2002 Notre Dame Fighting Irish baseball team

2002 Notre Dame Fighting Irish baseball
2002 Notre Dame Fighting Irish baseball
Big East Conference champions; Big East Conference Tournament champions; South Bend Regional champions; Tallahassee Super Regional champions
College World Series, 4th
Conference	Big East Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 7
CB	No. 6
Record	50–18 (18–8 Big East)
Head coach	Paul Mainieri (8th season);
Assistant coach	Wally Widelski (2nd season)
Hitting coach	Dusty Lepper (3rd season)
Pitching coach	Brian O'Connor (8th season)
Captains	Andrew Bushey; Steve Stanley;
Home stadium	Frank Eck Stadium

2002 Big East Conference baseball standings
	Conf.						Overall
Team	W		L		T	PCT	W		L		T	PCT
No. 6 ‍†‍‡‍^y	18	–	8	–	0	.692	50	–	18	–	0	.735
Virginia Tech ‍‍‍	18	–	8	–	0	.692	33	–	26	–	0	.559
Boston College ‍‍‍	15	–	11	–	0	.577	30	–	25	–	0	.545
Rutgers ‍‍‍	15	–	11	–	0	.577	25	–	22	–	0	.532
Pittsburgh ‍‍‍	14	–	11	–	0	.560	36	–	16	–	1	.689
St. John's ‍‍‍	14	–	12	–	0	.538	29	–	23	–	0	.558
Connecticut ‍‍‍	13	–	12	–	0	.520	28	–	22	–	0	.560
Villanova ‍‍‍	12	–	13	–	0	.480	30	–	23	–	0	.566
Seton Hall ‍‍‍	11	–	15	–	0	.423	25	–	28	–	0	.472
West Virginia ‍‍‍	9	–	16	–	0	.360	24	–	26	–	0	.480
Georgetown ‍‍‍	2	–	24	–	0	.077	9	–	47	–	0	.161

† – Conference champion ‡ – Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament As of June 30, 2002^[1]^[2] Rankings from Collegiate Baseball

The 2002 Notre Dame Fighting Irish baseball team represented the University of Notre Dame in the 2002 NCAA Division I baseball season. The Fighting Irish played their home games at Frank Eck Stadium. The team was coached by Paul Mainieri in his 8th year as head coach at Notre Dame.

The Fighting Irish won the South Bend Regional and the Tallahassee Super Regional to advance to the College World Series, where they were defeated by the Stanford Cardinal.

