University of Louisville
BUTLER
Baseball Wins Ninth Straight, 8-1 Over Butler
May 07, 2008 | Baseball
May 7, 2008
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Five University of Louisville pitchers combined on a five hitter and for the second consecutive game the offense scored the final eight runs of the contest, as the Cards won their ninth straight, dropping Butler 8-1 Wednesday.
The Bulldogs(10-29) struck first, taking a 1-0 lead in the first on an RBI single by Kyle Schultz.
Louisville (33-16) evened the game in the bottom of the second. Tyler Mickits hit a one out single, Kyle Cheesebrough walked and both moved up a station on a sac bunt by Drew Haynes. That lead to a ground ball off the bat of John Dao that resulted in a fielding error and the first run of the game for the Cardinals.
In the UofL half of the third Stewart Ijames smoked a two-out double to center and scored on an RBI single off the bat of Josh Richmond that proved to be the winning run.
Mickits then walked and a passed ball and a wild pitch plated Richmond for a 3-1 lead.
Dao blistered his second home run of the season out to left center on a 3-2 offering to open the fourth. He then singled to lead off the sixth, stole second and moved to third on a throwing error, before a fourth Bulldog wild pitch made it 5-1 Cards.
Louisville starter Matt Lea (4-0) tossed five innings, allowing the first inning run on four hits and a walk, striking out four to earn his fourth win of the season. The walk was the first issued by a Cardinal pitcher since the 8th inning of last Wednesday's win over WKU, a stretch of 38.2 IP without a free pass.
Neil Holland allowed a hit and a walk in a scoreless sixth, striking out one. Jon Clarence fanned two and walked one in a hitless seventh, and James Belanger and B.J. Rosenberg each retired the side in order, striking out two apiece, working the eighth and ninth respectively.
The Cardinal offense closed the scoring in the eighth. Haynes doubled down the left field line and moved to third on a sac bunt by Dao that was mishandled by the Bulldog catcher, putting runners at the corners with nobody out. After Justin McClanahan was hit by a pitch to load the bases, consecutive wild pitches plated Haynes and Dao, and Chris Dominguez drilled a sacrifice fly to center that scored McClanahan.
Butler rolled eight pitchers onto the hill on a staff day, each logging an inning of work. The third hurler, Jamie Feldheiser (2-3) took the loss, allowing two runs, one of which was earned on two hits and a walk.
Dao was 2 for 4 with an RBI, three runs and three stolen bases, and is batting .463 with 11 runs, 10 RBI and nine steals in 10 attempts during the nine-game win streak, the longest of Dan McDonnell's brief tenure as a head coach. Mickits and Ijames each had two hits for the Cards.
Cardinal pitchers have limited opponents to a .221 average, have posted a 2.89 ERA and struck out 91 in 81.0 IP, walking just 13 during the win streak.
Louisville, currently in a tie for fourth place with Seton Hall in the BIG EAST standings at 13-8, will travel to Morgantown, West Virginia where they will face the Mountaineers (11-10) in a three-game set, beginning with a doubleheader Saturday.
The Cards will wrap up the regular season with four home games next week at Jim Patterson Stadium. Admission is free.
