Notre Dame Finishing Better Than Expected

Notre Dame coach Paul Mainieri thought his team would be pretty good. After nearly 40 games, he’s got another opinion.

“Honestly, I think we might be a little better than I even thought we’d be,” Mainieri said.

The Irish were 32-5-1 going into this weekend’s series against Villanova and were as high as No. 2 in the national polls--the team’s highest ranking ever.

“A lot of people in the country never thought it would be possible for a northern team to be ranked that high, but it’s something that we’re really proud of,” said Mainieri, in his seventh season as Notre Dame coach. “It’s nice to see our program get the recognition.”

Much of the team’s success can be attributed to right-hander Aaron Heilman, who was drafted 31st by Minnesota last June but returned for his senior season.

Heilman was 9-0 with a 1.32 ERA--sixth-best in the country--going into the weekend, and combined with senior Danny Tamayo to form one of the nation’s top pitching duos.

“Aaron’s return has been everything for us,” Mainieri said. “It has given us that experienced ace that took the pressure off Danny initially. If Aaron hadn’t come back, Danny would have been thrust right into that role of the ace. By Aaron garnering all the attention, it allowed Danny to come along at his own pace.”

Tamayo has fully recovered from 1999 Tommy John surgery and was 5-1 with a 1.65 ERA. He and Heilman bolster a pitching staff that led the country with a 2.61 ERA.

“I did not realize, but I had hoped, that Danny would be as dominating a pitcher as he’s turned out this year,” Mainieri said.

Mainieri also said the emergence of freshman second baseman Steve Sollmann has been a major key. Sollmann was hitting a team-leading .398 with three home runs and 21 RBIs.

“I felt that Steve was going to be a great player and do some phenomenal things for our team, but the offensive force he’s been has been remarkable,” the coach said.

The Irish, who had won 11 straight, are on pace to better the 1992 team’s 48-15 record, and are looking to get to the College World Series for the first time since 1957.

“Whatever happens, our kids will feel good about what they’ve accomplished this year,” Mainieri said. “And once the postseason comes, hopefully they’ll continue to be confident and play loose.”

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HITTING MACHINE: UCLA’s Brian Baron could end up hitting his way into the NCAA record books.

Baron, a senior designated hitter, was hitting .487 and flirting with becoming the first Division I player to bat .500 in a season since Seton Hall’s Marteese Robinson in 1987.

Baron, who was 77-for-158 in 37 games, was hitting .521 as recently as last Saturday, but he went 4-for-12 in his last two games to lower his average below .500.

The left-handed hitter transferred to UCLA after his sophomore season at Northwestern, where he hit .363 in two seasons. He hit just .293 as a junior and missed last season with a knee injury.

But Baron returned with his hitting stroke intact. He has gone hitless in just two games, had four four-hit games, struck out just 10 times and is on pace to break Bill Scott’s single-season school record of 112 hits.

“He’s one of the toughest outs I’ve ever coached,” Bruins coach Gary Adams said.

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DOUBLE DOUGHNUTS: It was a bad weekend to be a hitter for Minnesota-Morris. The Cougars were no-hit by Wayne State’s Brady Borner in a 22-0 loss last Friday, and Southwest State’s Mike Negen pitched a seven-inning no-hitter the following day as the Mustangs won 19-1 to sweep a doubleheader.

Borner, a senior, struck out 15 and walked two as Wayne State won the first game of a doubleheader sweep.

Negen walked one and struck out nine in the fifth no-hitter in Mustangs history.

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FANCY FACILITY: When Brigham Young finally played at home this season, the field looked the same but the surroundings were quite different.

The school built a baseball-softball complex called Miller Park, financed with a donation to the university by Utah Jazz owner Larry Miller, at the site of the field the Cougars have played on since 1969.

Larry H. Miller Field remains intact but changes were made, including adding chair seating in the stands, clubhouses for both teams, an equipment room, a training room, stadium lights and a 56-foot long scoreboard.

“In my mind, there’s not any place like it--a facility with both a baseball and softball field,” BYU coach Vance Law said. “It’s a unique concept. This is one of the best facilities in the country.”

The Cougars played 35 games off campus while construction was completed, and the team beat New Mexico 7-5 last Friday in the first game at the new ballpark. Grand opening ceremonies were scheduled for Saturday for the baseball and softball teams.

The softball field is named for Miller’s wife, Gail.

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AROUND THE HORN: Cal State Fullerton’s 11-10 victory over UCLA on Wednesday extended the Titans’ winning streak to 14 games--the longest current stretch in the nation. The five-hour, 54-minute game featured 13 pitchers, 43 hits, six home runs and 41 runners left on--two short of the NCAA record. . . . Butler sophomore right-hander Pat Neshek struck out a school-record 18 in the Bulldogs’ 4-1 victory over Detroit last Sunday. . . . Franklin Pierce’s Justin Blood had a school-record 20 strikeouts in an 8-2 victory over New Hampshire College on Monday. The junior left-hander, who was one short of the NCAA Division II record, struck out the side four times and left after eight innings and 150 pitches.