Roster

2002 Notre Dame Fighting Irish baseball team

Players

Coaches

#	Pos.	Name	B/T	Height	Weight	Year	Home town
2	OF	Steve Stanley (C)	L/L	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	155 lb (70 kg)	Sr	Upper Arlington, Ohio
3	INF	Steve Sollmann	R/R	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	So	Cincinnati, Ohio
5	RHP	Drew Duff	R/R	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Sr	Sevierville, Tennessee
6	INF	Geoff Milsom	L/R	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Fr	New York, New York
7	INF	Zach Sisko	L/R	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	So	Belleville, Illinois
8	OF	Kris Billmaier	R/R	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Jr	Woodinville, Washington
9	OF	Matt Bok	S/R	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Sr	Akron, Ohio
10	RHP	Chris Niesel	R/R	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Fr	Plantation, Florida
11		Matt Macri	R/R	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Fr	Clive, Iowa
12	INF	Andrew Bushy (C)	L/R	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Sr	Boardman, Ohio
13	C	Jay Molina	R/R	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Fr	Moline, Illinois
14		Matt Edwards	R/R	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Fr	Mechanicsville, Virginia
15	INF	Javier Sanchez	R/R	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	So	Miami, Florida
17	INF	Ken Meyer	R/R	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Sr	Fort Myers, Florida
18		Brent Weiss	R/R	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Fr	Cockeysville, Maryland
19	OF	Brian Stavisky	L/R	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Jr	Port Allegany, Pennsylvania
20	RHP	Peter Ogilvie	R/R	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Jr	Buffalo Grove, Illinois
21		Joe Thaman	L/L	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	So	St. Louis, Missouri
22	RHP	Grant Johnson	R/R	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Fr	Burr Ridge, Illinois
23	RHP	Martin Vergara	R/R	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Fr	Paterson, New Jersey
25	INF	Mike Holba	R/R	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Jr	Lansing, Illinois
27	C	Paul O'Toole	L/R	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Sr	Lakewood, Ohio
29	LHP	Cody Wilkins	R/L	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	So	Hudson, North Carolina
30	RHP	Mike Morgalis	R/R	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	So	Cincinnati, Ohio
32	RHP	Ryan Kalita	R/R	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Jr	Oak Park, Illinois
33	LHP	Scott Bickford	R/L	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	Fr	Owings, Maryland
35		Matt Strickroth	R/R	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	Sr	Mission Viejo, California
37	RHP	Matt Laird	R/R	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Jr	Bellaire, Texas
38	RHP	Tyler Jones	R/R	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Fr	Arlington, Texas
39	RHP	Matt Buchmeier	R/R	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Sr	Greenwood, Indiana
40	OF	George Howard	R/R	5 ft 7 in (1.7 m)	145 lb (66 kg)	Fr	Pine Bluff, Arkansas
44	C	Mike Milligan	R/R	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	Fr	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
45	RHP	Brandon Viloria	R/R	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Jr	Wailuku, Hawaii
46	RHP	J. P. Gagne	R/R	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Jr	Bloomington, Minnesota
49	RHP	John Axford	R/R	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Fr	Port Dover, Ontario

Head coach

1 Paul Mainieri

Assistant coach(es)

28 Wally Widelski

Hitting coach(es)

4 Dusty Lepper

Pitching coach(es)

26 Brian O'Connor

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: October 2, 2021

Schedule

2002 Notre Dame Fighting Irish baseball game log

Regular season

February (1–2)

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site/stadium	Score	Overall record	Big East record
February 22	vs. Missouri	No. 19	Maestri Field at Privateer Park • New Orleans, Louisiana	W 7–6	1–0	–
February 23	at New Orleans	No. 19	Maestri Field at Privateer Park • New Orleans, Louisiana	L 7–8	1–1	–
February 24	vs. Southern Illinois	No. 19	Maestri Field at Privateer Park • New Orleans, Louisiana	L 2–6	1–2	–

March (11–8)

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site/stadium	Score	Overall record	Big East record
March 1	vs. Duquesne	No. 24	Homestead Sports Complex • Homestead, Florida	W 6–0	2–2	–
March 2	vs. Fairfield	No. 24	Homestead Sports Complex • Homestead, Florida	W 6–4	3–2	–
March 2	vs. FIU	No. 24	Homestead Sports Complex • Homestead, Florida	L 4–13	3–3	–
March 3	vs. Sacred Heart	No. 24	Homestead Sports Complex • Homestead, Florida	W 4–1	4–3	–
March 8	vs. TCU	No. 24	Dell Diamond • Round Rock, Texas	L 3–7	4–4	–
March 9	vs. USC	No. 24	Dell Diamond • Round Rock, Texas	W 15–8	5–4	–
March 10	vs. Texas–Pan American	No. 24	Dell Diamond • Round Rock, Texas	L 5–6	5–5	–
March 11	vs. Creighton		Dell Diamond • Round Rock, Texas	L 6–8	5–6	–
March 13	vs. Creighton		Nelson W. Wolff Municipal Stadium • San Antonio, Texas	W 6–2	6–6	–
March 14	vs. Southern Illinois		Nelson W. Wolff Municipal Stadium • San Antonio, Texas	W 5–3	7–6	–
March 15	vs. Arkansas–Little Rock		Nelson W. Wolff Municipal Stadium • San Antonio, Texas	W 7–5	8–6	–
March 16	vs. Southern Illinois		Nelson W. Wolff Municipal Stadium • San Antonio, Texas	W 3–2	9–6	–
March 23	at Connecticut		J. O. Christian Field • Storrs, Connecticut	L 3–4	9–7	0–1
March 23	at Connecticut		J. O. Christian Field • Storrs, Connecticut	L 8–9	9–8	0–2
March 24	at Connecticut		J. O. Christian Field • Storrs, Connecticut	L 6–13	9–9	0–3
March 28	at West Virginia		Hawley Field • Morgantown, West Virginia	L 2–4	9–10	0–4
March 28	at West Virginia		Hawley Field • Morgantown, West Virginia	W 10–6	10–10	1–4
March 30	at Georgetown		Shirley Povich Field • Bethesda, Maryland	W 10–6	11–10	2–4
March 30	at Georgetown		Shirley Povich Field • Bethesda, Maryland	W 12–3	12–10	3–4

