TicketsBearcats Fall At Notre Dame, 10-4
Hayes collects three hits in loss
Contact: Shawn Sell
3/22/2005
LaFringe Hayes had three hits in Tuesday's loss to Notre Dame. |
NOTRE DAME, Ind.---Notre Dame scored four runs with two outs in the fourth inning, highlighting a five-run outburst that pushed the Irish to a 10-4 win over Cincinnati on Tuesday.
In a match-up of future BIG EAST rivals, eight Notre Dame pitchers limited the Bearcats to seven hits on the day. The Irish improve to 8-9 on the year, while the Bearcats drop to 8-9 with their fourth straight loss.
LaFringe Hayes collected three of Cincinnati?s seven hits on the day, including his fifth double of the year. Brett Lilly led a 15-hit Irish attack with five hits, while three other players added two each.
With the Bearcats holding a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth, Craig Cooper lined the first pitch of the inning over the left field wall for his third home run of the season. UC starter and losing pitcher Justin Minges (0-1) then retired the next two hitters, but a walk and four straight singles produced five runs for Notre Dame in the inning.
Notre Dame scored the first run of the day on a sacrifice fly by Matt Edwards in the bottom of the first. UC came back to take the lead with a pair of runs in the top half of the fourth, getting both the runs without the benefit of a hit. Hayes and Mark Haske were both hit by pitches and moved up on a Jon DeLuca sacrifice hit. Jack Nelson scored Hayes with a ground out and Haske came around on a Notre Dame throwing error.
The bottom of the fourth saw the Irish go ahead to stay and Notre Dame added a seventh run on an RBI single by Lilley in the sixth. Two more Irish runners came home in the seventh, the first on an RBI double by Mike Dury and the second on a Tony Langford groundout.
Cincinnati scored its final two runs of the night in the eight, as two more Notre Dame errors led to the markers. Nelson produced a one-out single and following an error that allowed Logan Parker to reach, both runners scored on a fielding error by Irish shortstop Greg Lopez.
Notre Dame rounded out the scoring with a single run in the eighth against A.J. Upton in his first collegiate appearance. Edwards did the trick, doubling home Cody Rizzo for the 10th and final run of the day.
The Bearcats will be out to snap its four-game losing streak when they return home to take on Toledo tomorrow at 4 p.m. Nick Buscemi will make his first start of the year for UC, being opposed by Toledo?s J.R. Duffey.