#10 Ryan Connolly 2008-09 Baseball Roster

AT NOTRE DAME: Three-year monogram winner enters his senior season with a .256 career batting average, four home runs and 29 RBI … has added 39 runs, 13 doubles, one triple, 27 walks, one sacrifice fly, two sacrifice bunts and seven stolen bases (14 attempts) in 71 games (46 starts) … will serve as co-captain (along with Cole Johnson, Brian Dupra and Mick Doyle) of the 2010 Irish team … spirited veteran who played at both corner outfield spots in 2007 but was predominantly limited to designated hitter duty in 2008, due to series of injury problems … saw extensive action toward the end of the 2009 season at first base … appears healthy and able to contribute in the infield and even behind the plate if necessary … missed all of his freshman season in 2006 due to shoulder injury that required surgery (Oct. `05) … suffered another setback that limited his play during 2007 fall season … a tremendous athlete who also starred in football and hockey as a prep athlete … one of the hardest workers on the team and a quality leader for any role … a feisty competitor who can hit with power and rates as one of team[apos]s fastest runners … enrolled in graduate school.

SENIOR SEASON (2009): Served as co-captain … appeared in 29 games and started 22 for the Irish, predominantly at designated hitter … batted .324 (23-for-71) with four home runs and 19 RBI … added 23 runs scored, six doubles, 14 walks, 10 hit by pitch, one sacrifice fly, one sacrifice bunt and five stolen bases (nine attempts) … did not ground into a double play in 71 at bats … batted .348 (16-for-46) against right-handed pitching … hit an impressive .378 (14-for-37) with runners on base … batted .600 (3-for-5) with the bases loaded … hit .409 (9-for-22) with runners in scoring position … was a perfect 7-for-7 in RBI opportunities with a runner on third base and less than two outs … tied for fourth on the team in home runs … averaged a home run every 17.8 at bats … led the Irish in times reached base via hit by pitch … ranked fourth in stolen bases … hit .313 (10-for-32) with four home runs and 10 RBI in 12 BIG EAST games (nine starts) … added nine runs scored, one double, four walks, three hit by pitch and one stolen base (two attempts) … registered five multi-hit games, including one three-hit game (May 10 vs. USF) … recorded three multi-RBI games, including a five-RBI outing (May 14 at St. John[apos]s) … Notre Dame went 17-5 when Connolly started, including 13-3 when he served as designated hitter and 4-2 when he played first base … batted .324 (22-for-68) with four home runs and 17 RBI in games started … went 1-for-3 when coming off the Irish bench … registered one of two multi-home run games for the Irish … went 2-for-5 with two home runs, two runs scored and five RBI at St. John[apos]s on May 14 … recorded a career-best five-game hitting streak from May 12 through May 19 … started the final 13 games of the season and recorded hits in 10 of those contests … batted .348 (16-for-46) with 15 runs scored, four home runs and 14 RBI over the stretch … Notre Dame went 9-4 down the stretch with Connolly in the everyday lineup … added home runs against USF (May 8) and St. John[apos]s (May 15).

JUNIOR SEASON (2008): Served as pinch-hitter for Gold squad that won the 2007 Blue-Gold World Series (0-for-2, K) … appeared in eight games off the Irish bench primarily as a key pinch-runner … batted .500 (2-for-4) with an RBI and two runs scored … entered the matchup with Iowa as a pinch-runner and came around to score a run on Feb. 23 … saw action in the same capacity against both Maine (Mar. 4) and Lehigh (Mar. 6) … registered a pinch-hit single against top-ranked Arizona on Mar. 9 … recorded an RBI ground out against Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Mar. 26 … went 1-for-1 with a run scored against Mississippi Valley State on Apr. 30.

