Irish just one short of school record
By JOE HETTLER
Sports Editor
A pair of win streaks continued at Frank Eck Stadium Monday night.
Notre Dame won their 17th straight game, one short of the school record, and right handed pitcher John Axford won his seventh straight decision of the year in the Irish's 8-3 victory over Central Michigan.
Matt Macri fell a double short of hitting for the cycle and Axford went a solid seven innings, yielding two earned runs and striking out four to help Notre Dame improve to 26-6 on the year.
"It was a good, solid game with good pitching and we got some offense as well and we had no errors," Irish coach Paul Mainieri said. "I don't know what more you could ask for."
Axford (7-0), who struck out 12 batters against St. John's in his last start, gave Notre Dame another impressive outing. He walked five, but allowed only five hits and worked out of a tough bases loaded jam in the seventh inning.
"That's the big thing — being more consistent," Axford said. "I'm blessed to be where I am right now and that's a credit to my teammates play."
Last year, Axford struggled at times to find the plat, walking an average of 7.5 batters per nine innings as a freshman. He's lowered that number to 3.4 heading into Monday's game.
"I feel a lot better about [limiting my walks]," Axford said. "I'm just working on keeping the ball down in the zone."
Mainieri said it was important to get Axford through the first few innings so he could settle in as the game went on.
"He gets stronger as the game goes on," Mainieri said. "The key is to get him through the first couple innings and have him not expend himself too much. Once he gets in a groove, he's tough to stop. That's a great quality in a pitcher."
Macri, who had one of the best games of his career, complimented Axford's performance by driving in three runs and hitting a homer.
"That was Matt Macri's best all around game," Mainieri said. "That was the kind of player I expected him to be. He totally affected that game –hitting, playing defense and running the bases. That's the way I feel he can affect every game."
Notre Dame feel behind 1-0 in the second inning when Central Michigan's first baseman Mike Gates tripled and then scored on a Brian Campbell RBI single.
Notre Dame tied the game when Macri tripled in left fielder Cody Rizzo in the bottom of the inning.
First baseman Matt Edwards gave the Irish the lead in the third inning with an RBI single that scored second baseman Steve Sollmann. Macri added a two-run shot in the fourth to extend the Irish lead to 4-1.
In the sixth inning, Macri manufactured a run by stealing third and scoring on a wild throw from Central Michigan's catcher. The run gave Notre Dame a 5-1 lead.
After Central Michigan scored in the top of the seventh, Edwards added his sixth home run of the season in bottom of the inning to give the Irish a 6-2 lead. Catcher Javi Sanchez picked up an RBI on a groundout that scored right fielder Kris Billmaier.
The Irish face Eastern Michigan Today at 5:05 at Frank Eck Stadium.
Notes:
- Notre Dame has had 16 game win streaks or better in each of the last three seasons, including last years 18 game streak.
- Irish pitcher Brandon Viloria allowed his first run of the season in the ninth inning. He had pitched 12 1/3 innings without giving up any earned runs this season.
All Sports Stories for Tuesday, April 15, 2003
