ATHLETES OF THE WEEK: JOHN O'ROURKE

John O'Rourke

School: Notre Dame

Sport: Baseball

Coach: Jeff Graviett

Week Report: O'Rourke, Notre Dame's new leadoff hitter, went 4-for-6 in the Bulldogs' 14-9 win over Cape Central in the Big Eight championship game this past Saturday. O'Rourke, a junior second baseman and occasional shortstop and pitcher, fell just a triple shy of the cycle and drove home three runs as Notre Dame avenged an earlier loss to the Tigers. O'Rourke also had two hits and an RBI in a 7-3 win in the semifinals of the Big Eight Tournament.

Season Report: O'Rourke, after a slow start, has seen his batting average climb to .397. He has homered three times, has 13 runs batted in. He has stolen 18 bases without being caught and has made just two errors on the infield this season.

Coach's Comments: "John's taken off since we moved him to the leadoff spot," said Graviett. "John is a great hitter and I wanted to bat him behind Josh (Eftink) as a safety net. But I think he was worried about driving in runs and trying to do too much. So we moved him up and he started hitting like he's capable of. The 18 stolen bases is the impressive thing to me. He's not the fastest kid on the team but he gets good jumps and is just a smart player and he just knows how to run the bases. Defensively, he's got the ability to play short, but he gives us another shortstop at second base with a strong arm and good range. He and Todd (Friend) will have to be our leaders next year and he's already showing leadership some this year."