Antonio native and was a two-time All-American during his dominating career at Reagan HS … ND senior SS Greg Lopez also has plenty of ties to the Alamo City, as both of his parents are San Antonio natives and plenty of family members should be hand all week to root on Lopez and the Irish … Lopez – a top Academic All-America candidate, recently interviewed at UT San Antonio as part of his medical-school application process.
OFFENSE ERUPTS – The 16-2 win over Iowa featured a strong showing by the Notre Dame offense:
* Craig Cooper (4-for-5, RBI, 3 R, 2B, HBP) and Danny Dressman hole (3-for-5, 5 RBI, 2 R, SB, sac. bunt) combined to bat 7-for-10 from the top of the lineup and Cody Rizzo (2-for-3, 5 RBI) capped Notre Dame’s 14-hit day with a grand slam … it marked career-high RBI games for both Dressman and Rizzo, who hit the 15th home run of his ND career.
* ND scored in six of the first seven innings, with eight Irish players collecting hits … eight ND players also had RBI in the big win, 11 scored runs and seven different players had at least one RBI and a run scored.
* The ND batters combined to hit .412 (14-for-34) in the game while enjoying their most productive plate-discipline effort of the season, striking out just five times while drawing 12 free passes, via seven walks and five times hit-by-pitch.
* The Irish offense was clicking in all situational categories, placing 4-of-8 leadoff batters on base, batting nearly .500 with runners on base (12-for-25) and above .500 with them in scoring position (9-for-17) … the ND hitters had combined for just eight 2-out RBI in the eight previous games this season but the Irish exceeded that total vs. Iowa, batting 7-for-15 with 2-outs while collecting 9 RBI when down to their final out of an inning.
Sam Elam was part of an Irish staff that did not issue a walk in the Iowa game (all photos by Pete LaFleur).
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WALK IS A FOUR-LETTER WORD – One game after yielding 11 walks in the game vs. Texas A&M, the Irish pitching staff combined for no free passes in the win over Iowa … junior RHP Jeff Manship and a pair of freshman relievers – lefthander Sam Elam and righthander Brett Graffy – totaled 10 strikeouts while rolling up 12 groundouts (nine by Manship) and facing only 31 total batters (four over the minimum).
LEADOFF OUTS – Notre Dame’s pitchers had allowed nearly 50% of leadoff batters (35-of-71) to reach in the eight previous games but only two Iowa batters reached when leading off the inning … the Irish staff then was effective at closing the deal, limiting Iowa to 1-for-10 batting with 2-outs (1-for-7 vs. Manship) to squash only hopes at a comeback.
DYNAMIC DEFENSE – The Irish have yet to make an error on the Spring Break trip and own an eye-popping .982 team fielding percentage for the season, with just six errors in the nine games (three error-free games and six with one E) … only two of the errors have been made by regular starting position players – one each for the shortstop Lopez and second baseman Ross Brezovsky – with Rizzo adding two errors as the backup catcher, Dury making an error in his only start at first baseman and pitcher Tom Thornton throwing errantly on an opening-day pickoff attempts.
DRESS FOR SUCCESS – Danny Dressman factored into seven of the Notre Dame runs vs. Iowa and continues to lead the team in hitting, now checking in at a .429 clip (9-for-21) with six runs scored and four walks … the junior rightfielder also owns a .520 on-base percentage that would rank fifth-best in the Notre Dame record book.
Mike Dury’s pinch-hit double was part of the 14-hit attack vs. Iowa.
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BATS WAKE UP IN BIG WAY – The Irish are batting .362 as a team at the UTSA Classic (25-for-69) while the Notre Dame pitchers now have combined for seven strong starts in nine games – with the four starters (Manship, Thornton, Jeff Samardzija and Wade Korpi) owning a 3.47 combined ERA, better than a 3-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio (45:14) and a lowly .237 opponent batting average (the overall staff ERA now rests at 3.94).
RALLY EDGES AGGIES – Texas A&M scored three runs runs in the bottom of the 7th but the Irish answered with a four-run top of the 8th, en route to the 5-4 win … the ND rally was sparked by three straight singles from Greg Lopez, Craig Cooper and Danny Dressman, followed by Brett Lilley’s bases-loaded walk, Sean Gaston’s RBI groundout and the game-tying hit from Jeremy Barnes … the freshman then stole second and Cody Rizzo drove the left-center gap to plate the eventual game-winning run.
