Why a productive Spencer Myers ‘changes the whole thing’ for Notre Dame baseball
When center fielder Spencer Myers elected to return to Notre Dame for a fifth year of college baseball, this probably was not what he had in mind.
The Florida native entered the 2022 baseball season with 135 career starts for the Irish, including starting in 47 of the 47 games in which he played last season. He had just had a senior year when he batted .295 with 41 runs, 11 doubles, a home run and 15 RBIs. Myers led the team in stolen bases with 15 and was tied for the team lead with 57 hits.
In other words, he was a surefire presence in the middle of the outfield, and it was going to be hard to have anyone grab his spot. But the near-impossible happened.
On Feb. 26 against Monmouth, sophomore TJ Williams got the start for Myers. When the Irish played Minnesota on March 6, Williams was moved to the top of the lineup. Into Myers’ spot. The graduate student was in a massive slump, with a batting average hovering around .150.
“The matchup finally presented itself, and I wasn’t going to (put Williams in as the designated hitter),” Notre Dame head coach Link Jarrett recalled. “So I just said, ‘You know what, Spencer? It’s his time to have a shot at center field. Let’s go.’”
This is not to discredit what Williams has done. Jarrett has endless praise for the sophomore, particularly when it comes to defense. He earned his shot to be out there.
But they were certainly rough times for Myers.
“He’s a confident kid, but you can only watch the batting average go so low before you lose a little bit of the fire and confidence in what you’re doing,” Jarrett said.
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Williams did well in Myers’ place. He boasts a batting average of .279 on the year with 17 hits, a home run and eight RBIs. Then he was “banged up” last week — Jarrett did not share details — and Myers found his spot at the top of the lineup once again.
Like any seasoned athlete, he had been preparing for this moment.
“We worked on the swing, and there’s a lot of data on him,” Jarrett said. “We can dive back into last year’s video and try to tweak, compare and try to get him back where he’s a little more comfortable.”
It worked. Myers went 5-10 with three RBIs last weekend against Clemson. His batting average is back above .200, sitting at .225.
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If Myers continues to look like his old self, this becomes a whole new ballgame for Notre Dame. Literally.
“If we can get him back going like he did this weekend, it changes the whole thing,” Jarrett said on Sunday after sweeping Clemson.
Jarrett has repeatedly talked about having hitters No. 1 through 9 be productive, so the opposing pitching staff can’t come up for air. They can’t navigate the order. They’re stuck taking every batter seriously. Myers is part of that equation.
Not only is Myers a threat at the plate, his ability to steal bases is near-unrivaled in Irish history.
“You give the middle of the lineup more opportunities with runners on base, and it pressures the other team because they know in his career he’s stolen more than 50 bases,” Jarrett said.
That number is now 58, to be exact. He entered 2022 ranked seventh in Notre Dame history.
“He’s gaming,” Jarrett said. “It seems that the bigger the moment for him in his time with me, he raises the bar. It was good to see him (closer to) normal.”
Myers has been part of the heart of Notre Dame baseball for four years. If he can get pumping again, no team is safe.
