Notre Dame cleaned-up on its final trip to Clearwater, Fla heading into the 2013 Big East Tournament. Fighting Irish third baseman Eric Jagielo was named Big East Player of the Year by a vote of the league's coaches, while teammates Trey Mancini (1B) and Adam Norton (RHP) join Jagielo on the first team. Closer Dan Slania was named to the second team and outfielder Ryan Bull earned third team honors.
Jagielo leads the Big East in slugging percentage (.643) and on-base percentage (.500) and ranks second in batting average (.390) and is tied for second with nine home runs. He is the fourth player in school history and the first since Craig Cooper in 2006 to be named Big East Player of the Year. Steve Stanley took the honor in 2001 and 2002. Brant Ust became the first Irish player to win the award in 1998.
Mancini leads the conference with a .396 average as well as 130 total bases. His 84 hits and seven triples are tied for first. He ranks second in slugging percentage (.613), tied for third in RBIs (52) and is tied for sixth with six home runs. He takes a 22-game hitting streak into the Big East Tournament.
Norton's 105.0 innings are the second-most by a Big East pitcher this season. Those innings rank seventh in the nation entering the week. He is 9-4 with a 2.31 ERA. His nine wins are tied for 25th nationally. They are also the most for an Irish pitcher since former Minnesota Twin Jeff Manship went 9-2 in 2006.



Baseball


Nearly seven years have passed since Notre Dame last qualified for the NCAA Baseball Tournament. The Fighting Irish built a strong early season resume to make a return to the tournament in 2013, but with NCAA selection Monday a week away they have work to do to ensure a bid as they prepare to begin the Big East Tournament on Wednesday.
Pat Connaughton fired 6.0 shutout innings to lead Notre Dame to a 9-1 win over Cincinnati Friday night at Marge Schott Stadium. The win evens the three-game series at a game apiece and also locks-up the No. 6 seed for the Fighting Irish at next week's Big East Tournament.
The Notre Dame baseball team dropped its series-opener 9-5 on Thursday night in Cincinnati. The game is the first of the final Big East Conference set the Fighting Irish will ever play.
The Notre Dame baseball team jumped out to an 11-run lead and then held off a furious Western Michigan rally to beat the Broncos 13-10 Tuesday night in Kalamazoo. The Fighting Irish (30-21) saw Western score eight runs in the bottom of the ninth inning and had the potential tying run in the on deck circle before the game ended with a strikeout.