FIRST-INNING FOCUS – Notre Dame totaled just one 1st-inning run in the first seven of games of the season before scoring once vs. A&M and twice vs. Iowa in the 1st inning.
MAINIERI NEARING 500th WIN AT NOTRE DAME – Paul Mainieri, now in his 12th season as the Irish head coach, is eight wins shy of his 500th career victory at Notre Dame (492-201-2) … Mainieri’s 23-plus seasons as a college head coach include 821 wins, 471 losses and three ties.
Tom Thornton CAREER STATS (LHP, Sr., 6-6/220; Middleboro, MA … 2nd Team All-BIG EAST in ’05) – see PDF (also for ’06 game-by-game stats)
THORNTON’S SITUATIONAL PITCHING – Allowed 41% of leadoff batters to reach (avg. of 3.8 per 9 IP) in 2005 while allowing opponents to hit .318 with runners on base but just .243 with 2 outs … totaled nearly the same number of groundouts (120) and flyouts (106) in ’05 … averaging team-best 6.0 IP per start … his 9-inning averages included 3.8 Ks, 1.8 walks, 10.8 hits allowed and 11.3 groundouts … LH batters hit .311 vs. him in ’05 (.304 by RH batters).
BIG GAME PITCHER – Tom Thornton made a name for himself as a big-game pitcher during the 2004 season, capped by a stellar outing vs. Kent State in an NCAA elimination game (career-high 12 Ks in 8.1 IP, 3 H, R, 2 BB, 29 BF/4 over min.) … Thornton took a no-hitter into the 5th inning of that game and 21 of his 25 outs came via Ks, groundouts (7) or infield popups (2) as he allowed just six balls to leave the infield (two through the left side) … he located nearly 70% of his pitches for strikes (81 of 118), allowed just two leadoff batters to reach, held Kent State to 2-for-8 batting with runners on and allowed no 2-out hits (0-for-8) … Thornton’s six career postseason appearances (BIG EAST and NCAA) include a 3.50 ERA, 2-1 record (4 GS) and better than a 4-to-1 K-to-walk ratio (21/5) with nearly as many IP (28.1) as hits allowed (29).
TALL TOM TERRIFIC – Senior LHP Tom Thornton in 2005 became the first pitcher in the Paul Mainieri era (since ’95) 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.
DON’T WALK – Thornton entered the 2005 postseason with just 2 walks in his previous 47.1 IP (avg. of 0.38 BB per 9 IP in those 7 GP) … he did issue a pair of walks in the BET vs. Boston College (none in NCAAs vs. UNC) and ultimately totaled just 19 walks in 96 IP of the `05 season (1.78 BB per 9 IP) … his career avg. of 2.01 walks per 9 IP ranks 7th in the ND record book (3rd-best in the Mainieri era):
Fewest Walks Per 9 IP in a Career
1. Brandon Viloria (2000-03) – 1.61
2. Alan Walania (1990-93) – 1.64
3. Tom Price (1991-94) – 1.86
4. James Cross (1983, ’86-’86) – 1.88
Chris Niesel (2002-04) – 1.88
6. Nick Palihnich (1958-60) – 1.94
7. Tom Thornton (2003- ) – 2.01
HOME BOY – Tom Thornton posted a 4-0 record and 2.25 in 2005 home games (15 Ks, 5 BB, 38 H/.277 opp. avg. in 36 IP) but he went just 2-6 with a 6.15 ERA in all ’05 road games (25 Ks, 14 BB, 77 H in 60 IP).
