Solak’s 11th Inning Home Run Lifts Cardinals in Walk-Off Win

Friday, March 11

LOUISVILLE, KY

3:00 PM

University of Louisville

11-2, 1-0

NOTRE DAME

6-6, 0-1

Notre Dame

Louisville

Nick Solak makes a defensive play during Friday's series-opening win over Notre Dame.

Solak’s 11th Inning Home Run Lifts Cardinals in Walk-Off Win

March 11, 2016 | Baseball

Box Score

Junior closed 3-for-6 day for Louisville’s first walk-off win since beating UK on April 28, 2015

By: Garett Wall

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Junior second baseman Nick Solak's two-run homer in the 11th inning lifted the fourth-ranked Louisville baseball team to a 4-3 walk-off win over Notre Dame in the first game of Friday's doubleheader at Jim Patterson Stadium.

With one out, junior outfielder Logan Taylor at first base and the Cardinals (11-2) trailing by a run, Solak crushed a 1-1 offering from lefty Scott Tully sending it over the wall in left center for Louisville's first walk-off win since April 28, 2015 when they walked off Kentucky 2-1. The homer also gave the Cardinals their first lead of the day after trailing 1-0 in the seventh, 2-1 in the 10th and 3-2 in the 11th. The game-winning homer followed a one-out single up the middle by Taylor.

The dramatic finish capped a 3-for-6 afternoon at the plate for Solak, who has hit safely in 11 straight games and reached base safely in 25 straight games dating back to last season. Senior first baseman Danny Rosenbaum was among five other Louisville players with two hits each finishing 2-for-5 with his second home run of the season while junior catcher Will Smith was 2-for-3 with two walks and one RBI.

Sophomore third baseman Blake Tiberi extended his career-best hitting streak to 13 games after a 2-for-5 outing at the plate. Junior outfielder Logan Taylor and sophomore shortstop Devin Hairston also chipped in with two hits each as the Cardinals finished with a 15-8 advantage against the Fighting Irish (6-6).

On the mound, junior righthander Zack Burdi struck out the only two batters he faced in the top of the 11th inning to keep the Louisville within a run while earning his first win of the season. Senior righty Kyle Funkhouser delivered another stellar effort allowing just one run on three hits with two strikeouts in a season-high eight innings. With Friday's performance, Funkhouser became Louisville's career leader in innings pitched with 311.0 surpassing the 309.1 by Mike Shields (1976-78). With his next strikeout, Funkhouser will match the Cardinals' career strikeouts leader, Justin Marks (2007-09), who finished with 305 strikeouts at Louisville.

With the starting pitchers in command through the first six innings, Notre Dame connected for the first run of the day in the seventh inning when first baseman Zak Kutsulis sent a 0-1 pitch over the right field wall for his first home run of the season and a 1-0 lead. The Cardinals answered in the bottom of the inning on the seventh career home run for Rosenbaum, a line-drive shot over the left field wall to even the score at 1-1.

The game remained tied until the 10th inning when the Fighting Irish regained the lead at 2-1 on a two-out RBI single by Lane Richards. That lead was short-lived as Louisville evened the score at 2-2 in the bottom of the inning on a bases loaded walk to Will Smith from reliever Peter Solomon to score Solak. Notre Dame followed with a run in the top of the 11th to move back in front at 3-2 on a RBI double from Kutsulis, who hit for the cycle and was 4-for-5 in the game.

The weekend schedule for Louisville and Notre Dame was altered on Friday morning due to expected inclement weather through the weekend. The Cardinals and Fighting Irish will conclude their series on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET. Admission is free and the game will be televised by ESPN3.

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