Athletics

Baseball

3/19/08
Glenbrook North 3 Notre Dame 0 Record(0-1)

We were No-hit. I, the hitting coach, have not done my job.
Coach K #26

3/20/08
Prospect 3 Notre Dame 4 Record(1-1)

Andy Czerwionka was the winning pitcher (1-0) in relief of Michael Trotta who pitched 5 innings with 11 strikeouts. Trotta was also 2-for-3 with the games only 2 rbi. Joe Wietecha went 2-for-2 with 2 walks.
The next day it snowed a foot. See you in Orlando, Florida!
Coach K #26

3/24/08
9:40 am flight arrived, and we are in the rooms in Orlando, Florida, it's now 4:00 pm. BBQ at Bishop Moore High School at 6 pm and Michael Trotta and Michael Kane will compete in the Home Run Derby. I will keep you updated! Vamanos a Explorar!

3/25/08

Mike Kane lead off the HR Derby with a tape measure opposite field Home Run and then finished the round with 2 total HR's. Mike Trotta hit 3 in the first round, all pulled and all no-doubters. They both advanced to the second round, but each of them hit 1 home run to end their HR championship bid. Game tonight 7 pm!

3/26/08

Bishop Moore 3 Notre Dame 2 Record (1-2)

Happy 26 day to all. An unhappy ending to game #1 in Orlando as we lost on an infield pop-up in the bottom of the 7th. Max Kiefer pitched 6 and 2/3 innings before (#3 Florida State Ranked)Bishop Moore High School scored the game winning run to beat us 3-2. Down 2-1 in the top of the 7th with 2 out, Joe Moran hit an infield single to score Joe Godziszewski who had pinch run for Mike Kane who singled earlier in the inning. We play at 1 pm today against Westminister Christian HS, where Alex Rodriguez went to school--Go Dons. #26

Westminister Christian 2 Notre Dame Dons 9 Record (2-2)

Super-Soph Danny Fries went 2-for-2 with a walk, hbp, a run, and 3 rbi, and Billy Kerber went 2-for-3 with 2 rbi to lead the offense that finally broke out with 9 in the second inning. That was all Mike Trotta needed as he pitched 6 innings giving up 2 runs with 0 earned to get his first victory of the season. We play Lasalle HS (Miami) at 4 pm Thursday for a chance to play in the championship game friday-- We shall see. #26

3/28/08

LaSalle HS (Miami) 12 Notre Dame Dons 9 Record (2-3)

Joe Gajda pitched well but we could not hold leads of 6-4, and 9-8, as LaSalle rallied twice to take the lead. Positives: Joe Romano was 3-for-3 with 5 rbi and a walk. Joe Moran hit a 2-run HR. Mike Trotta went 3-for-4 with a 2B and Danny Fries stayed red hot going 2-for-4 with a walk, a stolen base and 3 runs scored. We play Belen Jesuit (Miami) today at 4 pm. A chance to get to .500 again and a chance to finish 3rd in the tournament.

3/28/08

Belen Jesuit (Miami) 9 Notre Dame Dons 6 Record (2-4)

Florida beat us. We were flat today and 5 runs were on the board before we woke up. Joe Moran had a beautifully executed hit-and-run and Andy Czerwionka settled down, but after we cut it to 5-4, a two-run homer made it 7-4 and we never made a move.

The first trip in Notre Dame history was not very successful going 1-3. Everybody down here was very impressed with our team, how we hit and how we played well, I had countless people come up and say they like the way we play, but as a coach, not winning hurts. We did represent the spirit of ND well. We had a great experience and enjoyed a tournament that was extremely well run. We ate, drank and slept together for 5 days and tomorrow we will travel back home to be with our families ; with a better appreciation for each other. We saw Spring Training with the Houston Astros and watched Central Florida University beat Eastern Carolina in a thrilling Division 1 college baseball game. We will come home together with memories and a legacy of being the first Don team to travel. Thank you to all the people who made this trip possible and even though the kids don't realize it now, they are lucky to have this experience.