STEADY STARTER – Thornton in 2005 became just the seventh ND pitcher to start 16-plus games in a season (four have started 17-plus), with the others including fellow LHPs Tom Price, Chris Michalak and Tim Kalita, plus RHPs Brian Piotrowicz, Eric Madsen, Alex Shilliday … Thornton also is one of six ND pitchers ever to log 15-plus starts in multiple seasons (also 15 in ’04), joining Price, Madsen, Michalak and RHPs Pat Leahy and Chris Niesel in that distinction … Thornton also is one of 13 all-time ND pitchers to post 20-plus wins in their career:
Victories
1. Aaron Heilman (1998-2001) – 43-7
2. Tom Price (1991-94) – 40-10
3. Chris Michalak (1990-93) – 34-13
4. David Sinnes (1990-93) – 32-8
5. Alan Walania (1990-93) – 30-12
Darin Schmalz (1994-97) – 30-13
7. Brian Piotrowicz (1987-90) – 27-17
8. Pat Leahy (1990-92) – 25-7
J.P. Gagne (2000-03) – 25-16
Alex Shilliday (1996-99) – 25-17 11. Herb Kelly (1912-14) – 22-2 12. Chris Niesel (2002-04) – 21-4 13. Tom Thornton (2003- ) – 21-10
AMONG THE BIG EAST’S BEST – Thornton led 2005 BIG EAST pitchers in starts (16), also ranking 2nd in innings (96), 6th in complete games (4) and 10th in wins (6-6) … in BIG EAST 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 – Thornton led the ’05 staff in starts (16) and innings (96), also 2nd in wins (6) and 4th in Ks (40) … situationally, he led the staff in groundouts (120) and IP per outing (6.0), also 2nd in low walks per 9 IP (1.8), 3rd in groundouts per 9 IP (11.3) and 4th in opp. 2-out batting (.243).
SEASON RECAP – Thornton bounced back from a 1-3 start to win 4-of-5 decisions to close ’05 … his top ’05 outings included 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) … he was in line to win the BET opener vs. Boston College but the bullpen lost the lead before the Irish rallied to win, 6-5.
ALL-CONFERNCE (finally) – Tom Thornton’s all-BIG EAST honors in 2005 (2nd team) 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 is the 10th different Notre Dame pitcher to earn all-BIG EAST honors, joining a group that includes current big-leaguers Aaron Heilman (2nd team in ’98; 1st team in ’99-’01; ’00 and ’01 pitcher of the year) and Brad Lidge (1st team/pitcher of the year in ’98) … others who have been all-BIG EAST include (all RHPs): Darin Schmalz (2nd team in ’96 and ’97), Danny Tamayo (1st team, ’01), J.P. Gagne (3rd team in ’01 and ’03), Chris Niesel (1st team/pitcher of the year in ’03, 2nd team in ’04), Grant Johnson (1st team, ’04) and Ryan Doherty (2nd team, ’04).
FOUR-TIME PITCHER OF THE WEEK – Notre Dame senior lefthander Tom Thornton (Middleboro, Mass.) recently earned the BIG EAST Conference pitcher-of-the-week award for the fourth time in his career, matching former West Virginia ace Chris Enochs (’96-’97) and former St. John’s standout Keith Stamler (’98-’99) for the second-most weekly pitcher awards in BIG EAST baseball history .. former ND All-American Aaron Heilman is the runaway leader on that list, with 10 career BIG EAST pitcher-of-the-week awards from 1998-2001 … Thornton picked up the season-opening win over Indiana State on Feb. 23 at the Service Academies Classic in Millington, Tenn., scattering five hits in his seven shutout innings while notching five strikeouts and no walks … the 6-foot-6 lefthander registered his 21st career victory with the Irish and lowered his career walk average to 1.99 per 9.0 innings pitched (now 2.01), good for 7th-best in Notre Dame history … the economical 76-pitch outing saw Thornton locate 74% of his pitches for strikes (56) while registering nine of his outs via groundballs … he held the Sycamores to 0-for-8 batting with runners on base allowed just one hit with 2-outs (1-for-8) … Thornton combined with freshman righthander Kyle Weiland to post the first opening-day shutout by the Irish pitching staff since a 6-0 game versus Air Force at the 2000 Service Academies Classic … Thornton earned his first BIG EAST pitcher-of-the-week award (Feb. 23, 2004) as a sophomore, after the 3-1 win at USC (six-inning complete game due to rain; UER, 4 H, 2 BB, 4 Ks). He then became Notre Dame’s fifth pitcher ever to repeat the BIG EAST honor in the same season (March 15), after shutting down hot-hitting Texas Tech with 8.0 one-hit innings at the Round Rock Classic (3 BB, 7 Ks) … his previous BIG EAST weekly award came as a junior (April 11, 2005), in a 3-2 complete game versus Boston College, held in his home state (Brockton, Mass.; 9 IP, 8 R, R, 5 Ks, 14 groundouts, retired first 11 batters, 60 of 96 pitches for strikes).
OPENING-WEEK SUCCESS – The outing versus Indiana State marked Thornton’s third straight strong outing during opening-week action (also at USC in 2004 and at Central Florida in ’05). His combined stats in those three opening-week starts included a 1.00 ERA, 12 Ks, 5 walks and 16 hits allowed in 18 innings.
