
Omaha, Neb. On a day in July of 2019, garrett hook settled in Starbucks near his home in Greensboro, North Carolina And for 45 minutes, I just listened.
Lots of people wanted to join Jarrett in the days after he got his chance to become a head coach at the Notre Dame. There were family, friends, well-wishers and apparently an endless group of people whose paths crossed somewhere along the line with Jarrett, a college player/coach.
There was only one call Jarrett had to make. Not because of the congratulatory comments coming from the other party. Rather, words of wisdom from someone who had previously sat on the chair where Jarrett would soon be seated.
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That’s why that day Jarrett was at Starbucks to make a call from the former Irish coach Paul Mainery.
Jarrett remembers last week before he left his team to play in “When You Got the Job, Call Me” World College Championship For the first time since Maineri drove the Irish there in 2002. “Before I got here, Paul was as if I was going to tell you some things I think you need to know as you enter Notre Dame.”
Things like how best to handle scheduling outside of conferences and travel. And some obstacles in terms of recruitment, weather and winter exercises. Jarrett took notes on some topics, listened to them but decided to do it his own way on other topics. But every word Mainery said about Notre Dame got Garrett’s absolute attention.
“His constant advice on how to navigate some of the things that make Notre Dame so special but so unique, has guided me,” said Jarrett.
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Mainery was in Charles Schwab Field Standing – there in the second-tier wing – in the opening game of Friday’s win over Texas. The head coach left Notre Dame in 2006 after 12 seasons and 533 wins, but the Maineri name is still part of the programme. His son, Nick, a 2006 Notre Dame University graduate, is the academic advisor for the baseball program.
Those early conversations with the elder Maineri gave way to conversations with the younger Maineri, who often served (and still works in ways) as a sound board for my neighbor when it came to scheduling travel, practices, classrooms, and condition days.
Garrett said, “These guys got me off the ground here.”
That’s why the past few weeks have meant so much to Garrett. Being able to carry the same College World Series crest across the field after winning the Super Regional in Knoxville where the 2002 post-season team was strong.
That’s how he plays in Nebraska this week. There is still a spot on that banner, which looks like it’s seen better days since 2002, for 2022 to be sewn and carried away by future Irishmen.
Returning to Omaha means a lot to Jarrett and this program, but returning 20 years after Mainery’s return and that group means even more.
“Paul had a hand in him probably more than he realizes,” Jarrett said. “It’s meant to be. It’s fitting. To feel the presence of this team, to think about how this thing lined up, it’s magical.”
waiting game
Late rest game run by a left Irish student Jack Findlay Came at the expense of the veteran left Aidan Terrell.
With Findlay doing so well, Tyrell had to watch and wait for his turn. With Sunday’s winners game against Oklahoma looming, Terrell hadn’t made five games. Not since he worked one round against Georgia South in Game Two of Statesboro, Georgia Regional on June 4, that the Juliet, Illinois native got a call.
Garrett wasn’t worried. He knew if/when Tyrell needed, baby would be ready.
It’s just another club in the bag,” Jarrett said. “We didn’t have to hit Terrell Club (in Knoxville). When we felt our way through that, that lineup, I felt rightists with the slider were a better option. We just went to some other clubs.”
Heading into Sunday, Terrell appeared in 25 games with a record 5-1 and 3.60 average achieved in 45 runs, the fifth most. Garrett wants to get him in there.
He said of Terrell: “This guy was just so ready to go. This was a good club we left in the bag.”
It’s still there. just call him
dinner verbs
You can’t spend time in Omaha and not find your way to at least one good old fashioned steakhouse in a town known to them.
And on Thursday, the Irish assistant coach Rich Wallace His family had dinner at The Dover, A hot dinner place away from the city center away from home. Even before 7pm, with the sun still high in the sky, the wait for the table was already 90 minutes.
Saturday, right fielder Brooks Coetzee With his family/friends, they are left waiting for a table, trying to decide dinner plans for various reasons outside johnny’s cafe, Described as the original Omaha steakhouse since 1922 (with an interior to match).
Shortly after 7:30 p.m., Jones’s ventilation system malfunctioned, causing the dining area to fill with a mist of smoke from the grill. He forced the restaurant to close early, leaving Coetzee and his party outside trying to figure out where to go to eat next.
They probably won’t have to look far.
Six Pack Series
► Win on Sunday Oklahoma (The game that started after the Tribune deadline) Notre Dame will have a holiday Monday and Tuesday before playing Wednesday against a designated opponent as the first team to advance to the final three-game series next weekend.
► A win on Sunday will give Notre Dame back-to-back CWS wins for the second time in the school’s history. During his first visit to Omaha in 1957, Notre Dame defeated Colorado State (23-2) and Texas (9-0) after an opening round, and an additional first-round loss to Iowa State. Notre Dame was eliminated in the next game by Penn State.
► The first round of CWS for the first two days carried a similar team theme – Underdogs Accomplished. All four teams that were not among the top 16 manufacturers — Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Arkansas and Mississippi — won the opening games. That put a lot of pressure on winning or going home on Sunday and Monday over second place at Stanford, No. 5 Texas A&M, No. 9 Texas and No. 14 Auburn.
► Big Irish first baseman Carter Putz He bounced well from a tricky area, scoring 0 for 12 in three matches. Since that weekend in Georgia, Putz has been 6 for 16 (.375 average) with two doubles, two home runs and seven RBI games in four. He went 1 for 5 with a home run and a double Friday against Texas.
► Average attendance at Charles Schwab Stadium (capacity 24,500) after the first two days of play was 24,643 with an average start time temperature of 90.5 degrees. On Sunday and Monday, air temperatures are expected to approach 100.
► Notre Dame entered Sunday’s game with a record 12-3 in neutral location matches. Oklahoma was 14-7. Of those 21 matches, the Sooners played 13 in Globe Life Field, Home of the Texas Rangers. They also played a three-match tournament in Minute Maid Park, Home of the Houston Astros.
Follow South Bend Tribune and ND Insider columnist Tom Noy on Twitter: @tnoieNDI. Tel: (574) 235-6153.