Two-Run Eighth Lifts Notre Dame Over Rutgers, 7-5

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Notre Dame broke a 5-5 tie with two runs in the bottom of the eighth to defeat the Rutgers baseball team, 7-5, in the series opener Friday evening in front of 1,062 fans at Frank Eck Stadium.

Down, 4-2, in the fourth, the Scarlet Knights (8-16, 2-5 BIG EAST) chipped away at the Irish’s (14-9, 5-2 BIG EAST) lead with single runs in the fifth and sixth innings, thanks to an RBI single from Dan Betteridge (Sewell, N.J.) and an RBI double from Vic Cegles (Phoenix, Ariz.) to tie it up.

ND’s A.J. Pollock put the Irish back on top with a two-out, solo home run to left field in the seventh.

The Scarlet Knights battled right back, however, against Notre Dame closer Kyle Weiland. SophomoreBrett Garlick (Livingston, N.J.) hit a one-out single to the hole on the left side and stole second to move into scoring position. A groundout to second off the bat of Cegles moved Garlick over to third and the Scarlet Knights tied it up when Garlick came around to score on a Donny Callahan (Sparta, N.J.) bloop single to center field.

Reliever Matt Patterson (Passaic, N.J.)ran into a jam in the eighth with runners on first and second and handed the ball over to closer Jason Downey (Ballston Lake, N.J.). Downey’s first batter, Billy Boockford hit a hard grounder through the hole on the left side just out of the reach of the diving Betteridge at shortstop to score Jeremy Barnes from second base for what proved to be the game-winning run.

Wieland (1-0) then retired the Scarlet Knights in order in the ninth to earn the victory with one run allowed on two hits and a pair of strikeouts in two innings of relief work for the Irish. Patterson (2-1) was tagged with the loss with three runs let up on one hit in 1.1 innings of relief. Junior Matt Giannini (Millington, N.J.) didn’t factor in the decision, despite six solid innings of work on the mound for the Scarlet Knights.

Rutgers scored its first two runs with in the third and fourth thanks to RBI singles from Betteridge and Garlick.

RU left a total of 10 runners on base in the contest, stranding Betteridge at third in the fifth inning.

The Scarlet Knights registered 13 hits on the day, including seven combined hits from the bottom third of its order, consisting of Luis Feliz (New Brunswick, N.J.), Garlick and Cegles. Betteridge and Garlick each had three hits to lead the way.

Rutgers and Notre Dame will continue its series tomorrow with a 1:00 p.m. game at Frank Eck Stadium. Sophomore righty Kyle Bradley (Howell, N.J.) will be on the mound for the Scarlet Knights against senior lefty Wade Korpi for the Irish.