Steve Andres is one of several dangerous lefthanded bats in the Notre Dame lineup.
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Steve Andres (LF/DH, Sr., Bats: Left, 5-10/200 … Napa, CA … 2004 NCAA Regional All-Tournament Team) – see PDF for career stats and ’06 game-by-game stats
Home & Away – hit 34 points higher in ’05 home games (.250, 9 RBI, HR, 3B, 3 2B, 8 BB, 4 Ks) than in all road games (.216, 16 RBI, 4 HR, 5 2B, 12 BB, 6 HBP, 18 Ks) … 4 of his 5 HRs, 16 of 25 RBI in ’05 came on road … 11 of his 17 career HRs have come outside of Eck Stadium … hit well on the road in 2004 (.317, 3 HR, 21 RBI, 20 BB).
2005 Team Ranks – finished 3rd on team in slugging pct. (.455), 4th in home runs (5) and 5th in walks (21).
Lineup Notes – has opened 2006 season batting three times each in 3-hole, twice at cleanup and once in 5-hole and #6 spot (he hit in the 4th spot 27 times in his first three seasons) … starting DH in ’06, with rare starts in RF vs. Air Force and Arizona … his ’05 starts included 18 in LF, 9 as DH, 1 at C (totaled 59 starts in LF from ’03-’05) … made 13 starts in ’05 as cleanup batter, with other starts in the 3rd (8), 5th (4), 7th (2) and 8th (1) spots.
A Little Extra – totaled more extra-base hits (14; 5 HR, 3B, 8 2B) than singles (12) in the 2005 season … his career totals include 65 singles and 48 extra-base hits (17 HR, 7 3B, 24 2B).
Plate Discipline – 5th on ’05 team with +6 plate-discipline ratio (19 BB + 6 HBP – 19 Ks), now +10 for career (-3 in ’06).
At the 2005 BIG EAST Tournament – hit team-best 4-for-9 in 3 GP/2 GS (4 RBI, HR, 2 2B, 2 R, HBP, 2 Ks), boosting his season batting avg. from .203 to .223 … a .345 career hitter at the BET (10-for-29, 10 RBI, 7 R, HR, 3B, 5 2B, 5 BB, 2 HBP, 8 Ks, E), well above his overall .278 career batting avg.
In a Pinch – .393 career batter as a pinch-hitter (11-for-28), including 3-for-6 in ’05 (rest of team was 7-for-27/.259).
Matt Bransfield (LF/DH, Sr., Bats: Right, 6-1/200 … Englewood, CO … 2004 BIG EAST RBI Champion)- see PDF for career stats and ’06 game-by-game stats
Home and Away – hit 77 points higher in ’05 home games (.345, 19-for-55, 11 RBI, 6 R, 4 2B, 6 BB, 5 HBP, 7 Ks, SAC, SB, E) than on the road (.268, 11-for-41, 5 RBI, 8 R, 2 2B, 4 BB, 2 HBP, 10 Ks, SAC, 2 SF) … had solid .306 batting avg. in 2004 road games (7 HR, 30 RBI).
2005 Team Ranks – finished 4th in batting avg. (.313) and on-base pct. (.409) … missed 18 games after suffering broken hand in season opener.
Situational Summary – led 2005 team with .448 batting vs. LHPs (.254 vs. RHPs) … also 2nd on team in leadoff on-base pct. (.542), and 4th in batting with runners on (.321) … hit .286 in ’05 with 2 outs, 2-for-8 (.250) with bases loaded.
In a Pinch – has batted at a .368 clip as a pinch-hitter during his ND career (7-for-19), including 2-for-3 in 2005 pinch-hit ABs (rest of team was 9-for-32/.281).
Plate Discipline – owns a -19 career plate-discipline ratio (37 BB + 20 HBP – 76 Ks), including +2 in 2005 and -7 in ’06.
Lineup Notes – his 27 starts in ’05 included 21 at DH (6 at C, 2 at 1B) … made 10 starts in ’05 batting cleanup, 12 in the 6-hole, 5 in 5-hole (also batted 7th in pair of postseason games) … has starede mostly at LF in 2006 (started at 1B vs. Nebraska) … ’06 starts include five cleanup, two each in #3 spot and 6-hole and one as #5 batter.
Summer Ball – joined Cody Rizzo as member of Mat-Su Miners of Alaska League in summer of ’05, earning all-league honors while leading team in slugging (.469) and doubles (12), 2nd in RBI (3), 3rd in batting (.312) and on-base (.409).
