Irish pitchers prepare to take turns against Titans
By NOAH AMSTADTER
Sports Writer
Coming off of a successful 7-1 showing over spring vacation, the Irish baseball team plays its second home game of the season today versus the Tit-ans of Det-roit. An as-yet undetermin-ed variety of pitchers will rotate on the mound for the Irish against a club that was 14-33 last season.
"We don't want to pitch anybody an extended period of time," said head coach Paul Mainieri, "We want our pitchers to be fresh for this weekend [against Big East opponent Villanova]."
The Irish, who hold a 12-3 record, are off to their best start since 1963, when they also opened the season with the same record. At the Kennel Club Classic in Jacksonville, Fla., Notre Dame beat then-ranked University of Illinois twice, propelling the Irish to a No. 24 national ranking by Collegiate Baseball.
During the Jacksonville trip, freshman Brian Stavisky stepped up to lead the Irish offense. The rookie led the team in batting average, hits, and home runs during the final five games of the tournament. Stavisky produced at least one hit in each game of the tournament, while moving around the batting order between the No. 2, No. 4, and No. 5 spots in the lineup.
"I feel really comfortable at the plate now," he said. "I feel really comfortable up there. The coaches have been helping me be more relaxed and see the ball and hit it. Everything went really well in the last few games.
Stavisky's play helped ignite an offense that had been somewhat stagnant, at least in comparison to the team's successful pitching. The team's earned run average now stands at an unbelievable 2.39.
Leading the pitching staff in Florida was ace right-hander Aaron Heilman. The junior co-captain dominated Big Ten opponents Illinois and Iowa in his two starts. Against Iowa, Heilman struck out 11 Hawkeyes while allowing only two runs in the complete-game victory.
But it was freshman pitcher J.P Gagne who turned in perhaps the most important performance of the tournament for the Irish. The right-hander helped solidify the questionable Irish middle-relief corps as he tossed eight shutout innings and picked up two wins.
Senior right-hander Scott Cavey started against Central Michigan and pitched five shutout innings before being forced out when he was hit by a line drive. Cavey had to miss his second start in Florida, but will start this weekend at Villanova.
Today's game begins at 4:05 p.m. at Eck Stadium and can be heard on WJVA 1580 AM as well as on the Internet at www.und.com.
All Sports Stories for Wednesday, March 22, 2000
