BASEBALL: Irish look to carry momentum into Big East doubleheaders
By COLIN BOYLAN
Sports Writer
A pair of doubleheaders this weekend against Big East rivals Georgetown and West Virginia look to test the Notre Dame Men's Baseball Team's tenacity.
Although neither opponent has been particularly impressive in regular season play this year, both the 9-26 Hoyas and the 18-15 Mountaineers have shown the ability to score runs in a hurry.
At 27-5-1, with a conference leading 8-2 Big East mark, the Irish certainly aren't overlooking their competition.
"I think we're going to bear down and concentrate this weekend," said Irish second baseman Steve Sollman. "You can't overlook any teams in the Big East because each game is so important."
At a point in the season when victories are at a premium, Notre Dame seems to have peaked at the right time. Their hitting has been outstanding in recent games, even bailing the outstanding pitching staff out at times.
Most notably, the hitters came up big in the late innings of 5-4 win at Rutgers, and provided just a large enough margin in a 9-8 victory against Detroit Mercy last night.
Leading the charge is the freshman Sollman, who added three hits last night to his team leading .430 average.
"Coach Mainieri just told me to concentrate on hitting the ball up the middle and I've been doing that pretty well," Sollman said.
The first doubleheader begins today at Frank Eck Stadium against Georgetown.
Notre Dame will be starting J.P. Gagne in the first game and Drew Duff will take the mound for the second contest.
Gagne has rebounded nicely from a tough first half to pick up key wins in his last two starts, but much of the scrutiny will focus on Duff, who is making his first start for the Irish all season.
"It's a completely different feeling when you're starting as opposed to
relieving," said Duff. "There's a lot less pressure because you know that you'll be pitching. You can prepare a lot differently."
Saturday, the team will take the field again at Eck Stadium for a pair of games against the Mountaineers. Staff aces Aaron Heilman and Danny Tamayo will be pitching in the first and second games respectively.
Barring any major lapses of concentration, the Irish look to solidify their position in the Big East standings with victories this weekend. But of course, they are not taking anything for granted.
"Coach Mainieri tells us that each series is a big one, and that we can't look past any Big East team," said Duff. "I think we'll play these teams tough."
All Sports Stories for Thursday, April 12, 2001
