Junior third baseman Phil Wunderlich’s
ninth-inning walk-off home run lifted the 11th-ranked Louisville
baseball team to a 5-4 win over Minnesota on Sunday at the Big Ten/BIG
EAST Challenge at the Naimoli Complex.
With Sunday’s win over the Golden Gophers (2-4), Louisville improved to
7-0 on the season for the best start since the 1957 squad went 15-0. The
Cardinals also finished unbeaten in their first ever appearance in the
second annual Big Ten/BIG EAST Challenge.
With the game tied at 4-4 in the ninth, Wunderlich (Chicago, Ill.) led
off the inning by hammering the first pitch he saw from Minnesota closer
Scott Matyas over the wall in right center for his first career walk-off
home run. The home run was the second of the weekend and the second of
the season for the Cards’ All-American.
Along with Wunderlich, the Cardinals also got strong offensive
performances from senior second baseman Adam Duvall (Louisville, Ky.),
junior outfielder Josh Richmond (Cincinnati, Ohio) and sophomore
shortstop Ryan Wright (Fort Wayne, Ind.), who finished with two hits
each in the game. Duvall added an RBI and a run scored, while Richmond
and Wright each scored runs against Minnesota, an NCAA Regional team
last season.
On the mound, the Cardinals got a quality start from sophomore righty
Tony Zych (Chicago, Ill.), who allowed two runs on six hits with four
strikeouts in five innings while getting a no-decision. After junior
righty Gabriel Shaw (Paducah, Ky.) allowed only two hits and no runs in
2.1 innings, junior righty Neil Holland (Owensboro, Ky.) recorded the
final two outs of the ninth inning with strikeouts to set the stage for
Wunderlich and earn his first career win.
Less than 11 hours after closing out Saturday night’s 17-6 win over
Michigan State in Clearwater, Fla., Louisville was back on the field in
Sunday’s finale and the offense kept the momentum going early against
the Gophers. The Cardinals opened the scoring in the bottom of the first
with four straight singles and an RBI sacrifice fly off Gophers’ starter
Allen Bechstein. Richmond and Duvall started the inning with singles to
left field. Clark followed with a single through the right side to score
Richmond and Wright added an RBI single up the middle to score Duvall.
With Clark the baserunner at the third, Wunderlich’s RBI sac fly to
center closed the scoring with the Cards holding a 3-0 advantage.
Louisville held that lead until the fourth inning, when junior
outfielder Drew Haynes earned a leadoff walk from Bechstein, moved to
second with his third stolen base of the season and then scored on an
RBI ground-rule double to right center by Duvall to push the lead to
4-0.
An inning later, Minnesota cut the Cardinals’ lead in half at 4-2 as
shortstop A.J. Petterson doubled to right field of Zych to score Trip
Schultz and Sam Ryan. Then, in the sixth inning, Minnesota tied the
score at 4-4 with two runs on three hits off Louisville redshirt
freshman reliever Justin Amlung (Louisville, Ky.). Designated hitter
Kyle Knudson led off the inning with a walk, moved to second on a single
by Schultz, advanced to third on a single by Ryan and then scored on an
RBI single by Kyle Geason for the first run of the inning. The second
run of the sixth and the fourth of the game for UM came on an RBI sac
fly by Petterson.
From there, the Cards’ pitching staff stood strong as Shaw and Holland
kept the Gophers off the scoreboard over the final three innings
allowing Wunderlich to win it in the bottom of the ninth. The Cardinals
pulled out the win despite leaving 12 runners on base, while Minnesota
left 10 on base.
Up next, the Cardinals return home to open a five-game homestand at Jim
Patterson Stadium on Wednesday at 3 p.m. ET against Evansville.
Louisville Notes
- Propell
ed by three Louisville wins, the BIG EAST Conference overcame tough day one to earn a 17-13 victory in the second annual Big Ten/BIG
EAST Challenge. Along with Louisville, St. John’s also earned three wins
during the weekend for the BIG EAST.
- With his 2-for-5 day at the plate, Adam Duvall is the only Louisville
player to hit safely in all seven games in 2010. A native of Louisville,
Duvall leads the team in hitting at .438 overall, ranks second with two
home runs and is fourth in RBI with seven.
- Through seven games, the Louisville pitching staff has been
outstanding with a team ERA of just 2.39. Leading the way is junior
righty Thomas Royse, who has not allowed an earned run through 11.0
innings, and junior righty Neil Holland, who has not allowed an earned
run in his 8.2 innings in 2010.
- The Cardinals had a strong week at the plate with three players
hitting more than .400 in wins over Minnesota, Michigan State, Michigan
and Morehead State. Adam Duvall led the way at .471, while Stewart
Ijames was .462. Andrew Clark hit .417 with two home runs, nine RBI and
four runs scored.