Ross Brezovsky (2B, So., Bats: Left, 5-10/170 … Naples, FL) – – see PDF for career stats and ’06 game-by-game stats
Home and Away – hit 34 points higher on the road (.278, 11 RBI, 18 R, HR, 3 3B, 4 2B, 4 BB, 4 HBP, 24 Ks, 2 SAC, SB, 9 Es) than at home (.244, 9 RBI, 17 R, HR, 3 2B, 13 BB, 14 Ks, 4 SAC, 2 SB, 4 Es) in ’05 season.
2005 Team Ranks – finished as team co-leader with 2 triples, also ranking 4th in doubles (8) and 5th in sac. bunts (6) … hit .320 in 2005 vs. LHPs (.239 vs. RHPs).
Plate Discipline – owned -21 plate-discipine ratio in ’05 (17 BB + 4 HBP – 42 Ks), -2 in 2006.
Lineup Notes – his 53 starts in ’05 included 15 at 3B, 34 at 2B and 3 at SS (plus a single start at LF) … hit mostly at bottom of the order (24 in 8-hole, 13 in 9th and 12 in 7-hole), plus 4 as leadoff hitter (early-season) … staring 2B in all eight of his 2006 games while batting seven times in 7-hole (one in 8th spot).
Summer Ball – joined classmate David Gruener as member of Hays (Kan.) Larks in Jayhawk League, during summer of ’05 … slated to return to Hays in summer of 2006.
Craig Cooper (1B/OF, Sr., Bats: R, 6-2/210 … Plainview, NY) 2006 Preseason First Team All-BIG EAST Selection (Baseball America) Second Team All-BIG EAST (’04; 3rd team in ’05) … Two-time BIG EAST Batting Champ – see PDF for career stats and ’06 game-by-game stats
Home and Away – had similar 2005 batting avg. in road games (team-best .312, 39-for-125, 25 RBI, 27 R, 4 HR, 9 2B, 19 BB, 4 HBP, 15 Ks, 6 SB, 3 SAC,E) and at home (.345/4th on team, 29-84, 33 RBI, 21 R, 3 HR, 3B, 5 2B, 14 BB, 10 HBP, 5 Ks, SAC, 8 SB, 2 Es).
Double Distinction – repeated as BIG EAST batting champ in ’05 (.403, in league games, after .470 in ’04) … joined former BC player Kevin Penwell (’95, ’96) as only repeat batting champs in 21-year history of BIG EAST baseball … moved into 3rd place on BE career batting list, at .420 (68-for-162), behind Joe Cirone (.443, 51-for-115; Rutgers, ’97-’00) and Marteese Robinson (.432, 83-for-192; Seton Hall, ’85-’87) … joins Cirone as only players in past 18 seasons to hit above .420 or higher in their BIG EAST career.
2005 Team Ranks – finished 2nd among ND players in six categories – slugging pct. (.502), RBI (58), home runs (7), doubles (14), stolen bases (14) and total bases (105) – also ranking 3rd in batting avg. (.325), on-base pct. (.446), runs (48), hits (68) and walks (33), 4th in hit-by-pitch (14) and games played (60), and 5th in HBPs (14) starts (58) … shares team lead with 17 multiple-RBI games (2 w/ 5 RBI, 2 w/ 3 RBI), also 3rd with 16 multi-hit games (7 w/ 3 hits).
Among ’05 BIG EAST Stat Leaders – 3rd among league’s players in overall RBI (58) … also surged to 7th among BE players with a .446 overall on-base pct. … repeated as BIG EAST leader in conf. batting (.403; .470 in ’04) and on-base pct. in conference games (.529; .471 in ’04) while finishing 8th in league slugging pct. (.582), 6th in RBI (19), 10th in doubles (6) and walks (12) … only four players in league finished with higher OPS (on-base + slugging) in ’05 BE games.
Situational Summary – finished 2nd on ’05 team in batting with runners in scoring position (.434) … also was 2nd on team in 2-out batting (.369) and 2-out RBI (17), 5th in leadoff on-base pct. (.419) … hit .323 vs. RHPs and .333 vs. LHPs.
Plate Discipline – ranked 2nd on 2005 team with +25 plate-discipline ratio (33 BB + 14 HBP – 22 Ks), after totaling just a +1 in his first two seasons combined … currently owns a +27 career plate-discipline ratio (even in 2006).
