Sam Elam Class: Junior Hometown: Mesquite, TX High School: Poteet Height / Weight: 6-3 / 220 Position: Lefthanded Pitcher Birthdate: 06/16/1987 Bats/Throws: L/L

Rare commodity as 6-foot-3 hard-throwing lefthander who has been projected by Baseball America as BIG EAST Conference's top prospect for 2008 Major League draft (rankings prior to '07 season; '08 update unavailable) ... likely to fill a relief role in 2008, with possible spot starts ... looking to turn in a steady and more consistent season in 2008 - as his first two seasons with the Irish included record-setting low hit totals allowed (23 H in 44 innings; 4.7 H/9 IP, .155 opp. batting avg.) but plenty of free bases surrendered (31 walks, 10 hit batters, 5 wild pitches; 9.4 BB+HB+WP per 9 IP) ... his other career stats with the Irish include a 3.89 ERA, 0-2 record and one save in 24 appearances (7 GS) ... was rated by Baseball America as top prospect in wood-bat Jayhawk League during summer of '06, after stellar showing with Hays (Kan.) Larks that included leading league in wins (5-0), ERA (0.95) and strikeouts (42) during league play (his Jayhawk League pitcher-of-the-year stats also included only 7 BB in 28 IP of league action) ...has worked with Irish pitching coach Sherard Clinkscales in synchronizing his delivery, to maximize the quality of his pitches (including a low-90s fastball and tough breaking ball) ... Baseball America cited him for a summer fastball that touched 95 mph, to go along with "excellent command and clean mechanics" during his summer stint with the Larks ... joined classmates Kyle Weiland, Brett Graffy and David Phelps on staff of Cape Cod League's Falmouth Commodores in summer of '07 (14.79 ERA, 9 GP/2 GS, 14 IP, 17 Ks, 8 H, 26 BB, 10 HB, 5 WP) ... first burst onto scene in summer and fall of 2004 ... noted for arm strength, high release point and lively fastball ... averaged better than two strikeouts per inning over final two prep seasons (146 Ks in 71 IP) ... keys to his progress include repeating his delivery and improved command ... played alongside current ND senior LF Ross Brezovsky on '06 Larks team that won Jayhawk League title, advanced to National Baseball Congress World Series (Wichita, Kan.) and finished 40-16 ... his overall stats (including non-league games): 2.77, 7-0 record, .127 opp. batting, 14.2 Ks/9 IP (77 Ks in 48.2 IP) ... his inning total with the Larks matched his total of walks (28) and hits (21) allowed, for a solid 9.06 WHIP (BB+H/9 IP) ... allowed only one home run with Hays but did have other control issues (8 HB, 6 WP) in his 20 GP (4 GS, 2 SV) ... his four career appearances in ND's Blue-Gold fall intrasquad series include a pair of tough-luck losses ... member of series-winning Gold team in '07 BGS (IP, 2 R, H, 3 BB, HB, 2 Ks in gm-1; 1-8) ... also part of victorious Golf in '06 BGS, despite losing game-2 when eventual winning run (4- 3) came home on throwing error (3 IP, 4 R/3 ER, 3 H, 4 BB, 2 Ks) ... split pair of relief decisions in '05 BGS (3.2 IP, 3 R, 6 H, 3 BB) ... one of four Teas native on current Irish squad and one of 18 all-time Texas natives to monogram with Notre Dame baseball ... former ace closer John Corbin (the ND record-holder with 20 career saves) also recently wore jersey number 24 for the Irish, from 1997-2000 ... posted 3.13 GPA in '07 spring semester and a 3.10 in fall of '07.

