University of Louisville
NOTRE DAME
Baseball Drops Series Finale to Notre Dame
May 21, 2011 | Baseball
May 21, 2011
Box Score | Notes | Photo Gallery 
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville baseball team had its four-game winning streak halted with a 2-1 setback to visiting Notre Dame in the regular-season finale for both teams on a warm and sunny Saturday afternoon at Jim Patterson Stadium.
With the loss, the Cardinals dropped to 29-27 overall and finished 14-13 in BIG EAST games, while the Fighting Irish improved to 22-27-1 on the season and ended with a 13-13 league record.
After finishing in a four-way tie for fourth place in the conference standings, Louisville will be the No. 6 seed in next week's BIG EAST Championship and will open the tournament against No. 3 seed Pittsburgh on Wednesday at 10 a.m., ET at Bright House Field in Clearwater, Fla. The Cardinals and Panthers did not play during the 2011 regular season and have never met in the BIG EAST Championship.
Louisville has won two of the last three BIG EAST Championship titles and is 15-6 all-time in the tournament. All of the Cardinals' 2011 post-season games will be aired live on KOOL 1570 AM in Louisville and Southern Indiana, while streaming audio will be available through CardsTV at www.UofLSports.com. Other first round matchups in next week's BIG EAST Championship include No. 2 seed St. John's against No. 7 Cincinnati (1 p.m., ET), No. 4 West Virginia vs. No. 5 Seton Hall (5 p.m.) and No. 1 Connecticut against No. 8 Notre Dame.
Playing in front of a national television audience on CBS Sports Network (formerly CBS College Sports) for the second straight day, Louisville lost Saturday's game despite out-hitting Notre Dame 10-5. Junior second baseman Ryan Wright (Fort Wayne, Ind./Homestead HS) was 3-for-3 with an RBI in the loss, while freshman designated hitter Jeff Gardner (Louisville, Ky./Whitefield Academy) was 3-for-4 with a run scored. In the three-game series against the Fighting Irish, Wright hit .818 (9-for-11) with two home runs, five RBI, five runs and a slugging percentage of 1.455, while Gardner hit .667 (8-for-12) with a home run, three RBI, six runs and a slugging percentage of 1.333.
On the mound, junior right-hander Travis Tingle (Louisville, Ky./Butler HS) was saddled with the loss and dropped to 2-1 on the season despite allowing just two runs on five hits with two strikeouts and three walks in 6.1 innings. For Notre Dame, reliever Dan Slania earned the win and improved to 2-3 on the season after scattering three hits in 3.1 innings of shutout relief. He followed senior righty starter Todd Miller, who allowed one run on seven hits with three strikeouts in 4.1 innings of work.
Following a scoreless first inning, Notre Dame gained a 1-0 lead in the second as outfielder Herman Petzold led off with a single to left, moved to second on sacrifice bunt by designated hitter Adam Norton and scored on an RBI single to right by shortstop Mick Doyle.
An inning later, the lead increased to 2-0 for the Fighting Irish as first baseman Trey Mancini doubled to right center with one out, moved to third on a groundball off the bat of Petzold and scored on an RBI sacrifice fly to left field by Norton.
The Cardinals cut the deficit in half at 2-1 in the bottom of the third inning as Gardner reached base with a one-out double to right center and scored moments later on an RBI single to left field by Wright. However, Louisville would get no closer as Miller and Slania kept the lead intact before righty Sean Fitzgerald recorded the final four outs to earn his fifth save of the season.
Louisville had its six-game winning streak against Notre Dame halted on Saturday, but the Cardinals still hold a 13-8 lead in the all-time series with the Fighting Irish. U of L dropped to 3-7 this season in one-run games and fell to 18-3 when allowing two runs or less.
Prior to Saturday's game, the Louisville baseball program honored its 2011 senior class, which included manager Josh Sutherland, infielder Mark Grieshaber, left-handed pitcher Joe Stilphen, catcher J.J. Ethel, right-handed pitcher Gabriel Shaw, outfielder Stewart Ijames and outfielder Drew Haynes.
