University of Louisville
Seton Hall
Baseball Drops 18-Inning Heartbreaker at Seton Hall
May 06, 2011 | Baseball
May 6, 2011
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. - A little more than two years after their 17-inning marathon, the Louisville and Seton Hall baseball teams went one step further on Thursday night at Owen T. Carroll Field as the host Pirates claimed a 1-0, 18-inning triumph over the Cardinals in the longest game ever for both programs.
With the loss, U of L dropped to 25-21 overall and 11-8 in BIG EAST games, while SHU improved to 22-21 on the season and 8-11 in the league. Louisville and Seton Hall will continue the series on Friday at 4 p.m., ET, while Saturday's series finale is set for an 11 a.m., first pitch.
With the teams deadlocked in a scoreless tie, the Pirates broke through for an unearned run in the bottom of the 18th as pinch runner Michael Betz scored from third on game-winning RBI walk-off single by second baseman Mike Genovese. The inning started with a leadoff single by first baseman Sean Gusrang, who was then replaced by Betz. Moments later, Betz went from first to third after Cardinals' first baseman Zak Wasserman (Stevensville, Mich./Lakeshore HS) committed a throwing error after fielding a bunt by SHU third baseman Giuseppe Papaccio. In an attempt to get the out at second base, Wasserman's throw deflected off of Betz and went into centerfield putting runners at second and third with no outs.
Freshman right-hander Jeff Thompson (Greenville, Ind./Floyd Central HS), who entered the game for the Cardinals prior to the 17th inning, followed the error with a strikeout of Will Walsh for the first out of the inning before Genovese connected for the game-winning hit to centerfield.
Thompson took the loss for the Cardinals and dropped to 1-1 on the season after allowing only one unearned run on two hits with four strikeouts in 2.1 innings of relief. Thompson followed freshman righty Chad Green (Effingham, Ill./Effingham HS), who pitched a career-best 5.2 innings of shutout baseball with five strikeouts. Making his third start of the season, junior right-hander Derek Self (Cave City, Ky./Caverna HS) was outstanding pitching a career-long 9.1 innings of shutout baseball to finish with his third straight no-decision.
For Seton Hall, right-hander Ryan Harvey earned the win and moved to 4-2 on the season after 5.0 innings of one-hit, shutout baseball with 10 strikeouts. Pirates' starter Joe DiRocco was equally as good allowing only one hit, a bunt single by Louisville freshman outfielder Adam Engel (Loveland, Ohio/Loveland HS), with six strikeouts in 9.0 innings pitched to finish with a no-decision.
Thursday's game came two years and 37 days after Louisville earned an 8-6 win in 17 innings over Seton Hall at the same ballpark on March 28, 2009. It marked the third straight year the Cardinals have played a game of at least 17 innings with all three coming on the road. After the 2009 win over the Pirates in 17 innings, Louisville lost 11-10 in 17 innings at Vanderbilt in 2010.
With its offense struggling, Louisville's pitching staff kept it in the game. The Cardinals have not allowed an earned run in the last 28 innings going back to Tuesday's game against Eastern Michigan. Louisville has allowed only one earned run in its last 42 innings pitched overall dating back to Sunday's win over Georgetown.
Unfortunately, the Cardinals are 0-3 this week despite allowing only one earned run in 36 innings played. The issues for the Louisville in those three losses have been defense (five errors and 10 unearned runs allowed) and offense (only five runs scored in 36 innings). U of L was out-hit 14-4 on Thursday with only two Cardinals accounting for hits in the loss. Engel finished 3-for-7 with two bunt singles and an infield single, while freshman catcher Kyle Gibson (Henderson, Ky./Henderson County HS) was 1-for-6 with a single to centerfield.
Louisville Notes
- With Thursday's loss, Louisville holds a 10-4 advantage in the all-time series with Seton Hall. The Pirates have won two straight in the series and three of the last four in South Orange.
- The Cardinals have lost six straight overall on the road with their last win away from home coming on April 9 at Cincinnati.
- Thursday's game ended just moments before being halted due to an 11 p.m., ET light curfew in the Village of South Orange. Had the 18th inning been completed without a run scoring, the game likely would have been suspended for the evening and then resumed on Friday afternoon prior to starting Friday's regularly scheduled game.
- Junior infielder Ryan Wright was 0-for-6 in Thursday's game, which ended his season-high 10-game hitting streak.
- The Cardinals dropped to 1-1 in extra-inning games this season with Thursday's loss. Louisville earned a 3-2 win in 11 innings over Kent State on March 4 in its only other extra-inning game this season.
