Feb. 25, 2006
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Louisville scored in the bottom of the 11th-inning to defeat Northwestern 8-7 Saturday afternoon in Louisville, Ky. Already playing its third extra-inning game of 2006; the Wildcats were up 6-0 after three innings. But a scrappy Cardinal team kept chipping away until winning in the final inning. The loss drops NU to 3-5 overall.
Early in the game, Northwestern took advantage of three hit batsmen and three Cardinal errors to score five runs in the top of the second inning. Right fielder Antonio Mule (Lodi, N.J./Lodi) led off the inning with NU's lone hit, which was a single to left field.
After batting around in the second inning, Mule led off the third with a triple to the right centerfield wall. He scored when Caleb Fields (Oak Park, Ill./Fenwick) singled up the middle.
Wildcat starter Ryan Myers (Lake Zurich, Ill./Lake Zurich) cruised until the bottom of the fourth when a leadoff double scored on a sacrifice fly. The runner moved to third on a single.
The Cardinals kept chipping away at the lead. In the fifth, U-of-L scored when a leadoff double came around on a two-out single to center.
After five complete innings, NU led 6-2.
The Cards continued their comeback, scoring three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. Junior lefty Dan Schwartz (New York, N.Y./Northern Valley Regional) came on in relief after Myers hit the leadoff man and gave up a single. A Wildcat error preceded the single. Schwartz gave up two hits and three runs came around to score.
Designated hitter Pat McMahon (Mundelein, Ill./Carmel) lined an RBI single into right field, scoring Aaron Newman (Palatine, Ill./Palatine) from second. Newman walked and went to second on Jake Owens' (Stevens Point, Wis./Pacelli) sacrifice bunt.
McMahon's ninth-inning RBI was important because Louisville came storming back, tying the game 7-7 in the bottom half of the inning. Schwartz walked the leadoff man and gave up a double before a groundout scored the first Cardinal run. A single through the right side tied the game.
The Cardinals completed the comeback, scoring the winning run in the bottom of the 11th-inning. Schwartz gave up a leadoff double, which moved to third on a fly ball to right field. After an intentional walk set up the double play, head coach Paul Stevens called on Andrew Smith (Fort Mitchell, Ky./Beechwood). Smith gave up a single through the left side, which ended the game.
The Wildcats are next in action when they travel to Lexington, Ky., for a three-game series at the University of Kentucky. Game one is set for 4 p.m. (ET) Friday afternoon at Cliff Hagan Stadium.