Notre
Dame used to be a postseason mainstay, but hasn’t reached an NCAA
regional since coach Paul Mainieri left the program after competing in
the 2006 Lexington Regional. The Fighting Irish, though, will have a
team in the spring more than capable of ending the hiatus. We dissect
Notre Dame in our latest edition of five keys.

1. Learn from last season

The
Fighting Irish finished last season with a respectable 36-23 record and
also had a good — but not great — RPI of 55. Still, the Irish failed
to have their name called on Selection Monday and were left fuming
after missing the postseason for a third consecutive season. It would
be smart for the Fighting Irish to use that as motivation in the
spring. ND welcomes back a plethora of seasoned veterans. These are
experienced players that remember how it felt to be shut out of the
postseason in ’09. Failing to make an NCAA regional last season could
serve as a great source of motivation for this squad.

2. Find some power, replace AJ Pollock and Jeremy Barnes

The
Irish welcome back plenty of seasoned hitters in the spring, but
replacing leading hitters Pollock and Barnes will be an incredibly
difficult chore to accomplish. To say the least, Pollock and Barners
were big-time hitters last season. Pollock batted .365 with 19 doubles,
five triples, 10 homers and 52 RBIs. He also had a .443 on-base
percentge. Barnes batted .353 with 15 doubles, five triples, 15 homers
and 70 RBIs. He ended last season with a .438 on-base percentage.
Without the dynamico duo, the Irish lose 25 homers, which accounts for
49 percent of the squad’s homers last season. In addition to replacing
Pollock and Barnes, the Irish desperately need more power production.

3. Offensive production must be even better

The
Irish didn’t reach their biggest goal last season, but you can’t blame
their lack of dominance in the Big East on the offense. The Irish
finished last season with an impressive .309 batting average. From that
team, the Irish welcome back 10 players that earned either significant
or a decent amount of playing time last season. Top returning hitters
include two-sport star Golden Tate, Mick Doyle, David Mills and Cameron
McConnell. Tate batted .329 with eight doubles and 13 stolen bases last
season, Doyle batted .327 with 10 doubles, three homers and 31 RBIs,
Mills batted .325 with a home run and 28 RBIs and McConnell batted .289
with three homers and 37 RBIs. The other returning hitters also have
respectable batting averages, but must be better.

4. Starting rotation is experienced, but must be better

Experience
certainly won’t be an issue with Notre Dame’s weekend rotation in the
spring, but there’s also no question this unit must be better and more
consistent. The Irish welcome back starting pitchers Cole Johnson, Eric
Maust and Brian Dupra. Johnson is the staff ace and had a solid ’09
campaign. He compiled a 7-3 record and had a 4.47 ERA in 94 2/3 innings
last season. He also struck out 64 and walked 36 and limited teams to a
.249 batting average. Maust, a two-sport star, started 14 games and had
a 4.94 ERA in 85 2/3 innings. He limited teams to a .295 batting
average. Then there’s Dupra, who must improve more than any other
starter. Dupra started 13 games in ’09 and had a 7.13 ERA in 82
innings. Teams hit .334 off him last season. The Irish are in fantastic
shape if this unit reaches their potential.

5. Bullpen needs to meet expectations

There’s
no reason why this shouldn’t be one of the Big East’s best bullpens.
The Irish need to find a couple of more arms to solidify the bullpen,
but this unit will enter the spring in good shape. They welcome back
Will Hudgins, Steve Sabatino, Ryan Richter, Joe Spano, David Mills,
Todd Miller and Steven Mazur. Hudgins led the team last season with 19
appearances and a 3.65 ERA in 24 2/3 innings. Sabatino had a 3.86 ERA
in 32 2/3 innings, Richter had a 3.86 ERA in 30 1/3 innings, Spano had
a 4.19 ERA in 19 1/3 innings, Mills had a 4.55 ERA in 27 2/3 innings,
Miller had