Projectable lefthander with great arm strength and mound presence ... a key to his improvement in 2006 will be greater command of the stroke zone with all his pitches ... joins senior Tom Thornton, junior Mike Dury, classmate Wade Korpi and freshman Sam Elam in giving the Irish staff lefthanded pitchers in each class ... attracted pro scouts while playing at lower-division high school ... has made key strides in mechanics while improving his off-speed pitches... burst onto scene in fall of '03, with boost in velocity ... throws a quality slider and changeup, with good movement ... has a powerful leg drive and competitive maturity ... a tough matchup due to his low arm-slot ... pitched for the Blue team in the 2004 fall instrasquad game (2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, BB, 3 Ks, HB) but did not pitch in the 2005 fall intrasquad series due to a minor injury ... played alongside classmate Ross Brezovsky on the Hays (Kan.) Larks of the Jayhawk League, during the summer of 2005 ... started nine of his 11 outings with the Larks (one complete game), compiling a 3.63 ERA and 5-2 record while totaling 59 strikeouts, 23 walks and 44 hits allowed in 52.0 innings ... other recent Notre Dame players to play for the Larks include current seniors Craig Cooper and Cody Rizzo (in '03) ... his teammates on the '05 Hays team included two players - Bowling Green's Eric Lawson and Tyler Wasserman - from teams regularly on the Notre Dame schedule ... one of six Washington natives to play for Notre Dame in the Paul Mainieri era ... previous Notre Dame baseball players to wear 29 include RHP Chuck Symeon (who tossed a shutout vs. Texas at the 1957 College World Series).

AS A FRESHMAN: Finished rookie season with a 5.95 ERA, 0-1 record and a save in 14 appearances (one start) ... totaled nine strikeouts, 10 walks and 29 hits allowed (.329 opponent batting average) in 19.2 innings pitched ... did not allow an inherited runner to score (0-of-8) ... logged four effective relief innings to qualify for the save versus Florida A&M, at Central Florida, in his college debut (4 IP, 5 H, 2 R/ER, BB, 3 Ks, BK; 18-3) ... tossed 2.0 shutout innings in 10-2 win over Dayton, played at the Chicago Cubs spring training site (HoHoKam Park) in Mesa, Ariz. (H, BB, 2 Ks) ... had a 10.64 ERA after his fist six outings but did not allow a run in his final eight appearances (8.2 IP, 6 H, 6 BB, 3 Ks) for the final ERA of 5.95 ... started in 5-0 shutout of Manchester, as part of a planned rotation (3 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 2 Ks).

PREP & PERSONAL: First varsity athlete from Life Christian Academy to sign with Div. I school ... all-state as senior (1.90 ERA, 4-1, 65 Ks, 30 IP, 5 BB) ... 1.96 ERA as junior (42 Ks, 5 BB, 25 IP) ... rated among nation's top 300 prospects, 9th in Washington (per Perfect Game/Baseball America) ... three times all-conference ... two-year captain, `02 and `04 MVP ... strong '03 summer with Riptide club (1.75, 66 Ks, 24 BB, 71 H, 68 IP) ... topped out at 91 mph at Arizona Fall Classic (fall '02) ... pitched at '02 Jr. Olympics (Tucson), '03 Area Code Games (Long Beach), '03 Silver Glove Showcase (Houston) ... rated No. 5 pitcher at '03 Stanford All-Star Camp ... 11th in Baseball Northwest rankings for top '04 prospects ... played in Pacific Northwest Championships (Washington Metros) ... member of Baseball Northwest team, with impressive fall `03 outing vs. Tacoma JC (4-plus IP, 8 Ks, 0 R) ... lettered in football as freshman and sophomore ... (QB/TE) ... his brothers went to Tacoma Baptist ... graduated with 3.87 GPA ... sophomore class president ... campus visit on '03 ND-Florida State football weekend (player hosts were Cody Rizzo, Mike Dury) ... brother Chris played football at Azusa Pacific, cousin Andy Holden at Pacific Lutheran ... born Sept. 21, 1985, in Tacoma, Wash. ... son of Roger and Shirleen Gruener ... full name is David Scott Gruener ... enrolled in the Mendoza College of Business.

Gruener's Career Stats

Year	G/GS/CG	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	WP	HB	BK	AVG	HR	W-L	SV	ERA
2005	14/1/0	19.2	29	17	13	10	9	1	0	1	.349	0	0-1	1	5.95