April 2, 2006
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Jeremy Barnes drove home Greg Lopez and Craig Cooper with a one-out single in the bottom of the 9th, as Notre Dame won a back-and-forth game with Pittsburgh to sweep the weekend’s BIG EAST baseball series in soggy Sunday-afternoon action at Eck Stadium.
Notre Dame (17-8, 5-1 BIG EAST) – now riding a 15-3 stretch, after a challenging first two weeks of the season – pushed its winning streak to seven games while moving into a tie for second in the conference standings, behind unbeaten St. John’s (6-0). The Red Storm will visit Eck Stadium in two weeks, for a three-game series versus the Irish during the Easter holiday.
The teams combined to score in each of the game’s final five half-innings, starting with an Irish run in the 7th that yielded a 5-3 lead. Pittsburgh (11-15, 2-7) then tied the game in the 8th and the hosts matched that output in the bottom of the inning – but the Panthers surged ahead by scoring three times in the 9th (8-7), setting up the game-winning scenario for Barnes moments later.
Cooper’s strong day from the leadoff spot included batting 3-for-5 with a walk, a home run, a double and three runs scored – pushing his career batting average versus Pittsburgh to .462 (18-for-39), with 10 RBI, 12 runs scored, 4 home runs, a pair of doubles, 5 walks and a stolen base in those 10 games against the Panthers.
Notre Dame’s top three hitters in the batting order combined to go 8-for-15 and scored seven of the nine runs (3 RBI, 3 BB), with junior rightfielder Danny Dressman batting 2-for-5 (2 R, BB) while Barnes was 3-for-5 as the DH batting in the 3-hole (2 RBI, 2 R, BB).
Senior shortstop Greg Lopez started the winning rally versus lefthanded reliever Mike Bassage, working to a full count before driving the ball through the right side of the infield. All-America second baseman Jim Negrych made a diving stop to his right and was able to squeeze off a throw, but Lopez was safe after diving headfirst into the first-base bag. Alex Nettey advanced the runner with one of Notre Dame’s four sacrifice bunts in the game, bringing righthanded sidearmer Justin Cicatello out of the bullpen to face Cooper.
Cicatello issued a full-count walk to the hot-hitting Cooper – setting up the double play but also putting the winning run on base – and Dressman walked on five pitches to load the bases. Barnes took the next pitch for a strike but then ended the game by lining the two-run single into shallow left-center for the 9-8 final.
Senior lefthander Tom Thornton had struggled in two previous starts versus the Panthers, including the 2005 opener at Pittsburgh in which he allowed six runs in just 1.1 innings of work. A similar scenario nearly unfolded on Sunday – as Morgan Kielty hit a bases-clearing double for an 3-0 lead in the 1st – but Thornton then settled down and faced the minimum number of batters (15) from the 2nd-6th innings. The Panthers ultimately rallied to tie the game in the 8th, with Thornton’s totals including five runs allowed on seven hits and no walks, with seven strikeouts in his 7.2 innings.
Pittsburgh’s game-tying sequence in the 8th included singles by David Cline and Sean Conley, a hit batter (one of five surrendered by the ND pitchers in the game) and a pair of sacrifice flies. Sophomore righthander Joey Williamson then came on to strike out Brian Muldowney with the go-ahead run on first base.
The momentum shifted Notre Dame’s way moments later, as shortstop Jimmy Mayer misplayed a groundball off the bat of Dressman, Barnes pulled a full-count single through the left side and Matt Bransfield’s bunt put two runners in scoring position. Sophomore second baseman Ross Brezovsky sent the next pitch into left field for an opposite-field single (scoring Dressman) and the junior catcher Sean Gaston executed the suicide squeeze, with Barnes racing home on the bunt for the inning’s second unearned run and the 7-5 lead.
The visitors came right back to score three times on two hit batters, a sac. bunt, two hits, a stolen bases and a walk. Cline’s RBI single scored the first run and junior lefthander Mike Dury then took the mound, inducing a groundout for the second out.
Mayer – who hit 8-for-12 in the series, also reaching on a walk and HBP – was next at the plate, with dangerous lefthanded hitter Jim Negrych waiting on deck. The Irish stuck with Dury for the potential lefty-lefty matchup versus Negrych, but Mayer dropped a 2-2 pitch into shallow left-center as the Panthers claimed the lead. Negrych then reached on an intentional walk and junior righthander Jess Stewart (2-1) came on to force a flyout and keep the deficit at 8-7/
The early moments of the game saw Notre Dame nearly match Pittsburgh’s start, with the Irish scoring in the 1st inning for the 13th time this season. Cooper started versus sophomore righthander Kyle Landis (6 IP, 5 R/3 ER, 8 H, 6 BB, 3 Ks) by pulling a 1-1 pitch into the leftfield corner for a double. It marked the 14th time in 16 starts as the leadoff batter that Cooper has reached base when opening the game for the Irish (4 doubles, 4 singles, 4 walks, HR, HBP).
