BASEBALL:Irish face professional Devil Rays in exhibition game
By NOAH AMSTADTER
Assistant Sports Editor
Terry Newton, Jr., is a 12-year-old boy with a Notre Dame connection.
His uncle, Steve Newton, is the former Sorin Hall Rector. In fact, the first mass Steve celebrated after being ordained was Terry's baptism.
As the young boy grew up in St. Petersburg, Fla., he developed a love for the game of baseball — while still maintaining a dream of someday returning to his baptismal roots in South Bend.
Little Terry's dreams will come true when he serves as batboy in Notre Dame's contest today against the major league Tampa Bay Devil Rays in an exhibition game.
"He only wanted to go to the game," said Terry's father, Terry, Sr. "I surprised him with the batboy situation."
Both teams plan to use the game as a developmental tool. The Irish will start sophomore righthander Peter Ogilve on the mound. Ogilve missed his final two high school seasons and all of last year recovering from a back injury. The sophomore was rated one of the top pitchers in the state of Illinois prior to being injured.
Ogilve will likely only throw the first few innings, then giving way to other second-tier pitchers on the Irish roster.
The Devil Rays likely will start such stars as Fred McGriff, Vinny Castilla and Gerald Williams. But most of these players will exit by the third inning, giving way to some of the prospects in the Tampa Bay camp.
The game marks a preview of the three-day, four-team Devil Ray College Invitational. Florida Atlantic, Western Michigan and South Florida join host Notre Dame in the tournament.
"This four-game stretch poses a tremendous challenge to our team and we are looking to build on our solid start the past two weeks," said Irish head coach Paul Mainieri in a press release.
Mainieri, who is originally from Florida, looks forward to playing three quality teams.
"We appreciate the Devil Rays arranging for this exhibition and helping to organize what should be an exciting college baseball tournament," Mainieri said. "Fans who come to the games will not be disappointed by the competitiveness and level of play and you could see several of these kids in the big leagues some day."
The Irish take on Florida Atlantic on Friday at 1 p.m., with All-American righthander Aaron Heilman starting.
Heilman's classmate, Danny Tamayo, takes the ball against South Florida Saturday at 5 p.m.
The starter for Sunday's finale against Western Michigan is currently undecided.
All Sports Stories for Thursday, March 1, 2001