April (19–2)

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site/stadium	Score	Overall record	Big East record
April 1	BYU		Frank Eck Stadium • Notre Dame, Indiana	W 1–0	13–10	3–4
April 3	Valparaiso		Frank Eck Stadium • Notre Dame, Indiana	W 16–0	14–10	3–4
April 3	Valparasio		Frank Eck Stadium • Notre Dame, Indiana	W 12–1	15–10	3–4
April 6	St. John's		Frank Eck Stadium • Notre Dame, Indiana	W 4–1	16–10	4–4
April 6	St. John's		Frank Eck Stadium • Notre Dame, Indiana	L 3–4	16–11	4–5
April 7	St. John's		Frank Eck Stadium • Notre Dame, Indiana	W 5–2	17–11	5–5
April 9	Western Michigan		Frank Eck Stadium • Notre Dame, Indiana	W 5–4	18–11	5–5
April 11	Pittsburgh		Frank Eck Stadium • Notre Dame, Indiana	L 5–7	18–12	5–6
April 11	Pittsburgh		Frank Eck Stadium • Notre Dame, Indiana	W 12–2	19–12	6–6
April 12	Virginia Tech		Frank Eck Stadium • Notre Dame, Indiana	W 2–1	20–12	7–6
April 12	Virginia Tech		Frank Eck Stadium • Notre Dame, Indiana	W 4–2	21–12	8–6
April 15	Central Michigan		Frank Eck Stadium • Notre Dame, Indiana	W 10–9	22–12	7–6
April 16	Ball State		Frank Eck Stadium • Notre Dame, Indiana	W 10–1	23–12	7–6
April 17	Toledo		Frank Eck Stadium • Notre Dame, Indiana	W 15–4	24–12	8–6
April 20	at Seton Hall		Owen T. Carroll Field • South Orange, New Jersey	W 9–4	25–12	9–6
April 21	at Seton Hall		Owen T. Carroll Field • South Orange, New Jersey	W 4–2	26–12	10–6
April 21	at Seton Hall		Owen T. Carroll Field • South Orange, New Jersey	W 6–1	27–12	11–6
April 23	Chicago State		Frank Eck Stadium • Notre Dame, Indiana	W 9–8	28–12	11–6
April 24	Bowling Green		Frank Eck Stadium • Notre Dame, Indiana	W 3–2	29–12	11–6
April 26	No. 30 Arizona State		Frank Eck Stadium • Notre Dame, Indiana	W 11–5	30–12	11–6
April 30	vs. Michigan	No. 19	Fifth Third Ballpark • Grand Rapids, Michigan	W 7–4	31–12	11–6

May (10–2)

