University of Louisville
VILLANOVA*
Cardinals Crush Wildcats 12-1
April 19, 2008 | Baseball
April 19, 2008
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The University of Louisville offense continued its hot streak, pounding out 16 hits in support of sophomore Justin Marks brilliant eight innings, to lift the Cardinals to a 12-1 win over Villanova.
Louisville (22-14, 7-6 BIG EAST) has won seven of eight, including four straight, and has hit double figures in the hit column for the ninth time in ten games.
Marks, who improved to 4-1 on the season, equalled a career-best with eight innings, striking out a career high nine, allowing a run on four hits and two walks.
After a scoreless first, the Cards sent nine to the plate in the second inning, with the first five scoring runs.
Jeff Arnold and Stewart Ijames hit consecutive singles and Phil Wunderlich squared to move the runners over with a sac bunt and was hit by a pitch to load the bases.
Drew Haynes and John Dao each singled home runs, Josh Richmond hit a sacrifice fly and Justin McClanahan hit an RBI groundout before Chris Dominguez's RBI single closed the inning with a 5-0 lead.
Ijames drilled a 1-1 pitch over the fence in right center for his second home run of the season, a solo shot with one out in the third, making it 6-0.
With two out in the fourth,, McClanahan doubled and scored on an RBI single by Dominguez, who was in turn brought home on an RBI double by Andrew Clark for an 8-0 lead.
After a one-out single by VU (17-20, 4-10 BIG EAST) shortstop Derrick Shunk in the first, Marks retired the next 13 in order, including a 1-2-3 second, third and fourth.
Shunk homered to left center with two away in the Wildcat sixth for their only run of the game.
Clark wrapped his second double of the afternoon opening the seventh, Arnold singled and Nate Holland drew a pinch-hit walk to load the bases for Wunderlich, who smoked a two-run ground-rule double down the left field line. Haynes then hit a sac fly to left, making it 11-1.
Marks responded by retiring the side in order in the seventh and facing the minimum in the eighth when a one-out walk was erased by Arnold, nailing Joe Cotter at second trying to steal.
A leadoff walk to McClanahan turned into the final run of the game when Dominguez singled and Tyler Mickits rolled an RBI groundout to second.
Matt Lea gave up a leadoff single in the ninth and then struck out the side to end the game.
Bill Hoffman (3-1) took the loss as the VU starter, giving up eight runs on 11 hits and a walk in four innings, striking out two.
Dominguez was 3 for 5 with two RBI and a run scored to lead the 16-hit attack, extending hit streak to a career-best 11 games. Clark, who was 2 for 4 with two doubles, has now hit safely in 10 straight.
McClanahan, Ijames, Arnold and Wunderlich also had multi-hit efforts.
