University of Louisville
GEORGETOWN
Baseball Escapes with 3-2 Series-Opening Win Over Hoyas
April 29, 2011 | Baseball
April 29, 2011
Box Score | Notes | Photo Gallery 
McDonnell Discusses Friday's Series-Opening Win
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville baseball team rallied with a pair of eighth inning runs to escape with a 3-2 series-opening victory over visiting Georgetown on Friday night at Jim Patterson Stadium.
With the win, the Cardinals improved to 23-18 overall and 9-7 in BIG EAST action, while the Hoyas dropped to 20-24 on the season and 2-14 in league games with the loss. The two teams will continue the series on Saturday at 1 p.m., ET, while Sunday's series finale is set for 1 p.m.
Facing a one-run deficit in the bottom of the eighth, the Cardinals tied the score at 2-2 as sophomore outfielder Kyle Grieshaber (Chesterfield, Mo./Marquette HS) scored from second on a one-out RBI single up the middle by junior outfielder Stewart Ijames (Owensboro, Ky./Owensboro Catholic HS) off Georgetown reliever Pablo Vinent. Moments later, Louisville regained the lead for good as junior second baseman Ryan Wright (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead HS) scored from third on a perfectly executed RBI sacrifice bunt down the third base line by senior J.J. Ethel (Phoenix, Ariz./Mountain Pointe HS). The inning started with a leadoff walk to Grieshaber, who moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by freshman catcher Kyle Gibson (Henderson, Ky./Henderson County HS) before an intentional walk to Wright set the stage for Ijames.
After moving back into the lead in the eighth, the Cardinals turned to junior right-handed closer Tony Zych (Monee, Ill./St. Rita HS), who pitched a scoreless ninth inning and hit 98 on the radar gun to earn his BIG EAST leading 11th save of the season. Freshman lefty Cody Ege (Cherokee, Iowa/Washington HS) earned the win and improved to 2-0 on the season after retiring the one batter he faced to close the eighth inning. Ege replaced starter Derek Self (Cave City, Ky./Caverna HS), who allowed only one earned run on five hits with four strikeouts in a career-best 7.2 innings of work and finished with his second straight no-decision.
At the plate, Wright led the Cardinals going 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored. For the Hoyas, centerfielder Justin Leeson was 2-for-4 with two RBI, while Vinent took the loss and dropped to 4-2 on the season after allowing two runs on one hit in 1.1 innings of relief. He followed starter Thomas Polus, who allowed only one run on five hits in 6.2 innings.
Louisville opened the scoring in the first inning of Friday's game when Gibson, who reached base with a one-out double down the right field line, scored on an RBI double to right center by Wright for the 1-0 advantage against Polus.
The Hoyas answered back to even the score at 1-1 in the third inning as second baseman Andy Lentz scored from third on an RBI single up the middle by Leeson. And after four scoreless innings, Georgetown gained its first lead of the night with an unearned run in the eighth against Self as Lentz scored from third on a two-out, RBI infield single by Leeson. That was followed by the Cardinals' decisive two runs in the bottom of the eighth.
With its 11th come-from-behind of the season on Friday, Louisville holds a 10-3 advantage in the all-time series with Georgetown. The Cardinals improved to 17-4 when scoring first and 22-1 when leading entering the ninth inning. Friday's game also marked the 31st time this season Louisville's starting pitchers have allowed two earned runs or fewer in a game.
After Friday's action around the BIG EAST, the Cardinals (9-7) are tied for fifth with USF (9-7), one game behind fourth-place West Virginia (10-6) and 1 1/2 games behind third-place St. John's (10-5).