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site/stadium	Score	Overall record	Big East record
May 1	Oakland	No. 19	Frank Eck Stadium • Notre Dame, Indiana	W 11–5	32–12	11–6
May 4	Rutgers	No. 19	Frank Eck Stadium • Notre Dame, Indiana	W 6–5	33–12	12–6
May 4	Rutgers	No. 19	Frank Eck Stadium • Notre Dame, Indiana	W 7–2	34–12	13–6
May 5	Rutgers	No. 19	Frank Eck Stadium • Notre Dame, Indiana	L 0–11	34–13	13–7
May 11	at Villanova	No. 19	Richie Ashburn Field • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	L 7–8	34–14	13–8
May 12	at Villanova	No. 19	Richie Ashburn Field • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	W 8–1	35–14	14–8
May 12	at Villanova	No. 19	Richie Ashburn Field • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	W 9–5	36–14	15–8
May 15	Rochester	No. 23	Frank Eck Stadium • Notre Dame, Indiana	W 10–3	37–14	15–8
May 15	Detroit	No. 23	Frank Eck Stadium • Notre Dame, Indiana	W 23–1	38–14	15–8
May 17	Boston College	No. 23	Frank Eck Stadium • Notre Dame, Indiana	W 8–2	39–14	16–8
May 18	Boston College	No. 23	Frank Eck Stadium • Notre Dame, Indiana	W 10–6	40–14	17–8
May 18	Boston College	No. 23	Frank Eck Stadium • Notre Dame, Indiana	W 5–2	41–14	18–8

Postseason

Big East Tournament (3–1)

Date	Opponent	Seed/Rank	Site/stadium	Score	Overall record	BIGET record
May 23	vs. (4) Rutgers	(1) No. 18	Commerce Bank Ballpark • Bridgewater, New Jersey	W 8–3	42–14	1–0
May 24	vs. (2) Virginia Tech	(1) No. 18	Commerce Bank Ballpark • Bridgewater, New Jersey	W 8–4	43–14	2–0
May 25	vs. (4) Rutgers	(1) No. 18	Commerce Bank Ballpark • Bridgewater, New Jersey	L 3–4	43–15	2–1
May 23	vs. (4) Rutgers	(1) No. 18	Commerce Bank Ballpark • Bridgewater, New Jersey	W 3–2	44–15	3–1

NCAA tournament: South Bend Regional (3–0)

Date	Opponent	Seed/Rank	Site/stadium	Score	Overall record	NCAAT record
May 31	(3) No. 30 Ohio State	(2) No. 17	Frank Eck Stadium • Notre Dame, Indiana	W 8–6	45–15	1–0
June 1	(1) No. 20 South Alabama	(2) No. 17	Frank Eck Stadium • Notre Dame, Indiana	W 25–1	46–15	2–0
June 2	(3) No. 30 Ohio State	(2) No. 17	Frank Eck Stadium • Notre Dame, Indiana	W 9–6	47–15	3–0

NCAA tournament: Tallahassee Super Regional (2–1)

Date	Opponent	Seed/Rank	Site/stadium	Score	Overall record	NCAAT record
June 7	at (1) No. 1 Florida State	No. 11	Dick Howser Stadium • Tallahassee, Florida	W 10–4	48–15	4–0
June 9	at (1) No. 1 Florida State	No. 11	Dick Howser Stadium • Tallahassee, Florida	L 5–12	48–16	4–1
June 10	at (1) No. 1 Florida State	No. 11	Dick Howser Stadium • Tallahassee, Florida	W 3–1	49–16	5–1

College World Series (1–2)

Date	Opponent	Seed/Rank	Site/stadium	Score	Overall record	NCAAT record
June 15	vs. (8) No. 5 Stanford	No. 8	Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium • Omaha, Nebraska	L 3–4	49–17	18–8
June 17	vs. (4) No. 1 Rice	No. 8	Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium • Omaha, Nebraska	W 5–3	50–17	18–8
June 18	vs. (8) No. 5 Stanford	No. 8	Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium • Omaha, Nebraska	L 3–5	50–18	18–8

All rankings from Collegiate Baseball.

