Last year, the Orioles drafted Notre Dame pitcher Pat Connaughton (@PlanetPat24) with the 121st overall selection. His deal with the O’s allowed Pat to return to play for the Irish in 2014-15 – to play basketball, that is.
He pitched for Aberdeen for a short while last season, at one point hitting 96 on the radar gun, before returning to school at the end of July. He pitched 14 innings, giving up 13 hits, 4 ER, and striking out 10.
(There is a video of Connaughton pitching here, which I can’t embed for some reason.)
However, though there were no cameras on him while he was hurling for the Ironbirds, Connaughton became a household name for NCAA March Madness watchers this weekend, with this huge game-saving block against Butler:
The block helped push the game to Overtime, where Notre Dame prevailed to move on to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2003.
That led to this scene, where Dan Duquette’s name popped up in an unexpected place (h/t @OsUncenscored)
I’m certainly not going to say “Go Irish,” but seeing Connaughton doing well is pretty cool, I have to admit.
Pat Connaughton, part-time defensive beast, full-time professional baseball flame thrower. pic.twitter.com/gu82ZbKxTQ
— Baseball Essential (@BB_Essential) March 22, 2015
— Ethan Felderstein (@efelderstein14) March 22, 2015
One Response
I heard Connaughton on the SVP & Rusillo deal yesterday and he came off very well. And GO IRISH!