University of Louisville
SETON HALL *
Comeback Cards Pluck Pirates Friday, 7-3
May 19, 2006 | Baseball
May 19, 2006
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The University of Louisville baseball team plated five runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, sparked by a game-tying solo home run off the bat of Jorge Castillo and a tiebreaking two-run single by Daniel Burton, as they won their eighth straight, beating Seton Hall 7-3 Friday night at Jim Patterson Stadium.
With the Cardinal win and a 7-5 loss by St. John's Friday at Cincinnati, Louisville is sitting in third place in the BIG EAST with a 16-10 league record, half a game ahead of the Red Storm (15-10). With a U of L win Saturday against the Pirates or a St. John's loss, U of L will be the #3 seed in the BIG EAST Tournament beginning Tuesday in Clearwater, Florida. The Cards can finish no worse than the #4 seed in the eight team double-elimination tournament.
Louisville will look for the sweep of the Pirates Saturday at 1:00 p.m. in the final home game for seven Louisville seniors. Griffin Bailey, Kyle Carden, Nick Haley, Brian Halford, Jon Harbridge, student assistant Jason Huber and Michael Urti will be honored in a pregame ceremony.
In the Friday win, Haley singled up the middle on a 1-0 pitch leading off the bottom of the first for the Cards and scored on Logan Johnson's team-leading 17th double of the season for a 1-0 Cardinal lead.
In the second, Derrick Alfonso was hit by a pitch to open the frame, advanced on a bunt single by Burton and a sac bunt by Alec Lowrey before scoring on Haley's second sacrifice fly of the season making it 2-0 Cards.
Cardinal starter Trystan Magnuson was perfect through the first four innings before his counterpart on the hill, and cleanup batter for the Pirates, Dan McDonald singled to right to open the fifth.
Through seven innings Magnuson had allowed just two runners on base, as McDonald reached on a two-out error in the seventh, but the Pirates' (17-33, 7-19) Robbie Hine lead off the eighth with a bloop single to right, setting up a two-run home run by Casey Hines that knotted the game at two.
Two outs later a double by Seton Hall's Dan Lopez chased Magnuson from the game. David Torcise entered and gave up an RBI double to Matt Smedberg that put the Pirates on top 3-2 before the inning ended.
With one away in the Cardinal eighth Castillo smacked a 1-0 pitch over the fence in right to tie the game at three, his third of the season. The momentum carried into a walk to Isaiah Howes, who stole second. Pete Rodriguez reached on a fielding error that put runners at the corners and Alfonso drew a walk that loaded the bases and set the stage for Burton.
With the count 1-1 the junior center fielder lined the pitch off the top of Hine's glove at short and into left field, scoring Howes and Rodriguez for a 5-3 Cardinal lead.
Louisville continued the rally with two more runs on a hit and run RBI single by Lowrey and a squeeze bunt that Haley turned into a base hit for the 7-3 edge.
Torcise (3-4) tossed a 1-2-3 ninth to seal it for the Cards, as he picked up his second win of the weekend and third in as many outings, giving up two hits in 2.2 innings of work.
Magnuson finished the night allowing three runs on four hits to go with three strikeouts in a career-long 7.2 innings.
Pirate starter Dan McDonald (1-10) took the loss, as he surrendered six earned runs on eight hits and five walks in 7.1 frames. He struck out three. Mike Young allowed two hits and Scott Fischer fanned one as each worked a third of an inning.
The win for the Cards is the second consecutive win in their final at bat and fifth of the season in such a fashion.
Burton lead the offensive attack with three hits, driving in two. Haley drove in two runs for the Cards as he and Johnson both had two hit games.
Haley moved into sole possession of seventh place on the U of L career hit list with 236. He is tied for fifth in games played (203), fifth in at bats (757), ninth in runs scored (159) and fourth in walks (133).
Magnuson is now third in career ERA with a 3.76 mark and Johnson was plunked once, extending his single season (21) and career records (38).
As always, admission to the game Saturday is free.
