Eric Maust Class: Sophomore Hometown: Alpharetta, GA High School: Blessed Trinity Height / Weight: 6-1 / 185 Position: Righthanded Pitcher Birthdate: 01/19/1988 Bats/Throws: R/R

Two-sport talent who impressively has met the challenge of playing football and baseball at Notre Dame on a high level ... earned four starts as the football team's punter during 2007 season, after ranking as one of the baseball team's top pitchers the previous spring ... a tremendous athlete who also played center field and was a football quarterback during his high school years ... again could be used as midweek starter or top midreliever during 2008 season ... turned in one of the top control seasons ever by an ND pitcher, after averaging only 1.42 walks per 9.0 innings and posting a 4.57 K-to-walk ratio in '07 ... known for his pitching savvy and effectively locating three pitches for strikes, with high-80s fastball and solid changeup ... has a good feel for his delivery and knows how to "will" outs by aggressively attacking the hitters ... does good job controlling running game and fielding his position ... has competitive presence and strong leadership ... his 2007 season highs included 6.0 innings (vs. Chicago State on 3/28 and Franklin College on 5/2) and five Ks vs. Chicago State (also had 5.0 IP vs. Cleveland State on 3/20 and 4.2 IP vs. WVU on 4/22) ... pitched for Great Lakes League's Delaware (Ohio) Cows during summer of '07 (6.23 ERA, 1-2 record, 2 saves, 9 GP, 17.1 IP, 21 H, 9 BB, 2 HB, 15 Ks) ... earned game- 3 start for Blue team in '06 fall intrasquad series and K'd a pair in 2.0 IP (7 H, 5 R/4 ER) ... third Georgia native ever to monogram with ND baseball, joining late-'90s ace Alex Shilliday (Dunwoody/Westminster HS) and early-'90s DH Adam Maisano (Atlanta/Riverwood HS) ... recent Irish baseball players to wear #16 include CF Alex Nettey ('06) and 1B Jeff Felker ('00) ... his Cows teammates Jemel Scott and Cameron Satterwhite play in the BIG EAST at Cincinnati ... entered '08 spring semester with 3.27 cumulative GPA.

AS A FRESHMAN: Proved to be one of team's top pitchers, particularly in the areas of control and low walk totals ... averaged only 1.42 walks per 9.0 innings (7 BB, 44.1 IP), good for seventh place in the Irish record book and fourth-best since the mid-'90s, behind Tom Thornton (0.77, in '06), Scott Cavey (1.23, in '99) and Danny Tamayo (1.36, in '01) ... similarly posted a team-best 4.57 strikeout-towalk ratio (32/7) that is ninth in ND history and fifth-best since the mid-'90s (behind Thornton's 8.29 in '06, Tamayo's 6.24 in '01, Cavey's 5.88 in '99 and Chris Niesel's 4.58 in '03) ... did not allow a home run all season (203 batters faced) ... only four pitchers in the ND record book have logged more innings in a season without yielding a HR: Darin Schmalz (84.2, in '96), Tim Kraus (62.2, in '94), Thornton (54.2, in '03) and Peter Ogilvie (52.0, in '01) ... closed six games (second-most on staff) while ranking third on team in ERA (3.65) and appearances (15), fourth in innings (44.1) and fifth in Ks (32) ... his other '07 stats included a 2- 0 record, one save, 58 hits allowed and a .307 opp. batting avg. (also 3 starts, 3 wild pitches, 5 hit batters) ... 10 of his strikeouts were "looking" (fourth-most on staff) ... ranked fifth on team in low opp. leadoff onbase pct. (.378) and opp. 2-out batting (.237) ... pitched in opening win over Prairie View (4 IP, 2 R, 3 H, 2 HB, 2 Ks; 15-8, in San Antonio) ... closed pitchers duel with Sacred Heart (2 IP, 2 H, 2 Ks), as Irish dropped 3-0 game to national ERA leader Jay Monti (in Clearwater, Fla.) ... had similar stint later on Spring Break trip, in 11-4 win over Dayton (H, K; at Florida Gulf Coast) ... became first ND freshman since 2003 to start the home opener and responded with win over Cleveland State (5 IP, 2 R/1 ER, 6 H, 3 Ks, HB, BK; 5- 3) ... went on to win his second start, versus Chicago State (6 IP, 4 H, 5 Ks; 14-4) ... logged 2.0 shutout innings in 7-3 win over Oakland (3 H, 3 Ks) ... credited with save after closing final 4.0 innings of series finale with Georgetown (UER, 5 H, BB, 4 Ks; 11-2) ... helped secure 6-4 series-clinching win at Rutgers (0.2 IP, H, BB, 2 Ks) ... turned in 4.0 solid innings versus UConn (R, 4 H, WP, 3 Ks; 0-5) ... had rough relief outing in BIG EAST Tournament loss to Rutgers (1.1 IP, 4 R, 8 H, BB; 2-13).

WITH ND FOOTBALL: Served as the Irish starting punter in four games ... registered 21 punts for 884 yards ... averaged 42.1 yards per punt ... booted a career-long 53-yarder against Air Force ... dropped nine (nearly half) of his punts inside the opponents' 20-yard line.

PREP & PERSONAL: Football and baseball standout at Blessed Trinity High School ... fouryear baseball letterwinner, as pitcher and centerfielder ... named Georgia Dugout Club 2006 player of the year, after leading team to state title in senior season that saw him set team records for wins (12), Ks (83), innings (85) and ERA (1.35) ... had strong 2006 offensive season, with his 56 hits setting a BTHS record while his batting avg. (.496) was second-best in program history and his 46 runs were third (also had 13 doubles) ... team MVP and all-state as a junior and senior ... first team all-state centerfielder in '06, also received Golden Glove Award ... all-conference and all-city each of final three seasons ... earlier set BTHS record for wins in season (9) as a junior, earning first team all-county honors for '05 regional runner-up team that reached state final-16 ... tossed shutout in first game of 2005 state tournament ... played for elite East Cobb Braves summer team that won 2005 NABF World Series ... named BTHS pitcher of the year in 2004, also second team allcounty while leading team to regional title and state round-of-16 (he won regional title game) ... had impressive outing on 2004 spring break trip to Puerto Rico, when Blessed Trinity played Puerto Rico Baseball Academy High School team featuring 11 MLB draft picks (he allowed only 4 hits in 3- 1, game-1 loss) ... member of dominant East Cobb Astros that won AAU Junior Olympics, CABA national title and Triple Crown national title (all in summer of '04) ... first set BTHS record for season ERA (2.14) as a freshman in '03, when he won regional title game ... four-year football monogram winner, primarily as a QB and safety (he began punting in final season) ... set team records for career passing yards (1,743) and passing TDs (11), season punting avg. (39.8) and longest punt (68) ... totaled 1,145 career rushing yards (15 TDs) ... two-time football MVP who captained '05 team to conference and regional titles ... all-conference, first team all-area and honorable mention all-state in senior season, when he completed 37 passes for 555 yards (5 TDs) ... completed 33 passes as a junior (425 yards, 3 TDs) and sophomore (561 yards, 3 TDs) ... lettered final three years as shooting guard/forward on basketball team ... graduated with 91 grade avg. ... served as student ambassador ... received Hugh O'Brien Leadership Award ... member of National Honor Society ... father Fred Maust wrestled at Central Florida ... born Jan. 19, 1988, in Atlanta ... son of Fred and Deanna Maust ... full name is Eric Tindal Maust ... enrolled in the Mendoza College of Business.