Notre Dame sweeps 3-game series with Pirates
By JEFF BALTRUZAK
Assistant Sports Editor
It's easy to tell when Aaron Heilman is pitching just by glancing at the stands. Right behind home plate sits a contingent of major league scouts, each armed with a radar gun and a notebook, recording Heilman's every pitch and sizing up his potential.
And they would not be disappointed in the first game of a twin bill against Seton Hall Saturday at Frank Eck Stadium. Heilman turned in what has become a routine performance for him — a complete game shutout, allowing just four hits and striking out six in the seven-inning game. The Irish beat the Pirates 6-0 in the early game, and turned in a 6-1 victory in the nightcap.
Notre Dame backhanded the Pirates on Sunday afternoon by 15-3 margin to compete the Big East sweep and run their record to 20-4-1, 5-2 in conference action.
After a pre-game ceremony honoring head coach Paul Mainieri's 600th win on Mar. 17 and his 1,000th game coached Thursday against Hillsdale College, the Irish settled in at the plate early in the opener, erupting for all their six runs in the first two innings.
Leftfielder Kris Billmaier, who has emerged as an RBI man for the Irish, plated two across in the first inning when his two-out single to left scored teammates Paul O'Toole and Brian Stavisky.
Alec Porzel sparked the Irish to four runs in the second, when he singled home Steve Sollmann. Porzel seemed to be shaking off the ill effects of a season-opening slump that saw him open this year's campaign. He had two hits in the first two innings, as well as three hits in second game on Saturday.
Being ahead in the first few innings of a contest had been fairly unknown territory for the Irish prior to Saturday, having scored 14 runs in the first two innings all season.
Heilman took over from that point, continuously working through minor jams to shut down the Pirates. In the next five innings, Seton Hall had runners on, but could never advance one farther than third base.
The freshman Sollmann made a stunning defensive play in the fourth, diving to snag a Kevin Leighton line drive, and completing the unassisted double play by tagging out Leighton's brother Brian.
The top of the seventh would feature an interesting battle between Heilman and Pirate pinch-hitter Garrett Weir. Taking a liberal lead from first considering his team was down by six in the last inning, Weir drew multiple pickoff attempts from the righthander. The crowd murmured on several of the throws, believing Weir had actually been picked off.
Finally, on the fourth try, Heilman caught Weir leaning toward second, and fired the ball to first baseman Joe Thaman, who applied the tag to the diving Weir for the first out.
The win moved Heilman to 7-0 on the season, with 35 wins all-time, second in Notre Dame history.
Danny Tamayo would take the hill for the Irish on Saturday, and would run his record to 4-1 while allowing eight hits but striking out 10 and allowing just one earned run in 7.2 innings, leading the Irish to a 6-1 victory.
As far as offense was concerned, the Irish were consistent but not dominating. Innings two through five would see the Irish secure one run each inning, with two in the seventh to wrap up the ballgame.
Porzel had three doubles in the nightcap, sending his season total to a team leading 11. Stavisky had two doubles of his own, as Notre Dame seemed to awaken from their offensive slumber that characterized the beginning of the season.
If Notre Dame's offense woke up on Saturday, it jumped out of bed on Sunday.
The Irish bats would not be denied throughout the game, as Porzel continued his double stampede to break the Notre Dame career doubles mark of 61 previously held by Eric Danapilis (1993).
Stavisky showed that he has fully recovered from a hamstring injury earlier in the year, smacking the Pirate pitching staff for three hits and four RBIs. O'Toole went 3-for-3 batting out of the two hole.
The Irish return to action Tuesday against Ball State at home, with the first pitch scheduled for 5:05 p.m.
All Sports Stories for Monday, April 2, 2001