Walks by Barnes and Brezovsky loaded the bases and Gaston pushed home a run on his 2-out walk, with Barnes then scoring on a passed ball for the 3-2 game.
Notre Dame surged ahead (4-3) in the 5th, with Cooper tying the game on a leadoff blast over the fence in left-center field (on a 1-0 pitch). Cooper’s second home run of the season and 19th of his career extended his season-long success as a scoring sparkplug, as he now is batting .539 (14-for-26, 2 HR, 4 2B) with a .631 on-base pct. (4 BB, HBP) when leading off any inning). Dressman added a bunt single, Matt Bransfield walked on four pitches and the lefthanded-hitting Brezovsky dropped a single down the leftfield line to produce the one-run lead.
The Irish added to their lead in the 7th, with a walk by Brezovsky, Gaston’s sac. bunt, Brett Lilley’s full-count walk and a muffed catch by Negrych that set up Nettey’s sac. fly (one of four unearned runs allowed by Pittsburgh in the game).
NOTES – ND hit .358 in the series (19 R, HR, 4 2B, 13 BB, 2 HBP, 9 Ks, 2 SF, 9 SAC, 7-8 SB, 3 Es/.974 fielding pct.), led by: Cooper (7-for-12/.583, 3 RBI, 4 R, 2B, HR, 2 BB, SB), Dressman (5-for-10, 4 R, 2B, 2 BB, 2 SAC), Brezovsky (3-for-6, 2 R, 2 BB, K, SB), Bransfield (4-for-9, 2 R, 2B, BB, K, SAC, SB), Barnes (6-for-14/.429, 2 R, 2B, 3 RBI, BB, K) and Lopez (5-for-12/.417, 2 R, 3 RBI, HBP, K, 2 SB) … the ND pitchers held Pitt to .237 batting in the series (23 H in 27 IP) and had 27 Ks versus just 6 walks (but 7 hit batters) … ND has won six straight vs. Pitt, after five consecutive losses to the Panthers … ND is 6-1 this season when hitting a home run and 0-3 when allowing a HR … the ND pitchers have not allowed a home run in the past 20 games and are allowing just 0.12 HRs per game (3 in 25), on pace to break the team record set in 1975 (0.16) … the Irish had 10-plus hits in each game of the series and are 12-2 this season when collecting double-digit hits … Cooper remains 3rd in BIG EAST history with a .425 career batting avg. in league play (77-for-181) … Cooper (.385) edged ahead of Dressman (.380) for the team batting lead, with Dressman still owning a team-best .500 on-base pct. … Barnes is riding an 8-game hitting streak and already has made seven starts as the No. 3 batter, the most 3-hole starts by an ND freshman since Matt Macri (8) in 2002 … Sunday’s pair of hits pushed ND’s 8th-inning batting avg. to .396 (29-10 scoring edge; also 25-8 in the 1st) … the Irish pitchers own a 2.87 season K-to-walk ratio (201/71) that would rank 2nd in the ND record book behind the 2001 staff (2.92) that was led by senior aces Aaron Heilman and Danny Tamayo … Thornton’s 10.3 season K-to-walk ratio (31/3) would rank 2nd in ND history behind Tom Price’s 12.14 in ’94 while his 0.65 BB per 9 IP also would trail only Price’s 0.49 … Thornton dropped his career BB/9 IP avg. to 1.85, good for 3rd in the ND record book behind Brandon Viloria (1.61) and Alan Walania (1.64) … Thornton passed Alex Shilliday (290) into 9th on the ND career innings pitched list (292) … he has yet to allow a run in the 4th-7th innings this season (spanning 20 IP).
Pittsburgh (11-15, 2-7 BIG EAST) 3-0-0 0-0-0 0-2-3 – 8 9 2
Notre Dame (17-8, 5-1 BIG EAST) 2-0-0 0-2-0 1-2-2 – 9 12 1
Kyle Landis, Mike Bassage (7), Justin Cicatello (9: L, 0-1) and Jeff Stevens, Morgan Kielty (9).
Tom Thornton, Joey Williamson, Mike Dury (9), Jess Stewart (9; W, 2-1) and Sean Gaston.
Home Run: Craig Cooper, ND (solo in 5th; 2nd of season, 19th of career).
Doubles: Cooper (ND), Morgan Kielty (Pitt), Jimmy Mayer (Pitt).