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March 30, 2010

Box Score

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Andrew Clark's two-run homer off Indiana ace lefty Drew Leininger with two outs in the ninth inning lifted the No. 7 Louisville baseball team to a 5-4 comeback road win over the Hoosiers on Tuesday afternoon at Sembower Field.

With Indiana leading 4-3 and Leininger just one out away from clinching the win in his third inning of relief, Clark (New Palestine, Ind./New Palestine HS) sent a 1-1 pitch just above the outstretched glove of right fielder Michael Earley and over the wall in right center to give the Cardinals (21-3) the lead for good and atone for an earlier error that nearly cost them the game. The home run, the third of the season for Clark, also scored freshman Kyle Grieshaber (Chesterfield, Mo./Marquette HS), who reached base with a one-out infield single earlier in the inning.

With the Cardinals holding that slim 5-4 lead, junior righty Neil Holland (Owensboro, Ky./Owensboro Catholic HS), who entered the game in the eighth inning, worked a perfect 1-2-3 ninth to earn the win and improve to 4-0 on the season. Holland came into the game with one out and runners on first and second in the eighth inning. After pinch hitter Sterling Mack popped up to shortstop Adam Duvall (Louisville, Ky./Butler HS) for the second out of the inning, Josh Lyon reached base on a fielding error by Clark, which allowed Jerrud Sabourin to score from second base and give the Hoosiers (12-11) the 4-3 lead entering the ninth inning.

Overall, Clark finished 2-for-5 at the plate with three RBI and a run scored, while his ninth inning home run ended a dominant stretch of 28.2 consecutive scoreless innings for Leininger, the Hoosiers' Friday night starter who entered the game with an ERA of just 0.79. Grieshaber was 3-for-5 with two runs scored, while sophomore Ryan Wright (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead HS) added his fifth home run of the season for the Cardinals.

On the mound, Holland had two strikeouts and did not allow a hit in his 1.2 innings of relief to earn the win. He was one of seven Louisville pitchers to throw in Tuesday's game, a designated staff day by Cardinals' head coach Dan McDonnell and pitching coach Roger Williams. Redshirt freshman Justin Amlung (Louisville, Ky./St. Xavier HS) allowed two earned runs on three hits with a strikeout in his third career start, while junior lefty Brian Feekin (Papillion, Neb./Papillion-La Vista HS) allowed only one unearned run on one hit with a strikeout in 1.1 innings of relief in his first career appearance. They were followed by scoreless outings from senior Matt Lea (Collierville, Tenn./Collierville HS), sophomore Derek Self (Cave City, Ky./Caverna HS) and junior Gabriel Shaw (Paducah, Ky./St. Mary's HS), while junior lefty Bob Revesz (Grove City, Pa./Grove City HS) allowed two hits and was responsible for the unearned run in the eighth inning on the fielding error.

For the Hoosiers, Sabourin finished 2-for-3 with two RBI and a run scored, while Alex Dickerson added two hits and Brian Lambert scored twice. Leininger allowed two runs on two hits with two strikeouts in 3.0 innings of relief to take the loss and fall to 3-1 on the season.

The Cardinals opened the scoring in Tuesday's game with two runs on three hits in the first inning off Indiana starter Matt Igel. Grieshaber started the inning with a double to right center, moved to third on a bunt single by Duvall and then scored on an RBI single to left field by Clark for a 1-0 advantage. After advancing to second on the single by Clark and moving to third on a groundout by Wright, Duvall scored on a fielding error by Sabourin at first base for a 2-0 Louisville lead.

Indiana came back in the bottom of the first with two runs on three hits and one Cardinal error. After leading off with a single through the right side, third baseman Micah Johnson scored on an RBI double to left by Lambert for the first run of the inning. After advancing to third on a throwing error by Duvall on the relay following his double, Lambert scored on an RBI sacrifice fly to center by Sabourin to even the score at 2-2.

The Cardinals regained the lead at 3-2 for a moment in the third inning as Wright hammered his solo home run over the wall in left center, however, the Hoosiers tied the score at 3-3 in the bottom of the third as Lambert earned a leadoff walk, moved to third on a throwing error by Feekin on a pickoff attempt at first and scored on an RBI single through the right side by Sabourin. The score remained that way until the fireworks in the eighth and ninth innings.

Up next, Louisville will return to BIG EAST Conference action with a three-game home series against Villanova on Thursday (6 p.m. ET), Friday (6 p.m. ET) and Saturday (1 p.m. ET) at Jim Patterson Stadium. Admission is free for the entire series.

Louisville Notes
- With Tuesday's win, Louisville has won seven straight overall against the Hoosiers and clinched a regular-season sweep in 2010. The Cardinals earned a 9-7 win over IU on March 3 at Jim Patterson Stadium in Louisville.

- The Cardinals improved to 5-0 against Big Ten foes in 2010 with Tuesday's win and are 18-2 in head coach Dan McDonnell's four seasons. Along with the two wins over IU, Louisville also earned wins against Michigan (2-0), Michigan State (17-6) and Minnesota (5-4) at the Big Ten/BIG EAST Challenge on Feb. 26-28 in Florida. The Cardinals have two games remaining against Big Ten competition - at Ohio State on May 4-5.

- With its 13th comeback win of the season on Tuesday, Louisville improved to 6-0 in mid-week games and 6-0 in one-run games this season.

- With his 1.2 innings of scoreless relief on Tuesday, junior righty Neil Holland lowered his 2010 ERA to 0.36 overall. Along with his six saves and 4-0 record, Holland has allowed only one earned run on five hits with 30 strikeouts in 25.0 innings of relief this season.