SOPHOMORE SEASON (2007): Played for the victorious Gold in the 2006 Blue-Gold World Series … batted .200 (1-for-5) with a run scored and a walk … walked and scored 5th-inning run to help Gold win tight game-1 (2-1) of series … ranked fifth on team with seven doubles while appearing in 34 games and starting 24, with his time split between left (11 starts) and right (13) field … platooned with then-freshman Brayden Ashdown as right fielder/9-hole hitter for part of season … his season stats included 14 runs scored and 13 walks (.185 batting avg., 9 RBI, 3B, 29 Ks, SAC, 2-5 SB) … made one error in 27 fielding chances … 18 of his starts came in the 9-hole, plus starts in the #6 (1) and #8 (5) spots … made his debut with the Irish in opener versus Prairie View and scored a run in that 15-8 win (in San Antonio) … started the next day in 6-0 loss to Texas State (1-for-2, 2B, BB) … registered a hit in 4-1 win over #12 TCU (in Myrtle Beach, S.C.) … had a two-run double and scored twice in 16-6 win over #7 Nebraska (K; at Stetson) … hit an RBI double in his only AB versus Duquesne (14-3; in Clearwater, Fla.) … helped post 11-4 win over Dayton (1-for-3, 2B, BB; at Florida Gulf Coast) … plated a pair of runs in 17-9 win over Western Michigan (1-for-2, 2B) … reached base four times and scored twice to help beat Georgetown, 11-2 (1-for-1, 3 BB, SB) … scored two more runs in 17-6 win over West Virginia (1-for-4, BB) … helped Irish take series at league-leading Rutgers (3-for-9, 2 RBI, 5 R, 3B, 2B, 2 BB, 3 Ks, SB) … factored into six of the Irish runs in 15-3 opener at RU (2-for-2, 2 RBI, 4 R, 3B, 2 BB, SB) … played as defensive sub in BIG EAST Tournament loss to Villanova (2-3; in Brooklyn, N.Y.).

FRESHMAN SEASON (2006): Did not compete during 2006 spring season, due to shoulder injury that required surgery in October of 2005 … played for Blue team in the 2005 Blue-Gold World Series … went hitless in six at-bats, but drew two walks, stole a base, scored a run and drove in a run … got back into the swing of full-time playing in the summer of 2006, with the wood-bat New York League[apos]s Amsterdam Mohawks … served exclusively as Mohawks DH, smacking pair of home runs while swiping 9-of-13 bases and scoring 15 runs (also 18 H, 11 RBI, 11 BB, 3 2B, 3B, 5 HBP, 32 Ks, 2 SAC in 32 GP).

PREP & PERSONAL: Three-sport athlete who starred at Binghamton High School in baseball and football while playing hockey with Binghamton Junior Senators … earned baseball all-state honors in 2005, as senior captain for conference champs … rated 12th overall prospect in New York, per Perfect Game/Baseball America … hit .413 with 17 RBI in 21 games during `05 season (4 HR, 6 2B, 26 B, 16 BB, 4 Ks, 7 SB) … helped Post 1645 reach quarterfinals at `05 World Youth Classic … all-conference junior season in `04 included .439 batting (4 HR, 13 RBI, 26 R, 13 SB, 5 2B, 2 3B, 12 BB, 22 GP) … only player from New York named to Street and Smith[apos]s preseason list of the ‘top-50 juniors to watch across the country’ … hit bases-loaded double to beat Vestal in `04 state semifinal … went 4-for-5 and scored winning run versus Windsor … stroked three triples in game-3 of 2004 Empire State Games versus Long Island (hit 8-for-16 overall in the ESG, as leadoff batter for Central Region team) … all-conference as a sophomore (.459, 10 2B, 15 SB) … hit 3-run homer in 2003 American Legion district final … all-metro pick as a freshman (.317) … a three-time all-division pick as a football quarterback, leading team to sectional title as a senior … forward and two-year captain with Junior Senators hockey team … played in hockey senior all-star classic … he and his mother, Penny, are co-chairs for the Michael E. Connolly Endowment for Lung Cancer Research (named in honor of his deceased father) … member of the National Honor Society … candidate for International Baccalaureate Diploma … other Irish players to wear #10 have included outfielder Rick Chryst (former Mid-American Conference commissioner), infielder Cory Mee (now Toledo head coach), standout infielder Alec Porzel and All-America pitcher Chris Niesel … born May 3, 1987, in Binghamton, N.Y. … full name is Ryan Michael Connolly … graduated in May [apos]09 with a degree in psychology and pre-professional studies from the College of Arts and Letters.

Connolly[apos]s Career Statistics

Connolly in the BIG EAST Conference