CLEARWATER, Fla. – Top-seeded Louisville used a pair of six-run innings to take a 12-2 win against eighth-seeded Cincinnati in seven innings Tuesday in Game 2 of the BIG EAST Baseball Championship at Bright House Field.

The win – Louisville’s fifth straight in the BIG EAST championship – sends the Cardinals to a winners’ bracket matchup against Notre Dame Wednesday at 1 p.m. Cincinnati will face St. John’s in an elimination game Wednesday at 10 a.m.

The Cardinals jumped on Bearcat starter Michael Hill for six runs in the first inning as the first four Louisville players reached base. Andrew Clark got the scoring started with an RBI single to right, and Chris Dominguez followed with an RBI base hit to left, giving Louisville a 2-0 lead before the Bearcats could get an out. Phil Wunderlich followed with a sacrifice fly to left, Ryan Wright delivered an RBI single and Jeff Arnold smacked an RBI double to send the Cardinals to the healthy lead.

Louisville’s freshman starter Derek Self was solid in his first postseason start, working six innings of four-hit ball with four strikeouts and two walks. Self, who improved to 7-0, didn’t allow more than one player to reach base in any inning until the seventh, when Cincinnati threatened to get back in the game.

The Bearcats started the seventh with back-to-back singles by Lance Durham and Mike Spina, and a walk by Cameron Satterwhite laoded the bases with nobody out. Louisville turned to reliever Gavin Logsdon, who forced back-to-back ground balls that scored runs, but, more importantly, registered outs, allowing Louisville to escape the inning with a 6-2 lead.

The Cardinals put the game away in the bottom of the seventh, putting six more runs on the board to invoke the 10-run rule. Wunderlich drew a bases-loaded walk to start the scoring and Wright followed with a two-run double down the leftfield line to make it 9-2. That set the stage for catcher Jeff Arnold, who took a 1-1 pitch just over the fence in left for a three-run home run that gave Louisville the unlikely walk-off win.

Arnold went 3-for-4 with four RBIs, while Wright was 2-for-4 with three RBIs to lead Louisville, which improved to 41-14 with its 12th win in its last 13 games.

Cincinnati designated hitter Lance Durham went 2-for-3 to account for half of the Bearcats’ four hits. Hill took the loss, allowing nine runs and 11 hits in six innings to fall to 3-5.

2009 BIG EAST Baseball Championship

Bright House Field, Clearwater, Fla.

Tuesday, May 19 - Four games

(Live video on www.bigeastbaseball.com, live audio on Sirius XM Radio)

Game 1 – No. 5 Notre Dame 14, No. 4 St. John’s 5

Game 2 – No. 1 Louisville 12, No. 8 Cincinnati 2

Game 3 – No. 6 Connecticut vs. No. 3 West Virginia, 5 p.m.

Game 4 – No. 7 Pittsburgh vs. No. 2 USF, 8 p.m.

Wednesday, May 20 - Four games

(Live video on www.bigeastbaseball.com, live audio on Sirius XM Radio)

Game 5 – St. John’s vs. Loser of Game 2, 10 a.m.

Game 6 – Notre Dame vs. Winner of Game 2, 1 p.m.

Game 7 – Loser of Game 3 vs. Loser of Game 4, 5 p.m.

Game 8 – Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4, 8 p.m.

Thursday, May 21 - Two games

(Live video on www.bigeastbaseball.com, live audio on Sirius XM Radio)

Game 9 – Loser of Game 6 vs. Winner of Game 5, 4 p.m.

Game 10 – Loser of Game 8 vs. Winner of Game 7, 7 p.m.

Friday, May 22 - Two, three, or four games

(Live video on www.bigeastbaseball.com, live audio on Sirius XM Radio)

Game 11 – Winner of Game 6 vs. Winner of Game 9, 10 a.m.

Game 12 – Winner of Game 8 vs. Winner of Game 10, 1 p.m.

Game 13 – Loser of Game 11 vs. Winner of Game 11, 5 p.m. (if necessary)

Game 14 – Loser of Game 12 vs. Winner of Game 12, 6:30 p.m. or 8 p.m.

(if necessary; game would be at 6:30 if Game 13 is not necessary, 8 p.m. otherwise)

Saturday, May 23 - Championship game

(Live television on ESPNU, live audio on Sirius XM Radio)

Game 15 – Winner of Group 1 vs. Winner of Group 2, 1 p.m.