South Bend Regional

South Bend Regional Teams
(1) South Alabama Jaguars	(2) Notre Dame Fighting Irish	(3) Ohio State Buckeyes	(4) Kent State Golden Flashes


First round			Regional semifinals			Regional final



1	South Alabama	7

4	Kent State	4
			1	South Alabama	1

			2	Notre Dame	25
3	Ohio State	6

2		8
						2	Notre Dame	9	—

						3	Ohio State	6	—
Lower round 1			Lower final



			3	Ohio State	6

4	Kent State	8	1	South Alabama	4

3	Ohio State	12

Tallahassee Super Regional

Tallahassee Super Regional Game 1
(11) Notre Dame Fighting Irish	vs.	(1) Florida State Seminoles

June 7, 2002, 6:00 pm (EST) at Dick Howser Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
(11) Notre Dame	2	0	1	0	0	1	2	4	0	10	0	0
(1) Florida State	0	0	1	2	0	1	0	0	0	4	0	0

Tallahassee Super Regional Game 2
(1) Florida State Seminoles	vs.	(11) Notre Dame Fighting Irish

June 9, 2002, 12:30 pm (EST) at Dick Howser Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
(1) Florida State	8	0	0	2	1	0	0	0	1	12	0	0
(11) Notre Dame	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	5	0	0

Tallahassee Super Regional Game 3
(1) Florida State Seminoles	vs.	(11) Notre Dame Fighting Irish

June 10, 2002, 11:00 am (EST) at Dick Howser Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida
Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
(1) Florida State	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0
(11) Notre Dame	0	0	1	1	0	0	2	0	0	4	0	0
Attendance: 5,195

College World Series

College World Series Teams
Notre Dame Fighting Irish	(2) Clemson Tigers	Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets	(4) Rice Owls	(5) Texas Longhorns	(6) South Carolina Gamecocks	Nebraska Cornhuskers	(8) Stanford Cardinal

First round			Second round			Semifinals				Finals

		3

8	Stanford	4
			8	Stanford	7

			5	Texas	8
5	Texas	2

4	Rice	1
						5	Texas	6	—

						8	Stanford	5	—
	Notre Dame	5

4	Rice	3
				Notre Dame	3

			8	Stanford	5



										5	Texas	12

										6	South Carolina	6
2	Clemson	11

	Nebraska	10
			2	Clemson	9

				Georgia Tech	7
6	South Carolina	0

	Georgia Tech	11
						2	Clemson	4	2

						6	South Carolina	12	10
	Nebraska	8

6	South Carolina	10
			6	South Carolina	9

				Georgia Tech	5

Awards and honors

Matt Bok

Third Team All-Big East Conference

Andrew Bushey

Third Team All-Big East Conference

Grant Johnson

First Freshman All-American Collegiate Baseball Newspaper
Second Freshman Team All-American Baseball America

Paul O'Toole

Second Team All-Big East Conference

Steve Sollmann

Second Team All-Big East Conference

Steve Stanley

First Team All-American American Baseball Coaches Association^[3]
First Team All-American Baseball America
First Team All-American National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association
First Team All-American Collegiate Baseball Newspaper
First Team All-American USA Today
Big East Conference Player of the Year
Big East Conference Tournament MVP
First Team All-Big East Conference
College World Series All-Tournament Team^[4]

Brian Stavisky

Second Team All-Big East Conference

References

^ 2012 Big East Baseball Media Guide. Big East Conference. p. 61. Archived from the original on March 26, 2013. Retrieved February 2, 2013.
^ "College Baseball Conference Standings – 2002". boydsworld.com. Retrieved February 2, 2013.
^ "NCAA Baseball Award Winners" (PDF). www.ncaa.org. National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved October 2, 2021.
^ "College World Series record Book" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved October 5, 2021.

[1] 2012 Big East Baseball Media Guide. Big East Conference. p. 61. Archived from the original on March 26, 2013. Retrieved February 2, 2013.

[2] "College Baseball Conference Standings – 2002". boydsworld.com. Retrieved February 2, 2013.

[3] "NCAA Baseball Award Winners" (PDF). www.ncaa.org. National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved October 2, 2021.

[CWS-4] "College World Series record Book" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved October 5, 2021.

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[2]

[3]

[4]

Notre Dame Fighting Irish baseball
Venues	Cartier Field (1900–1976) Jake Kline Field (1977–1987) Stanley Coveleski Regional Stadium (1988–1993) Frank Eck Stadium (1994–present)
Seasons	1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
National championships in bold; College World Series appearances in italics