AS A SOPHOMORE: Split time as starter and situational reliever while trying to find consistency in his outings and innings ... set the Notre Dame record for fewest hits allowed per 9.0 innings (4.26; 15 H/31.2 IP), besting Ed Lupton's record (4.83, in '63) that was set in the wood-bat era and had stood for nearly 45 years ... also led staff in low opp. batting avg. (.146), low batting by LH (.107) and RH (.160) hitters, low batting with runners on (.211), and low leadoff onbase pct. (.181) ... his dominance in limiting opposing hits often was counteracted by high walk totals (25; 7.1 BB/9 IP), in addition to allowing other free bases (7 hit batters, 5 wild pitches) ... his combined totals of BB+HBP+WP was 10.5 per 9 IP, leading to a 4.55 ERA, an 0-2 record and only one save ... ranked third on staff in starts (7), fourth in opp. 2-out batting (.229), and fifth in Ks per 9 IP (7.1; 25 Ks), groundouts per 9 IP (10.8) and groundout/flyout ratio (1.4) ... did not allow a home run in his 13 appearances ... allowed 2-of-6 inherited runners to score ... his first batters faced (out of the bullpen) hit 1-for-6 (2 RBI, 4 Ks) ... had a 9.35 ERA after his first three games pitched (all starts; 8.2 total IP) and then made three short relief stints before a solid start vs. IPFW (4 IP, 2 H, BB, 3 Ks, W; 3-2) ... played lead role in a giving the Eck Stadium fans a rare sight on April 18, 2007 - after combining with Purdue RHP Matt Bischofff to allow no hits through the first 7-plus innings ... he did allow six walks by Purdue in that game (all in the first 6 IP) while th only hit vs. Elam (in 9 IP) came with two outs in the 8th ... Bischoff's perfect game ended on a leadoff single from Jeremy Barnes in the 9th (the Irish won, 1-0 in the 10th) ... became the first Irish pitcher with a 1-hit, 9-inning appearance since RHP Grant Johnson's complete game in the record-setting 25-1 win over South Alabama ('02 NCAA Regional, at Eck) ... saw his ERA plummet to 3.75 after the Purdue game ... had another quality start vs. Ball State (4.1 IP, R, 2 H, 4 BB, K , WP, 2 HB; 7-3) ... inherited a 9th-inning jam and recorded final out to save 6-4, series-clinching win at league leader Rutgers ... returned to starting rotation the next week and surprisingly failed to get out of the first inning, less than three weeks removed from his memorable nine-inning performance against Purdue.

AS A FRESHMAN:Showed glimpses of potential despite pitching only 12.1 innings, with 3-to-1 ratio of Ks to walks (19/6), a lowly .178 opp. batting avg. and a 2.19 ERA that ranked third on the staff (8 H, 3 HB) ... allowed 1-of-4 inherited runners to score while his first batters faced hit 3-for-9 (BB, HBP, 3 R, K) ... made debut with inning versus Oklahoma (UER, H, BB, 2 Ks; 3-4) ... K'd batter in Metrodome loss to Minnesota (0- 8) ... logged two shutouts innings with four Ks in spring-break win over Iowa (16-2, in San Antonio) ... pitched another game in his home state on that trip, with shutout inning vs. Southern Illinois (BB, HB, K; 12-1) ... made his first of two BIG EAST regular-season appearances in 8-3 road loss to Georgetown (1.2 IP, H, BB, K) ... added shutout inning against Valparaiso (K; 12-0) before longest outing of season, in 15-1 win over Oakland (3 IP, R, 3 H, BB, HB, 5 Ks) ... did not register an out in brief appearance vs. Rutgers (2 R, H, 2 BB; 11-5) before his shutout inning helped defeat Cleveland State, 12-1 (H, K) ... made two postseason appearances - against St. John's at BIG EAST Tournament in Clearwater, Fla. (IP, H, 3 Ks; 1-10), and at Kentucky in NCAA Regional (0.1 IP; 4-10).

PREP & PERSONAL: Standout pitcher as junior and senior at Poteet HS ... dominating closer as senior in '05 (2.21, 9-2, 92 Ks, 45 IP) ... Team One Baseball rated him nation's #147 prep prospect in nation while Baseball America slotted him 34th in Texas ... had big win in '05 regional semifinals, entering tie game in 7th and logging 4.0 innings to beat Arlington Hts ... posted 2.20 ERA as a junior (54 Ks, 26 IP) ... logged 11 straight games in relief without allowing a hit or run ... MVP of Mt. Pleasant Tournament (four shutout, nohit relief stints) ... selected for Texas Scout North- South Game (at Ameriquest Field, home of Texas Rangers) ... also played first base at PHS ... pitched in Perfect Game Wood Bat National Championships (Ft. Myers, Fla.) ... listed as fifth-best prospect at South Showcase (held at Baylor) ... honor-roll student and member of National Honor Society ... born June 16, 1987, in Dallas ... son of Rusty and Belynda Elam ... full name is Samuel David Elam ... an anthropology and computer applications major, enrolled in the College of Arts and Letters.