Maine South, Barrington, and New Trier will see a pretty strong team that has been through a lot together this week. Our battle cry is "Vamanos a Explorar" which means "Let's Explore." We are exploring that way to win all the time. We are learing what it takes... we never had a chance to "fly" this trip... one day soon we will fly. Today, I will fly.---- is still---- Today, I will fly?

4/2/08

Barrington 4 ND Dons 0 Record (2-5)

Offensive production can not be worse. 11 K's and the rest were mostly pop-ups. Fastball/ Slider and not many adjustments. We will bounce back as long as we care for each other, have conviction to win,and commitment to each other.

4/5/08

Lane Tech 9 ND Dons 12 Record (3-5)

In a back and forth game where neither team played well, the Dons were bailed out as Mike Trotta hit a Grand Slam over the leftfield wall to put the Dons up for good 12-9 in the bottom of the 6th. Alec Fries recorded the final 6 outs in relief for his first win of the season.

A great practice today... I think we are ready to start putting it all together.

4/7/08

Maine East 11 ND Dons 12 Record (4-5)

Jump on Mike Trotta's shoulders because these past 2 games we were carried by him. 5-for-5 with a bottom of the 7th game winning 2-rbi single to finish the day with 4 rbi. AJ Fedoruk also had a fine day going 2-for-2 with 2 runs scored, an rbi, bb, and a hbp. Joe Wietecha got the win in relief as he struck out 5 in 2 and 2/3rds innings pitched.

We would like to play again soon, but rain and snow keep having their way with us. "Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose and sometimes it rains."

4/14/08

Joliet Catholic 3 ND Dons 5 Record (5-5)
This is Coach Pvan taking the reigns from Coach K...

After being rained out over the weekend we had to make two trips down to Joliet for the games. Its nice for me to make the trip down there because it gives me the opportunity to not only see my family but some friends whom I grew up with when I was in High School. JCA was ranked #3 in one of the Chicagoland papers which gave us a little fuel for the game. Michael Trotta was given the opportunity to pitch this game and he showed us why he is one of the best pitchers in our conference. He allowed 3 hits in 4 innings before Joe Uhfeil took over to close the game. As the pitching coach, I could not have asked for a better thrown game by the staff's top pitchers against a high powered offense. We'll see what happens in game two on Wednesday, I hope we come out with the same fire and intensity against a good team.

4/16/08

Joliet Catholic 5 ND Dons 4 Record (5-6)

We came out very flat today, no fire or intensity like we had the first game. The atmosphere in the dugout was as if we had already lost the game before it was over. With the wind howling out we were only able to put up a 4 spot. Max Keifer kept us in the game for 5 innings allowing 5 runs. It took us 5 innings before we started to swing the bats, scratching a few runs to cut into their lead . Coach Savino said to me in the dugout that he was waiting for us to just put a few hits together before we exploded, but it was too late. Mike Kane added a three-run homer to cut the lead to 5-4. Alex Fries came in for the last two innings and threw no hit ball keeping their lead to 5-4. We had our chances in the last inning but could not manage to get a run to tie the game. Our confernece is tough and it will only make us a better team come playoffs. Thanks to Coach K and Savino for taking Fedoruk to the hospital after being hit in the nose (broken) on a bunt attempt. Staying with him for hours in the hospital until late in the night before driving over an hour home, shows the love we have for our players. My mom brought my "son" (Lukin) to the game, frisbee in mouth ready to play. Thanks mom!!

5/2/08 Rain. (9-12)

#7 Seed in Home Regional

5/18/08

(16-17) Record
The Dons dopped under .500 witht the loss to Hersey 20-6.

Thanks to the Alumni for a nice night, until the rain came. It has rained almost every day this spring. Rich Ruff hit about 10 Hr's in bp, and Adam Carrabotta went big fly off Nicky Pagano for an "EVEN" years victory. See you next year.

My Beta Fish "Gonzo" did a couple of extra laps around the bowl for extra luck tomorrow. Evanston Head Coach Frank Consiglio was the best man at my wedding, and I at his, WHO will be the best man tomorrow. Can't wait to hang out with you Big Frank.