Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM JUNE/JULY 2022 15 65 Years Ago: June 8-11, 1957 For the first time ever, Notre Dame competed in the eight- team College World Series held in Omaha, Neb. Head coach Jake Kline — who held that position with the Irish from 1933-75 while also teach- ing math — saw his team drop a 13-8 decision to Ohio State in the first game, before staying alive in the double-elimination format with a 23-2 rout of Colorado State. The victory versus the Rams remains a CWS record for most runs scored by one team in a game (Arizona State tied the mark in 1984). Then on June 10, Notre Dame pitcher Chuck Symeon shut out Texas while allowing only five hits in a 9-0 win. However, the run to the national title ends with a 5-4 loss to Penn State the next day. Irish infielder Jim Morris collected 10 hits in 14 at- bats during Notre Dame's four-game run. His .714 batting average also remains a CWS record. 20 Years Ago: June 10, 2002 For the first time in 45 years, Notre Dame ad- vanced to the College World Series after stunning No. 1 Florida State 3-1 to take the best-of-three Super Regional held in Tallahassee, Fla. The Irish reached the Super Regional by defeating Ohio State twice and then crush- ing No. 1-seed South Ala- bama 25-1 in the South Bend Regional. Head coach Paul Mainieri's team was led by the hitting of the "S Troop" — Steve Sollman, Steve Stanley, Brian Stavisky and Javier Sanchez — but the standout in the South Bend Regional and Super Regional was Kris Bill- maier, who batted a torrid .615. Freshman pitchers Grant Johnson and Chris Niesel earned the two wins at Florida State, which had won 25 consecutive contests entering the Super Regional. Mainieri told his Notre Dame players prior to the trip to FSU that they had the likely overcon- fident Seminoles "right where we want them." In the eight-team College World Series, Notre Dame was edged 4-3 by Stanford in the first round, defeated Rice 5-3 in Game 2 to stay alive and then was eliminated by the Cardinal with a 5-3 loss. 10 Years Ago: June, 2012 After five consecutive seasons of losing at least five games, including back-to-back 8-5 campaigns under third-year head coach Brian Kelly, Notre Dame is left out of almost every preseason top- 25 prognostication in 2012. The Irish also were on the verge of tying the school record of six straight years of not finish- ing ranked, which was set from 1981-86. SI.com didn't even place them in its preseason top 30. ESPN.com actually had the Fighting Irish at No. 24 — but then dropped them out of the rankings after Freshman All-America defensive end Aaron Lynch's decision to transfer to South Florida. Plus, Notre Dame graduated the top two players on the 2011 roster, first-round picks Michael Floyd (receiver) and Harrison Smith (safety). Athlon Sports was the most optimistic, ranking Notre Dame 20th while intimating it was likely a year away from contending: "The 2012 campaign will go a long way toward determining how good the Irish can be in 2013-14. There are too many holes/question marks to look at this season as anything but a transition year under Kelly." Anniversaries In Notre Dame Athletics: June/July UNDER THE DOME Jim Morris' .714 batting average (10 of 14) in the 1957 College World Series remains a record for the event. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS