CLEARWATER, Fla. – Centerfielder A.J. Pollock went 4-for-5 as Notre Dame broke a tie game with three runs in the top of the ninth and held off a late Louisville rally for a 6-5 win Saturday in the semifinal round of the BIG EAST Baseball Championship at Bright House Field.
The win for Notre Dame (36-22) sets up a rematch with Louisville (42-15) at 5 p.m. Saturday, with a spot in the championship game at stake.
The teams entered the ninth inning locked in a 3-3 tie, but David Mills and Pollock hit back-to-back one-out triples produced a pair of runs as Mills brought in Cameron McConnell from first and Pollock delivered Mills to make it 5-3. Golden Tate had Notre Dame’s fourth straight hit in the inning to drive in Pollock and give the Fighting Irish a 6-3 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth.
Louisville answered in the bottom of the ninth, though, as the first three Cardinal hitters reached on a double, a walk and a base hit to load the bases. Ryan Wright moved everyone up with a base hit to right-center, closing the deficit to 6-4. Nate Holland followed with a grounder to shortstop that forced the runner at third, but brought in another run to make it a one-run game with the tying and winning runs on base. But Irish reliever Will Hudgins got the Cardinals to ground into a game-ending 4-6-3 double play as first baseman Casey Martin stretched for a wide throw and held the bag to beat a diving John Dao.
Doyle finished the day 2-for-4 with three RBIs for Notre dame, while Connolly was 2-for-4. Eric Maust earned the win, improving to 6-3, while Hudgins registered his third save.
Louisville was led offensively by Dao, Andrew Clark and Phil Wunderlich, who all went 2-for-4. Gabriel Shaw took the loss, falling to 3-1.
Courtesy: BIG EAST Conference
