CHAMPAIGN, Ill – In what already promised to be an exciting and memorable summer for the baseball-loving Biggio family out of Houston has now become an exciting and memorable spring.
Seven-time National League All-Star Craig Biggio, who enjoyed a 20-year big league career with the Houston Astros, will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame during Hall of Fame Weekend 2015 festivities July 24-27 in Cooperstown, N.Y.
This weekend, here on the campus of the University of Illinois, Craig’s sons Conor and Cavan will slip on their Notre Dame uniforms and play for the Fighting Irish in the NCAA Division I Champaign Regional Tournament. Notre Dame (36-21), the regional’s No. 2 seed, shares the stage with No. 1 Illinois (47-8-1), No. 3 Wright State (41-15) and No. 4 Ohio (36-19).
Fifth-year head coach Mik Aoki has the Fighting Irish back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2006. They were coming off what can only be described as a disastrous 2014 season when they finished 22-31 overall and an ugly 9-21 (13th place) in their first season playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).
The Irish finished 17-13 and in third place in the ACC this season, and the turnaround has everyone in the Notre Dame dugout, including the Biggio brothers, brimming with anticipation.
“This is a special moment for our whole team and Notre Dame in general; this is the first time we’ve been to a Regional in nine years,” Cavan Biggio, ND’s starting sophomore second baseman, said Thursday after the Irish’s scheduled practice session at Illinois Field.
“We want to change the whole culture of our program and make this a yearly thing and not like a special thing. We want to bring Notre Dame baseball back to what it used to be; this is a good step towards that.”
Conor Biggio, a reserve senior outfielder, was all smiles as he interacted with his teammates and coaches following the practice session. And even while he was standing on the artificial turf surface at Illinois Field, his thoughts drifted back to ND’s Frank Eck Stadium.
“This is what we as a senior class have worked for the last four years,” Conor said. “This year we have a special group of guys and our class is going to be up on that board in right field (recognizing ND’s NCAA Tournament qualifiers) forever. It’s something special that we can hold near and dear to our hearts, (knowing) we were the class that brought (ND) back to the regional for the first time since 2006.”
An inescapable prior commitment will keep Craig Biggio from being in attendance here this weekend, and he sounded genuinely disappointed by that reality when he spoke with Perfect Game on the telephone Thursday afternoon. His wife Patricia – Conor and Cavan’s mother – will be here, however.
“You look at it from parents’ perspective and you have two kids that are playing Division-I baseball on the same team and are given the opportunity to go to a Regional (tournament),” Craig said over the phone. “It’s a special time and we’re very happy and excited for them.”
It could be argued that the Irish’s remarkable turnaround this season actually started at the tail-end of that forgettable 2014 campaign when they finished the ACC regular-season by winning five-of-six in a pair of three-game league series with Clemson and Pittsburgh.
Cavan Biggio enjoyed an effective freshman season despite all the losing, hitting .246 with 10 doubles, two triples, two home runs, 16 RBI and a team-high 29 runs in 53 games (52 starts).
“Last year was not how we wanted to start out being (a member of) the ACC) and we knew a lot of teams were going to be looking over us (this year),” he said. “Throughout the fall and early spring we kind of set this whole culture up and our team camaraderie is at an all-time high.”
Added Conor: “Last year we struggled with a lot of young guys and lot of young players and we lost a lot of heart-breaker games.”
The Fighting Irish haven’t allowed themselves to make that an issue this season. Instead, they entered the campaign with a bit of a chip on their collective shoulder and wanted to prove to anyone who was interested that the ND baseball program wasn’t just thrown into the ACC because all of the other schools’ athletic programs (except for football) were set to join the league.
The Irish started the season 15-4 (they finished their nonconference slate 19-8) but hit a huge speed bump when they went 0-6 in a pair of ACC series with Louisville and Virginia. Remove those series from their conference record and the Irish were 17-7 in their other league games.
“We came together and kind of reset everything we were doing poorly, and then we had a few big weekends and it kind of kicked off from there,” Cavan said.
Sophomore Kyle Fiala (.301, 16 2Bs, 4 3Bs, 4 HRs, 28 RBI, 46 runs), senior Robert Youngdahl (.294, 19 2Bs, 6 HRs, 42 RBI, 34 runs) and sophomore Ryan Lidge (.278, 12 2Bs, 2 HRs, 35 RBI, 33 runs) have led the Irish offensively this spring. Sophomore right-hander Ryan Smoyer (9-0, 2.13 ERA) has been the most effective starter; freshman Sean Guenther (1-3, 5 SVs, 2.72 ERA, 27 app., 46 1/3 IP, 37 Ks) has been the workhorse out of the pen.
