Boston College Athletics
Baseball Prepares For Conference Showdown With Notre Dame
May 17, 2002 | Baseball
May 17, 2002
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - Heading into the 2002 BIG EAST season, expectations were high for the Notre Dame baseball team to win the conference championship. The Irish received eight of 11 first-place votes in the preseason poll. On the other hand, Boston College was chosen sixth by the BIG EAST coaches. Unlike the Irish, not much was expected from the 2002 Eagles' squad.
Well, for the most part, the preseason held to form, except for one team. Boston College (30-20, 15-8 BIG EAST) will head into this weekend's critical three-game series with Notre Dame in a three-way tie for first place in the BIG EAST. Virginia Tech, who plays a three-game series against West Virginia in Blacksburg, Va., is tied with the Eagles and Irish. The Eagles will be also be looking to return to the conference tournament after a one-year hiatus. Finally, if things work out Boston College has a shot at its first BIG EAST regular season championship.
If the Eagles are going to achieve their goal, they will have to do it against a scrappy Irish team. Notre Dame (38-14, 15-8 BIG EAST) enters Friday's 6:05 p.m. (CST) contest at Frank Eck Stadium having won 29 of its last 32 games. This is an incredible statistic for the mere fact the Irish started the season off 9-11.
Friday night's contest will pit Boston College senior Mark Sullivan (10-2) against Notre Dame freshman Grant Johnson (5-4). Sullivan is coming off one his strongest outings of the season, as he went seven innings in BC's, 8-1, victory over Virginia Tech. Sullivan gave up only four hits, while allowing one run, two walks and striking out eight batters. BC freshmen Chris Lambert (9-1) and Kevin Shepard (5-2) will get the call for Saturday's doubleheader. The three pitchers are a combined 24-5 this season.
The 2002 season has been a roller coaster ride for the Eagles'; however, the squad has reached their highest peak during conference games. Fortunately for head coach Pete Hughes and his squad, they have hit their peak during conference action, which is all that matters when trying to win a conference title. Boston College's 15-8 conference record is the best BIG EAST mark in school history.
One thing the Eagles have going for them heading into this weekend is they own the head-to-head tiebreakers over every team still in contention for one of the four tournament berths, except for Connecticut. Connecticut swept Boston College in a doubleheader back on March 28 in Storrs, Conn. If UConn loses one game this weekend to Pittsburgh, Boston College will earn one of four berths to the conference tournament regardless of the outcome with Notre Dame.
While Notre Dame owns a 14-6 advantage all-time against Boston College. The Eagles have won four of the last six meetings against the Irish.Notre Dame won two out of three games last season at Shea Field, but BC picked up a rare sweep at Notre Dame in 2000.
Breaking Down The Opponent
For Boston College to have any success this weekend, the pitching staff will have to control Notre Dame's powerful line-up. At the top of the list is senior All-America Steve Stanley. The 2002 BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year, who has started and played in all 52 games this season, ranks second nationally with 95 hits and fifth with a .461 batting average. An amazing statistic about Stanley is he has recorded his 95 hits in 206 at-bats.
Stanley, who stands at only 5-foot-8 and weighs 155 pounds, is a player the Eagles' pitching staff will have to contain not only at the plate but also on the base path. The center fielder has converted on 30-of-37 stolen-base attempts this season.
Left fielder Brian Stavisky and third baseman Andrew Bushey also give Notre Dame serious offensive threats. They have combined for 114 hits, 26 doubles, 11 home runs and 98 RBI this season. Stavisky is second on the team with a .429 batting average, while Bushey stands in third at .355. Notre Dame is collectively batting .320 this season with 560 hits, 102 doubles and 332 RBI.
Notre Dame's weekend rotation of Grant Johnson, John Axford and Peter Ogilvie are combined 17-8 this season with a solid 3.66 earned run average. The Irish's pitching staff leads the BIG EAST with a team ERA of 3.45. Boston College's line-up is batting .319 in conference games, which is tops in the BIG EAST. Notre Dame's ERA in BIG EAST games stands at 3.76, which still ranks second in the conference. If a game is close and the Irish are leading, the chance o f making a comeback are slim as their bullpen has recorded 14 saves.
Pitching Rotation
Game One - Nine Inning GameMark Sullivan (10-2, 5.87 ERA) - Boston College vs. Grant Johnson (5-4, 3.72 ERA) - Notre Dame
Game Two - Seven Inning Game
Chris Lambert (9-1, 2.89 ERA) - Boston College vs. John Axford (5-2, 3.56 ERA) - Notre Dame
Game Three - Nine Inning Game
Kevin Shepard (5-2, 3.47 ERA) - Boston College vs. Peter Ogilvie (6-2, 3.71 ERA) - Notre Dame
