Irish hurlers shut off Panthers, fall short against Hokies
Jeff Baltruzak
Assistant Sports Editor
This past weekend, the Notre Dame baseball team did its best Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde impression, shutting Pittsburgh out 3-0 twice on Friday, but blowing two run leads in the bottom of the ninth in each of its two games against Virginia Tech on Saturday losing 3-2 and 9-8.
Friday's games followed a familiar formula for the Irish this season, with outstanding pitching from seniors Aaron Heilman and Danny Tamayo coupled with sufficient hitting to win.
Tamayo (3-1), pitching in the early game, allowed only four hits while walking none. He sent 10 Panthers packing with strikeouts, five of which were called third strikes, while throwing just 89 pitches in the seven inning contest.
Junior catcher Paul O'Toole provided the offensive spark for Notre Dame. He smacked a two-run double into the left center field gap that scored two, giving the Irish a 3-0 lead in the third frame. Neither team would have a runner cross the plate for the rest of the game.
Heilman secured his team leading sixth win with a gem, allowing just two hits. The All-American was especially vicious in the fifth, when he struck out Panthers Bryan Spamer, Scott Folmar and Tony Railing with only 12 pitches.
"I think the one big thing I did was spotting my fastball," said Heilman. "That let me get ahead of hitters."
But Pittsburgh was never out of the game, as the Irish only led 1-0 until the ninth inning. Shortstop Alec Porzel had two RBIs in the final inning when he doubled home teammates O'Toole and Steve Sollmann.
The Irish's hitting has struggled as of late, and though Notre Dame walked away with the win in the second game on Friday, they left ten runners stranded.
"Our hitting hasn't been that great," said Heilman. "But we know it will turn around."
J.P. Gagne, starting his second game of the season, pitched well the first six innings of the opener with Virginia Tech, but was unable to finish strong in the seventh and final inning of the contest.
The game was a light-hitting affair, with 13 singles, seven by Notre Dame.
The Irish led 2-0 going into the last inning, but Virginia Tech singled twice to put runners on first and second. Tech centerfielder Chris Hutchinson attempted to move the runners over, and ended up at first when Notre Dame was unable to field his bunt.
That set the stage for the Hokie's Brad Bauder, who singled down the rightfield line for two runs. Second baseman Marc Tugwell then won it with yet another single.
"I don't think it was anything we did, you have to tip your hat to Virginia Tech for getting those four hits," said Irish head coach Paul Mainieri.
Saturday's second game would seem like deja vu for the Irish. Notre Dame went up 8-6 after a four-run eighth inning, spearheaded by a triple by leadoff hitter Steve Stanley and a double by Porzel. Sophomore Kris Billmaier also had a homerun in the inning.
But the Hokies would roar back, rallying with two outs and scoring three in their last at bat. Christian Simmers had the double that put Virginia Tech up for good.
With the losses to Tech, the answer to Notre Dame's hitting woes remains to be seen.
"We have good hitters, but they need to become more consistent." said Mainieri. "We haven't put our hits together, but we have the ability."
Mainieri pointed out the four-run eighth inning in the nightcap at Virginia Tech as an example of the offensive fireworks that Notre Dame is capable of producing.
"We were able to string hits together, and hit for some extra base power," said Mainieri.
Notre Dame lost ground in the polls over the weekend. The Irish dropped from No. 8 to No. 13 in the Collegiate Division 1 poll, with similar drops in the Baseball America and Baseball Weekly/ESPN Coaches' polls.
Though the Irish ended the weekend a disappointing 2-2 to run their season record to 16-4-1, there could be lessons from the Virginia Tech games.
"I think we can take some things out of [the two losses]," said Heilman.
Tuesday's home game against Western Michigan was cancelled because South Bend's winter dusted Frank Eck Stadium with snow, and the game has been rescheduled for May 2. The Irish will retake the field on Wednesday against Toledo at Frank Eck Stadium at 5:05 p.m.
All Sports Stories for Tuesday, March 27, 2001