Cavan Biggio, a left-handed swinger who bats leadoff in the Irish lineup, started all 57 games at second base during his sophomore season and was hitting .254 with 12 doubles, three triples, a team-high eight home runs, 23 RBI, 43 runs and team-high 14 stolen bases before ND’s Regional opener against Wright State Friday afternoon. The program’s media guide notes that Cavan “has the ability to be the most complete hitter on the team.”
Conor Biggio (Photo: Danny Karnik)
Conor Biggio, also a left-handed hitter who has played in 18 games this season – often as a pinch-runner – is hitting .200 (3-for-15) with four RBI and five runs scored. The media guide describes Conor as “an outstanding runner that can impact the game on the base paths.”
While his collegiate playing career might not have been as extensive as he’d like, Conor Biggio wouldn’t trade his Notre Dame experiences for anything in the world.
“Notre Dame shapes you. It’s been said that it’s not a four-year program, it’s a 40-year investment,” he said. “It shapes you into the person you’re going to be the rest of your life and I really do believe Notre Dame has formed me into the, hopefully, good man that my parents can be happy about and say, hey, my son is (a graduate of) Notre Dame.”
After only two years in South Bend, Ind., Cavan Biggio is realizing the same benefits.
“I think I’ve grown more as a person than a ballplayer,” he said. “South Bend really challenges you, especially at Notre Dame with all the schoolwork – it’s a very challenging school … but they help you with all the resources that you need. … With the (winter) weather, it’s kind of a challenge for us but we get to play this game and it’s just a lot of fun.”
Craig and Patricia Biggio have taken advantage of every opportunity they’ve been presented with to watch their sons perform at Notre Dame. The parents are extremely proud that their sons are not only playing there but matriculating there, as well.
“At the end of the day in some point in everybody’s life, you might get drafted and you go on to pro ball and you play, you’re going to need an education (at some point),” Craig said. “Having the opportunity to get a Notre Dame education is pretty special and we look at it from the perspective of the big-picture here. For Conor to get the opportunity coming out of Texas to go up there and play, academically and athletically it’s just a great spot.”
Cavan Biggio is enjoying playing for Notre Dame and having the opportunity to compete in the ACC. He likes visiting all the top-of-the-line stadiums on the beautiful campuses across the league and he also likes the way he and his teammates bounced back from that embarrassing 2014 season and proved they can be competitive in the league. Maybe it’s just this team’s personality that has enabled things to work out so nicely.
“We’re a bunch of clowns,” Cavan said. “We like to have a good time, and during the game that keeps us all loose and kind of reminds us that it’s just a kids’ game and we should just go out there and have fun.”
Conor agreed, with a caveat: “We understand there is a fine line between when it’s time to be serious and it’s time to have fun but we’re relaxed in the dugout and we try to keep everyone loose. We feel like if we can play loose then we can play better.”
The Biggio brothers are enjoying playing together on the same team for the first time since their high school years. When Conor was a junior and senior and Cavan a freshman and sophomore in 2010 and 2011, they won Texas state high school championships while playing on a Houston St. Thomas HS team coached by their father, Craig.
“When we played in high school together, those were my favorite years playing baseball,” Conor said. “Granted, college is a little bit more fun than high school but having those memories that we had in high school (are special). And then when he decided to come to Notre Dame and play with me, that was like a dream come true for me.”
Cavan agreed while also thinking back on those two high school state championships and how much he and Conor enjoyed playing for their dad, who had left his playing days behind only a couple of years earlier. He, too, has enjoyed being reunited with his brother.
“It’s been a lot of fun having him here, especially as a freshman with him showing me around and making my life a whole lot easier; it’s just been a lot of fun,” Cavan said.
Both Biggio brothers were involved with Perfect Game during their high school careers with Cavan much more heavily involved. Conor played in just two PG WWBA tournaments in 2011 with the Houston Heat.
Cavan, who graduated in 2013 ranked the No. 21 top national prospect in his class and who was a 29th-round draft pick of the Philadelphia Phillies, was at eight PG events. One his first stops was the 2011 PG Junior National Showcase, and he cranked it up a year later attending the 2012 PG National Showcase, the 2012 PG All-American Classic and finally the PG WWBA World Championship with the Houston Heat.
He was also at the 2012 Area Code Games and a member of the USA Baseball 18u National Team that won a Gold Medal in Seoul, South Korea, in 2012.
“I think it was great for (Cavan),” Craig said about his son’s early experiences. “When you think about it, things go in chapters of your life and for Cavan he was very fortunate to be able to do the Perfect Game thing. And then he did the USA Baseball thing … and that’s something you’ll never forget.
“… There’s just a lot of great memories and you take life in chapters and Perfect Game was a great venue and we loved every minute of it. From the whole perspective it’s all been great and it was really fun to watch.”
When the last week of July rolls around this summer, Craig Biggio will be one of four inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame as part of a stellar 2015 class that also includes Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and John Smoltz.
