No. 11 Notre Dame opens season with Dayton, Newman and No. 4 Arizona State
By: CHRIS FEDERICO
Sports Writer
Just eight months after the completion of their historic 2002 season that ended at the College World Series, the Irish begin their quest today for a return trip to Omaha's Rosenblatt Stadium.
Notre Dame, ranked as high as No. 11 by Baseball America, travels to Tempe, Ariz., for a four-game opening weekend against Dayton, Newman University and host Arizona State.
The Irish begin competition today with Dayton, followed by a pair of games Saturday with Newman and Arizona State. Notre Dame will close out the opening weekend with a matchup at 1 p.m. Sunday with the Sun Devils.
As is the issue nearly every season for Notre Dame, the Irish will need to overcome a lack of experience early in the season against warm weather competition. While Dayton and Notre Dame will open the season against each other, Newman has been in competition since Feb. 1, and Arizona State will have played 20 games by the time they face the Irish Saturday.
To make matters worse, the Sun Devils, ranked as high as No. 4 by the Sports Weekly/ESPN Coaches poll and no lower than No. 6 in any of the four major polls, are 18-1 and off to their best start since 1972.
But even with the arduous task at hand, Irish head coach Paul Mainieri relishes the opportunity for his club to face such tough competition so early in the season.
"[This weekend] will be a great opportunity for our kids to make a statement early in the year," Mainieri said. "But if nothing else, it's going to be a great environment and a great experience, and it will make us better as the year goes on, there's no doubt about it."
The pair of games between the Sun Devils and Irish will likely be the feature events of the weekend, as there is a great deal at stake concerning bragging rights and retribution.
Last season, Arizona State coach Pat Murphy, who took great steps to build up the Notre Dame baseball program as head coach of the Irish from 1988-1994, made his homecoming to South Bend on April 26, but was defeated 9-4 by Mainieri's Irish.
Notre Dame would later go on to win its NCAA regional, defeat No. 1 Florida State in the NCAA Super Regional, advance to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb., for the first time in 45 years and finish with 50 wins and a sixth-place ranking in the both the Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball polls.
With the excitement of the anticipated matchup between two of the nation's premier programs, Mainieri is trying to be sure that his team does not overlook its first two opponents of the weekend.
"I'm not even looking at Arizona State right now," Mainieri said. "All everyone is thinking about is playing Dayton. We know what's lurking, but I don't want our players to look past these first two games, because obviously those first two games are important.
"We want to get ourselves off to a good start, get our feet wet and get our confidence going," Mainieri said. "Then we'll take on the fourth-ranked team in the country in their ballpark."
The four games this weekend should provide a good early test for a young Irish squad that returns without five everyday players from its 2002 lineup as centerfielder Steve Stanley, third baseman Andrew Bushey, catcher Paul O'Toole and designated hitter Matt Bok graduated. Junior left fielder Brian Stavisky decided to leave for the pros after being selected in the sixth round by the Oakland Athletics.
The new-look Irish lineup against Dayton will likely have juniors Joe Thaman at first base and Steve Sollmann at second on the right side of the infield with highly-touted sophomores Matt Macri at shortstop and Matt Edwards at third base on the left side.
Javier Sanchez, who spent the majority of 2002 as the starter at shortstop in place of the injured Macri and Edwards, worked in the off-season to adapt to a new position, and the junior will start behind the plate for the Irish at catcher.
The Irish outfield will feature a pair of fresh faces for the first time in three years, as freshman Brennan Grogan will likely take over left field for Stavisky and classmate Craig Cooper will replace the four-year starter Stanley in center field.
Senior Kris Billmaier, who along with Sollmann and relief pitcher J.P. Gagne will serve as the 2003 Irish captains, will reclaim his regular spot in right field for Notre Dame.
Despite the season-ending shoulder surgery to ace right-hander Grant Johnson, who was 9-5 with a 3.46 ERA in 101.1 innings pitched for the Irish in 2002 as a freshman, Notre Dame returns to action this season with one of its deepest pitching rotations.
The starters scheduled to pitch this weekend are sophomores Chris Niesel in the opener against Dayton and John Axford against Newman. Seniors Pete Ogilvie and Ryan Kalita will get the nod as the starters on the mound against the Sun Devils.
The four pitchers combined for 45 percent of Notre Dame's innings pitched last season, with a combined record of 21-7.
While Niesel missed a portion of the 2002 season with mononucleosis, he shone in the NCAA post-season, earning the World Series-clinching 3-1 victory over Florida State and allowing only two earned runs over 6.2 innings pitched in Notre Dame's 5-3 College World Series victory over Rice.
Gagne, who began the 2002 season as a starter but ended up as the team's leader in the bullpen, should be the squad's feature closer this season. Gagne finished 2002 with a 9-4 record and 3.14 ERA in 94.2 innings pitched. He also had six saves on the year, including his one-inning, three-strikeout performance against the Seminoles in the NCAA Super Regional to help the Irish advance to the College World Series.
The Irish officially begin their 2003 season at 1 p.m. today at Arizona State's Packard Stadium against Dayton.
All Sports Stories for Friday, February 21, 2003
