Stanley has milestone weekend, breaks 2 career records
By CHRIS FEDERICO
Sports Editor
The Notre Dame baseball team suffered one of its most disappointing series in Big East history this weekend as the team dropped three consecutive games to conference rival Connecticut in Storrs, Conn.
The Irish, who entered conference play as a favorite to defend their regular-season league title, are still reeling from the effect of injuries to several key starters. The injuries forced several major changes in the Irish infield as third baseman/catcher Paul O'Toole returned to his former high school position at second base and sophomore Javier Sanchez started at shortstop in place of the injured freshman Matt Macri, who has been relegated to the designated hitter position most of the season.
"There were such high expectations on our team going into the year," Notre Dame associate head coach Brian O'Connor said. "The injuries that we've suffered really show when you go on the road and play in the conference."
The Irish fell on some rough luck during the road trip, dropping each game of the Saturday doubleheader by one run, before being dismantled Sunday by the Huskies, 13-6.
"It was a tough weekend," O'Connor said. "Those are the kinds of things that happen on the road, and it's tough to win on the road. That's why you've got to be that much better. We just didn't get the job done."
In the series opener, Connecticut jumped out to a 3-0 lead on the Irish freshman Grant Johnson through the strength of a Cy Hess' RBI double and a two-run home run by left fielder Peter Soteropoulos.
In its half of the fourth, Notre Dame got back within one run as centerfielder Steve Stanley led off with a single and senior Matt Bok followed with a walk. An RBI single by Macri scored Stanley and a throwing error on rightfielder Brian Stavisky's single allowed Bok to score the team's second run.
In the next inning, the Irish plated the tying run as Sanchez scored on Bok's double down the left field line.
The Huskies broke the tie in the bottom of the fifth when Hess drew a leadoff walk and then advanced to second on a bunt and to third on a ground out. The go ahead run came as Johnson's pitch got past Bok, allowing Hess to scurry home.
The conclusion of the doubleheader provided for an even more dramatic, 11-inning 9-8 victory for the Huskies. Once again, it was Connecticut who took the early lead, moving on top of the Irish 3-0 after four innings.
In the fifth, the Irish surged back, plating five runs on the strength of RBI singles by first baseman Joe Thaman, Sanchez, Stavisky and O'Toole to grab their first lead of the series.
The Irish added three more in the seventh inning on O'Toole's three-run homerun to take an 8-3 lead.
The five-run advantage would not be enough for the Irish, however, as Niesel ran into trouble in the bottom of the seventh after six solid innings of work.
After surrendering a pair of one-out hits, Niesel hit second baseman Brett Burnham to load the bases. After a bases-loaded walk by Soteropoulos, left fielder Dan Trubia knocked a grand slam to tie the score at eight runs apiece.
The score would remain the same until the bottom of the 11th inning when Connecticut's David Tokarz reached base on a throwing error by third baseman Andrew Bushey and then advanced to second. After moving to third on a sacrifice fly, Burnham slapped a two-out RBI single to bring home the game-winner.
Even though the Irish lost both games, they outhit Connecticut 19-12, but left 15 runners on base in the losing effort.
"The biggest thing we have to work on as a team is sowing up our infield defense and hitting in the clutch," O'Connor said. "It's not that we don't have any opportunities to score; we do. We're just not taking advantage of them right now."
In the final game Sunday, the Irish again fell behind early, suffering a 5-0 deficit after four innings. O'Toole cut Connecticut's four-run lead to two in the fourth inning with his second homerun of the series and fourth of the season.
The Huskies would put the game away, however, by driving home seven runs in the sixth and seventh innings on their way to a 13-6 victory.
The three losses over the weekend overshadowed a milestone weekend for the senior captain and centerfielder Stanley. The four-year starter surpassed 1989 graduate Pat Pesavento to set all-time records at Notre Dame for career hits and consecutive starts, with 297 and 205, respectively.
"I felt wonderful to become a part of the record books," Stanley said. "But, I really wanted to get those out of the way so we could really focus in on the team goals."
After the slow Big East start, it is important for the Irish to rebuild quickly with a doubleheader Thursday at West Virginia and another Saturday at Georgetown.
"We need some of our players to step up a little bit coming into this weekend," O'Connor said. "We need to stick together as a team and try to get everyone healthy. I believe when that happens, we'll be in a great position."
All Sports Stories for Tuesday, March 26, 2002