He is being recognized for a 20-year career – all with the Astros – that saw the second baseman, catcher and center fielder collect 3,060 hits (he had a career .289 batting average) with 1,014 going for extra-bases, including 668 doubles.
“I’m very excited and very honored to think that of all the pro baseball guys that have played I’m one of 215 (players in the HOF) and I’m going in with three other amazing athletes,” Craig told PG on Thursday. “We’re excited for all the right reasons – for my family and the (Houston Astros) organization and the fans – so we’re really looking forward to it.”
Cavan recalled how happily hectic things were around the Biggio household after the announcement was made that Craig had been elected into the Hall and said it didn’t really hit home for him until he saw his dad on David Letterman’s late night television show. Conor said his dad is a very deserving honoree.
“If you listen to any of my dad’s interviews, he’ll say you don’t play to get into the Hall of Fame you play to win games,” Conor said. “This is just a bonus for our family and it’s really special for him to be recognized as the great player that he was; it’s going to be really special for us and our family.”
As excited and proud as Craig Biggio is about his election to the HOF, he is just as excited and proud of his son’s participation in this weekend NCAA Division I Champaign Regional Tournament. The years his sons have spent in South Bend are already paying dividends.
“It’s really more fun to watch – not just athletically – but maturity-wise as a person as a whole,” Craig said. “… You look at the development and the way they’ve matured (in Conor’s case) over four years and you look at him as a young person now getting ready to go out into the real world, and I’m excited for him.
“That has a lot do with getting the opportunity to play at a great school and get a great education, and most of all getting to know some great teammates and great friends that they’re going to have for the rest of their life.”
16 hits, 3 home runs lead Notre Dame past Wright State in Champaign Regional opener
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Cavan Biggio bounced a three-run home run off the top of the left field fence, and Ryan Bull and Robert Youngdahl each smacked two-run home runs and two-run doubles as part of a 16-hit attack – nine for extra-bases – and No. 2-seeded Notre Dame out-slugged No. 3 Wright State, 13-7, at windy and warm Illinois Field Friday afternoon.
The game was the tournament-opener at the NCAA Division-I Champaign Regional. Notre Dame (37-21) advances to Saturday’s winner’s bracket final where it will face the winner of Friday night’s game between No. 1-seed Illinois (47-8-1) and No. 4 Ohio (36-19). Wright State (41-16) faces the loser of that game on Saturday.
“I’m proud of the way our kids continued to compete,” Notre Dame head coach Mik Aoki said, referring to the Fighting Irish battling back from an early three-run deficit. “They made some big swings … and I thought it was a good ballgame, kind of back and forth, and from fan’s perspective it was probably a pretty entertaining game.
“But I think if the wind keeps blowing like this we’re going to have some coaches that are going to be aged about 15 years over the course of these next two or days.”
Bull, a senior from Eden Prairie, Minn., hit a two-run home run (his fifth of the season) to right-center in the bottom of the seventh that gave the Fighting Irish a 7-6 lead they would never relinquish. Biggio, a sophomore from Houston, lofted a three-run homer (his ninth) in the bottom of the eighth, and Youngdahl’s two-run bomb (his seventh) also came in the eighth inning. Youngdahl, a senior, is from New Brighton, Minn.
Bull finished 3-for-4 with a couple of doubles to go with his home run, and drove in four runs; Youngdahl was 3-for-5 with a double and his homer, and also drove in four; Biggio singled and homered and had three RBI, and Ryan Lidge had three hits, including a double, drove in a run and scored two. Bull indicated he and the other Irish hitters had noticed the sturdy wind blowing out to dead-center before the game even started and said he had one of the best pre-game BP sessions he’s had all year.
The game was a back-and-forth affair early-on. WSU got the scoring started in the top of the second when John Brodner ripped a two-run triple and the Raiders made it 3-0 in the top of third on an RBI single off the bat of Mitch Roman.
The Irish plated four runs on five consecutive two-out hits in the bottom of the third. Bull and Youngblood each delivered two-run doubles following singles from Biggio, Kyle Fiala and Lidge.
The Raiders tied the game at 4 when Ryan Fucci drove a 3-2 fastball over the left field fence for a solo home run, his team-leading 14th of the season. In a little bit of tit-for-tat, Zak Kutsulis put the Irish back on top 5-4 with his sixth home run, a solo shot in the bottom of the sixth.
The lead didn’t hold. The Raiders’ Sean Murphy and Michael Timm each came through with RBI doubles in the top of the seventh to give WSU a 6-5 lead. It was after that Bull, Biggio and Youngdahl began dropping bombs; the Raiders’ Andrew McCafferty hit a solo home in the top of the ninth, his second of the season.
“I thought we did a lot of great things today,” Wright State head coach Greg Lovelady said. “In the end, they just made more plays then we did – they made more pitches and got the big hits when they needed them – so you just have to tip your hat to them. We battled back-and-forth and neither team wanted to give up.”