April 19, 2001
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Ken Meyer (Fort Myers, Fla.) entered Thursday’s Notre Dame baseball game due to his ability to hit lefthanded pitchers and the junior DH delivered when it mattered most, drawing walks in his first two plate appearances before ending the game in stunning fashion by launching a two-out, 0-2 pitch over the leftfield fence to give the second-ranked Irish a 6-4 victory over visiting Central Michigan at Eck Stadium.
Notre Dame (32-5-1) pushed its winning streak to 11 games-the nation’s second-longest active streak-while overcoming a frustrating night that saw the Irish plate just two of 18 baserunners during the first eight innings before Meyer’s grand slam ended the upset bid for CMU (21-13). Notre Dame stranded 12, hit into two double plays and saw three other runners thrown out on the bases.
The dramatic ending has become a common sight at Eck Stadium, as four of Notre Dame’s last 25 home games have ended on Irish home runs (including game-enders on three consecutive BIG EAST weekends in 2000).
Thursday’s game had striking similarities to Notre Dame’s only blemish in the team’s current 16-1 run, a 4-3 loss to Ball State on April 3. That forgettable day saw the Irish put 18 runners on base while bringing just three around to score and is one of the team’s four one-run losses this season.
Notre Dame’s winning rally saw the final four batters stay alive with two strikes, via a fielding error, a single, a walk and the game-ending home run.
Sophomore righthander J.P. Gagne opened the game with three solid innings for the Irish (4 Ks, 2 hits) and junior righthander Matt Buchmeier tossed a scoreless fourth in his first action in nearly four weeks, due to a sore shoulder. Senior lefthander Mike Naumann then worked into some trouble but junior righthander Drew Duff kept the game close before sophomore closer Matt Laird (3-0) turned in a dominating top of the ninth-with seven total pitches, two Ks and a flyout.
Notre Dame put the leadoff batter on base in eight of the nine innings, including Alec Porzel’s 1-0 blooper that fell into center field in the bottom of the ninth. But junior J.D. Wheeler (0-4)-the last of three consecutive lefthanded relievers for CMU-worked ahead in the count versus Brian Stavisky before rolling up a 1-6-3 double play to kill yet another Irish rally.
Kris Billmaier then worked to a 2-2 count and sent a bouncer to the left side of the infield. Mike Galloway had to make a tricky play as he ranged to his left but the CMU third baseman had plenty of time for the throw, with the ball sailing wide of first base to keep Notre Dame’s hopes alive.
Junior catcher Paul O’Toole then fell into a 1-2 hole and fouled off the next pitch before slicing a single to center field. His classmate Andrew Bushey-whose three errors at third base nearly equaled his season total (5)-took the next three pitches for balls (one of them a wild pitch that advanced the runners) and laid off the fourth for a strike before swinging through the next pitch for a full count. But Wheeler’s payoff pitch was out of the zone, loading the bases for Meyer.
The righthanded-hitting Meyer-who had entered the game in the sixth inning after CMU had replaced righthanded starter Jeff Opalewski-came out swinging at the first pitch and fouled it off to the right side. The next pitch went for a called strike but Wheeler then surprisingly came right back down the middle, with Meyer redirecting the slider high over the leftfield fence-setting off the game-ending celebration with his second home run of the season and the sixth of his career.
The Irish grabbed an early 1-0 lead in the second inning, when Bushey’s sacrifice fly followed a Stavisky walk and stolen base and a single from O’Toole. But the Chippewas tied the game in the fifth before pushing across three runs in the seventh, one of them coming unearned when Bushey overthrew O’Toole on a potential 5-2-3 inning-ending double play.
Mike Gates then delivered a two-run single through the right side of the drawn-in infield, bringing junior righthander Drew Duff out of the bullpen. Another Irish error added to the rally but Stavisky then came up with a clutch throw for a lineout double play, with the sophomore rightfielder throwing out Gates at home to keep the deficit at 4-1.
The Irish answered with a run in the bottom of the inning, after singles from Steve Stanley, Steve Sollmann (bunt) and Stavisky.
NOTES: Sollmann’s 1-for-5 day dipped his season batting average (.398) below .400 for the first time since March 14 … ND nearly claimed the nation’s longest active winning streak but Cal State Fullerton rallied for its 14th straight win with a 14-inning victory over UCLA (11-10, after trailing 9-1).
Central Michigan (21-13) 0-0-0 0-1-0 3-0-0 – 4 8 1
#2 Notre Dame (32-5-1) 0-1-0 0-0-0 1-0-4 – 6 10 4
Jeff Opalewski, T.J. Johnson (6), Ryan Cremeans (7), J.D. Wheeler (8, L, 0-4) and Scott Pickens.
J.P. Gagne, Matt Buchmeier (4), Mike Naumann (5), Drew Duff (7), Matt Laird (9, W, 3-0) and Paul O’Toole.
Home Run: Ken Meyer, ND (grand slam in 9th, 2nd of season)
Triple: Tim Bullinger (CMU)
Doubles: Alec Porzel (ND), Jason Helps (CMU), Brad Reid (CMU), Scott Pickens (CMU).