Lineup Notes – starts in ’05 included 23 in RF, 20 in LF (15), plus starts at 1B (9), CF (4) and DH (2) … made 12 starts in ’05 as leadoff batter, also cleanup (23), 5th (8), 6th (7), 7th (3) and 3rd spots (5) … opened 2006 season as 3-hole hitter, a spot occupied for most of 2005 by the departed Matt Edwards … batted leadoff in first two San Antonio games.
Summer Ball – returned to Cape Cod League’s Brewster Whitecaps in summer of 2005.
Sean Gaston (C, Jr., Bats: Left, 6-0/175 … Brownsburg, IN) … Cape Cod League 2005 All-Star (Cotuit Kettleers) – see PDF for career stats and ’06 game-by-game stats
Home and Away – hit 30 points higher in 2005 home games (.310, 14 RBI, 9 R, HR, 3 2B, 2 BB, 7 Ks, 3 SB) than in road games (.280/4th on team, 14 RBI, 18 R, 3B, 2 2B, 3 BB, 4 HBP, 10 Ks, 3 SAC, SB).
2005 Team Ranks – finished 3rd on 2005 team in sacrifice bunts (7), 4th in RBI (28) and 5th in batting avg. (.293) … ranked 4th on 2005 team in 2-out RBI (15) and batting with runners in scoring position (.322), 5th in 2-out batting (.302) and 5th with .296 batting vs. RHPs (.282 vs. LHPs).
Lineup Notes – made all 43 of his starts at catcher while batting all over the lineup, with 12 starts in the 6-hole, 8 starts each in the 8- and 9-holes, plus starts in the 2nd (2), 4th (2), 5th (4) and 7th (7) spots … started behind the plate in all 2006 opening-w3ek games except vs. Air Force while batting twice in 5-hole (plus starts in 2nd and 6th spots) … batted in 5-hole vs. Nebraska and in #3 spot vs. Minnesota (dnp vs. Arizona) before first career cleanup start vs. A&M.
Plate Discipline – had -8 plate-discipline ratio in ’05 (5 BB + 3 HBP – 16 Ks), with -11 currently for career (+1 in ’06).
Summer Ball – joined classmate Jeff Manship as member of Cape Cod League’s Cotuit Kettleers in summer of ’05, earning CCL all-star honors and being named Cotuit’s team MVP while batting .298 (12 RBI, .328 on-base).
Third baseman Brett Lilley has yet to make an error in 2006, as part of an impressive start defensively for the Irish.
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Brett Lilley (3B, So., Bate: Left, 5-7/165 … North Canton, OH); BIG EAST 2005 Freshman of the Year … Freshman All-American – see PDF for career stats and ’06 game-by-game stats
Home & Away – hit significantly higher (107 points) in ’05 home games (.415/2nd on team, 15 RBI, 30 R, 2 2B, 18 BB, 10 HBP, 14 Ks, 7 SB) than in road games (.308/2nd on team, 16 RBI, 26 R, 3 2B, 16 BB, 20 HBP, 19 Ks, 2 SB).
’05 Ranks – led team in batting (.355), on-base (.502; 9th ND history), HBP (30; ND record) and sac. bunts (9), 2nd in hits (76), runs (56) and walks (34), 4th in RBI (28), SBs (9) and TBs (81) … third ND freshman (second since ’71) to lead ND in batting … joined Matt Edwards as only players to start all 63 games … 2nd on team with 20 multi-hit games (5-hit vs. Cincinnati, 1 w/ 4 hits, 5 w/ 3 hits) … led team in 2-out batting (.439, 12 RBI) and batting with runners in scoring position (.448) … also led team with .368 batting vs. RHPs (4th with .323 vs. LHPs), 3rd in leadoff OB pct. (.515) … delivered RBI 11-of-15 times (73%/2nd on team) with runners on 3rd and fewer than 2 outs … advanced runners team-best 66%.
Among 2005 BIG EAST Stat Leaders – led the league charts all season in on-base pct. (.502), also leading all BIG EAST freshmen in walks (34; 6th overall) and batting avg. (.355; 9th overall) … ranked 6th among BE players with 56 runs scored … in conference games only, he finished 7th (tops among freshmen) in walks (14) and on-base pct. (.460).
Plate Discipline – owned team-best +31 plate-discipine ratio in 2005 (34 BB + 30 HBP – 33 Ks) but -2 in 2006.
Lineup Notes – made first 28 starts in ’05 at 2B before starting final 35 games at 3B, with Irish going 24-10-1 in that stretch … hit mostly in 2-hole (51), plus 11 starts at leadoff (including the late WVU series and one game at the BET) … batted leadoff once and in 2-hole twice in ’06 opening week in Millington (dnp vs. Air Force), then hit 2-hole vs. Nebraska and leadoff in other two Metrodome games.
Great Glove Man – had 51 error-free games in ’05 (none so far in ’06), including 21-game span without an E (96 fielding chances) from March 24-April 21 … made single E in ’05 BIG EAST reg.-season (24 GP, plus no Es in 3 GP at the BET) … yet to make an error in 2006.
In the Record Books – his 30 HBP in ’05 set ND record (besting Cody Rizzo’s 28 in ’03) and rank 4th in NCAA record book while his .502 season OB pct. ranked 10th in ND history, just shy of the ND freshman record set by Eric Danapilis in ’90 (.509) … totaled 64 free passes (also 34 BB) to go along with his 76 hits in ’05 (140 total times on base).
Summer Ball – slated to play with Cotuit Kettleers in Cape Cod League summer of ’06.
Greg Lopez (SS, Sr. … Bats: R, 6-0/190 … Upper Arlington, OH); Third Team All-BIG EAST in 2004 … Academic All-America Candidate in 2006 … Second-Year Team Captain – see PDF for career stats and ’06 game-by-game stats
Home and Away – hit 28 points higher in 2005 home games (.289, 16 RBI, 23 R, HR, 3B, 6 2B, 3 BB, 11 HBP, 21 Ks, 2 SAC, 13 Es) than in road games (.261, 18 RBI, 12 R, HR, 2B, 8 BB, 5 HBP, 23 Ks, 5 SAC, 7 Es) … had an impressive season hitting on the road in 2004 (.395, 22 RBI, 26 R).
2005 Team Ranks – one of three players to play all 63 games of ’05 … 3rd on team in RBI (34), HBP (16, 5th ND history), sac. bunts (7), starts (62), 5th in hits (57), total bases (72) … 3rd on ’05 team in batting vs. LHPs (.333).
For the Glove of the Game – his 47 error-free games in ’05 included 15 to open season and 1 E in 19 games prior to Michigan game … played error-free throughout 2005 postseason (7 GP) … had only four multiple-error games in ’05 (none 3-plus) … totaled 42 E-free games in ’04 (85 in ’04-’05) … has made just one error in 2006 (vs. Air Force), heading into Illinois game riding stretch of 33 fielding chances withtout an error.
Hitting Ball & Books – candidate for Academic All-America honors (3.39 GPA; anthropology/pre-professional science)
Lineup Notes – had 59 starts in ’05 at SS (plus 3 at 3B, in midseason) while batting in the 9th (35), 8th (24), 7th (2) and 2nd (1) spots … opened 2006 as 5-hole hitter, after hitting mostly near bottom of order for most of his career … made three starts during opening week in 5-hole, one as #6 batter (Metrdome starts included one in 6-hole, two as #8 batter) … has batted in #8 and #9 spots during Spring Break … only ND player to start every game at same position this season (Matt Bransfield is the only other player with 9 GS, at LF and 1B).
Milestone Watch – needs one more RBI for 100th of career, five runs shy of 100 … 3rd in ND history with 39 total sacrifices, eight shy of Cory Mee’s record … 9th in ND history for career fielding assists (438; seven shy of Mee), 5th in sac. bunts (26), 8th in HBPs (29).
Plate Discipline – owned a -17 plate-discipline ratio in 2005 (11 BB + 16 HBP – 44 Ks), now -43 for career (-3 in ’06).
Alex Nettey already has batted leadoff, cleanup and in the 9-hole this season.
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Alex Nettey (CF, Sr., Bats: Right, 6-1/200 … Dolton, IL) – see PDF for career stats and ’06 game-by-game stats
Home and Away – hit 67 points higher in ’05 home games (.321/5th on team, 14 RBI, 29 R, 2 HR, 6 2B, 6 BB, 8 HBP, 13 Ks, 4 SAC, 5 SB, 3 Es) than in road games (.254, 10 RBI, 16 R, 2 3B, 5 2B, 8 BB, 7 HBP, 16 Ks, 5 SAC, 7 SB, 2 Es).
