ITTA BENA, MS — Yes, those were the Notre Dame Fighting Irish out there on the modest baseball diamond of Mississippi Valley State on Friday - Notre Dame with all the trimmings: Brilliant, old gold batting helmets, navy blue jerseys, with gold numbers and lettering and bright green shamrocks on the sleeves. This was Notre Dame, in Itta Bena, playing on a field that Valley coach Doug Shanks and his coaches worked on through Thursday night making sure it would be playable. This is Magnolia Field, where the one-man grounds crew dresses in green and white striped pants, courtesy of a nearby penal farm where he is housed and fed. "Hardest worker you ever saw, but we have to have him back by 4," Shanks says.
This was Notre Dame, the gold standard of college athletics, winning 12-4 over Mississippi Valley State, which Shanks quite frankly will admit, has "the worst Division I baseball facilities in America." The crowd was standing room only Friday. Of course, at Magnolia Field, there is essentially standing room only. The official nickname for MVSU's athletic teams is Delta Devils. The baseball players call themselves the Ragamuffins. No explanation necessary.
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Coach Doug Shanks at the Valley.
Irish Upend Mississippi Valley State, 8-3
GREENVILLE, MS - Notre Dame senior RHP Billy Boockford (Glen Elyn, Ill.) picked up his first career victory and senior 1B Casey Martin (Chesterton, Ind.) added two hits, including a solo home run for the second consecutive day, to lead the Irish past Mississippi Valley State, 8-3, in college baseball action from Legion Field Saturday afternoon. An energetic crowd of 1,875 watched Notre Dame improve to 2-0 on the season. Boockford, who entered today's contest with just one previous pitching appearance, tossed 1.2 scoreless and hitless innings of relief. The right-handed hurler walked a batter and recorded a strikeout.
Junior Todd Miller (Franklin, Tenn.) picked up the save. Miller, who tied for the team-lead in saves last season with five, worked 2.0 scoreless innings of relief. He surrendered three hits and one walk, but also struck out one. Martin and junior Cameron McConnell (Bannockburn, Ill.) were the only two Irish players with more than one hit, but seven of the nine starters registered a base hit. It marked the second consecutive day with seven of the nine starting players recorded a hit.
Notre Dame grabbed an early 2-0 lead with single runs in the first and second inning. Senior 2B Ryne Intlekofer (Moorpark, Calif.) opened the game with a double and came around to score on senior OF David Mills' (Battle Creek, Mich.) RBI single. Junior 3B Greg Sherry (Mendham, N.J.) added an RBI single in the second to score McConnell, who reached with a one-out single.
After the Delta Devils cut the Irish lead in half, 2-1, Notre Dame pushed the lead to 4-1 with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth inning. Junior David Casey (Whitefish Bay, Wisc.) drew a two-out walk and raced home on junior Mick Doyle's (LaGrange Park, Ill.) RBI double. Doyle would eventually score on a Mississippi Valley State error to make it 4-1.
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