2005 Team Ranks – shared team lead in triples (2) and sac. bunts (9/4th in BIG EAST), 3rd in doubles (11), stolen bases (12) and total bases (86), 4th in hits (65), runs (44), HBP (15), games played (60) and started (59) … also 4th on team with 15 multi-hit games … ranked 4th on ’05 team with .305 batting vs. RHPs (.237 vs. LHPs) … advanced baserunners 55% of the time (5th-best on team) … compiled a .418 leadoff on-base pct. while batting .273 with runners in scoring position and .219 with 2 outs (5 RBI).
Plate Discipline – finished with an even plate-discipline ratio in 2005 (14 BB + 15 HBP – 29 Ks) … currently owns a -4 career plate-discipline ratio (-1 in 2006).
Lineup Notes – made all 59 starts in 2005 in CF, batting mostly leadoff (33), plus starts in 9th (6), 2nd (6), 5th (4), 7th (8) and 8th (2) spots … batted twice in 2-hole during 2006 opening week (once in 8th spot) before unique stretch at Metrodome that saw hit bat leadoff vs. Nebraska, in 9-hole vs. Minnesota and cleanup (for first time in ND career) vs. Arizona … his starts in San Antonio have come in the #7 and #8 spots.
Summer Ball – played for Fayetteville (N.C.) Swamp Dogs of Coastal Plains League during summers of ’04 and ’05.
Cody Rizzo (RF/C, Sr., Bats: Right, 6-1/195 … Temecula, CA) – see PDF for career stats and ’06 game-by-game stats
Home and Away – hit 29 points higher in 2005 road games (.262, 17 RBI, 20 R, 4 HR, 3B, 4 2B, 12 BB, 11 HBP, 27 Ks, SAC, 7 SB, 5 Es) than in ’05 home games (.233, 7 RBI, 21 R, 2 HR, 4 2B, 10 BB, 10 HBP, 8 Ks, 10 SB, E).
2005 Team Ranks – led team with 17 stolen bases while ranking 2nd in HBP (21; 4th in ND history), 3rd in home runs (6), 4th in slugging pct. (.423), doubles (8) and walks (22), and 5th in runs (41) and on-base pct. (.404) … finished 4th on ’05 team with .436 leadoff on-base pct., 5th in 2-out RBI (13).
Among ’05 BIG EAST Leaders – ranked 7th among BIG EAST players with 17 stolen bases … late surge landed him 15th among leaders in conference batting avg. (.352), also 3rd in on-base pct. (.514), 4th in slugging pct. (.648) and stolen bases (7), and 8th in home runs (4) – all for conference games … the Pittsburgh duo of Jim Negrych (1.311) and Ben Copeland (1.205) were the only players with a higher OPS (on-base plus slugging) in BIG EAST games than his 1.162.
Plate Discipline – ranked 4th on 2005 team with a +9 plate-discipline ratio (22 BB + 21 HBP – 33 Ks) … currently owns a +5 career plate-discipline ratio (37 BB, 70 HBP, 103 Ks), -4 in 2006.
Lineup Notes – made 36 starts in ’05 in RF, 11 behind the plate (all-state catcher as a prep but previously just 4 starts at C with the Irish, in ’03) … hit mostly in the 5th, 6th and 7th spots (15 games each), plus 2 in 8th … had made 94 career starts in RF (has started at catcher in ’06 vs. Air Force, Arizona and Iowa) … batted in 9-hole during all four games in Millington and vs. Arizona (8-hole vs. Nebraska) and Iowa.
Walking Tall – overcame subpar ’05 batting by getting on base via walks (22) and HBP (21; 4th ND history) – for .404 on-base pct. (despite hitting just .252), also swiping 17 bases … first two seasons featured total of just 15 walks and 6 SBs.
Milestone Watch – his 5-RBI game vs. Iowa gave him 100 for his career.
Plunksville – already ranks 4th in the NCAA record book with 70 career times hit-by-pitch (record is 92), needing four to tie former Texas player Jeff Ontiveros (’99-’02) … has yet to reach on a HBP in 2006.
Summer Ball – joined ND teammate Matt Bransfield on Mat-Su Miners of Alaska League in summer of ’05 … saw ’03 summer with Hays Larks (Jayhawk League) cut short due to injury (dnp in summer of ’04).
Jeremy Barnes slides in for a double vs. the Hawkeyes.
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See PDF for additional career stats and 2006 game-by-game updates of ND players.