April 20, 1997
Brooks, Balicki Highlight 10-8 Comeback Win Over Villanova
NOTRE DAME - Senior centerfielder Randall Brooks continued
his hot hitting, going 4-for-5 with two runs and an RBI, while
senior righthander Mike Balicki bailed out an injury-riddled Irish
pitching staff, as Notre Dame came back from an early 4-0 deficit to
beat visiting Villanova, 10-8, in Big East Conference action Sunday
at Eck Stadium.
The win is the seventh straight for surging Notre Dame (29-13, 10-4
Big East), which also has won 14 of its last 15 and 20 of its last
22. The Irish increased their lead on idle Rutgers (10-4) atop the
conference's National Division standings (which are based on winning
percentage), with the Irish now owning a .714 mark while the Scarlet
Knights are at .625. Notre Dame has won 10 of its last 11 conference
games, since opening 0-3 at Seton Hall, and is now 17-1 at home this
season.
Villanova (18-22, 6-10) saw its slim postseason hopes fade even
further, as the Wildcats trail Connecticut (8-8) by two games in the
race for the final spot in the six-team Big East Tournament, which
will include the top two teams in each division pus two wild card
teams. The Irish need to win (at best) six of their final seven
conference games to clinch the division title while (as of now) a
3-4 mark down the stretch will likely assure the Irish of at least a spot
in the Big East Tournament.
Balicki (4-0) pitched the final two and two-thirds innings in relief
of senior lefthanded starter Wally Widelski and freshman lefthander
Tim Kalita. While the Irish offense was rallying, Balicki allowed
just two hits and no walks, striking out four of the 10 batters he
faced.
Widelski was pressed into starting duty after sophomore righthander
Brad Lidge was unable to pitch due to an elbow problem, becoming the
fifth Irish pitcher currently sidelined due to injury. Widelski was
touched for four runs (three earned) over two a third innings,
allowing seven hits while picking up one strikeout. Kalita also let
in four runs (three earned) over the next four innings, allowing
just two hits but five walks (with no K's).
Villanova scored twice in the top of the seventh for an 8-4 lead but
Notre Dame then sent 10 batters to the plate in the bottom of the
inning, pushing across five runs to take a 9-8 lead. Brooks led off
with his fifth triple of the season, to the gap in right-center
field, and senior DH Mike Amrhein then went to the opposite field
off senior righthander Trevor Pepkowski (3-1), dropping the first
pitch he saw squarely on the rightfield line for a double. Sophomore
catcher Jeff Wagner extended the extra-base flurry, golfing a double
down the leftfield line.
The rally continued for the Irish, with three of the next four
batters drawing walks. Freshman second baseman Brant Ust earned his
18th base on balls of the season before switch-hitting sophomore
leftfielder Allen Greene slapped a first-pitch single to the
opposite left field, loading the bases and chasing Pepkowski.
Sophomore lefthander Mike Perate then took the mound but uncorked a
wild pitch, allowing Wagner to score and cut the lead to 8-7. Jeff
Felker's groundout to a drawn-in infield held the runners at second
and third before junior shortstop Todd Frye worked his way to a
walk, again loading the bases.
Senior third baseman J.J. Brock then took three straight balls and a
strike and fouled off a pitch before earning the full-count base on
balls, pushing home Ust as the tying run. Perate was able to strike
out pinch-hitter Pat O'Keefe but Brooks delivered the game-winning
hit in his second at-bat of the inning, sending a hard-hit ball to
the left side that tipped off the glove of third baseman Rick Welsh
before glancing off the mitt of diving second baseman Martin
Stetina.
Villanova jumped on Widelski and the Irish early, scoring twice in
the first after three hits and a pair of Irish errors (both of which
allowed runners to move up). The Wildcats tacked on two more runs in
the third but the Irish answered with a pair of runs in the bottom
of the inning, thanks to a one-out single from junior rightfielder
Dan Leatherman, a bunt single by Brooks (accompanied by a one-base
throwing error), an RBI single from Amrhein and a run-scoring
fielder's choice off the bat of Wagner.
The visitors stretched to a 6-2 lead with single runs in the fifth
and sixth before the Irish cut the lead back to two, with a pair of
runs in the bottom of the sixth. Wagner led off with a single to
left and moved to second on a one-out passed ball. Greene then
struck out but Felker and Frye drew two-out walks before Brock
slapped a two-run, opposite-field single over the head of second
baseman Stetina.
NOTES: Brooks went 9-for-12 in the Villanova series and has
five straight multiple-hit games ... in his last eight games, Brooks
is hitting .556 (20-for-36) and now has hits in 17 of his last 18
games and 29 of his last 32 ... Notre Dame's 14-for-36 day boosted
the team's season batting average to .337, a full five points ahead
of the Notre Dame record (.332, set in 1989 and '93) ... Brooks
boosted his season average to .389 while Amrhein (.430), Wagner
(.401) and Ust (.384) each collected two hits in Sunday's game, with
all but Amrhein (2-for-5) raising their season averages ... in other
Big East action Sunday, Providence kept its postseason hopes alive
with two wins at UConn (4-0, 6-5), St. John's completed a home sweep
of Pitt (14-5), Seton Hall finished off a sweep at Georgetown (14-3)
and American Division leader West Virginia split at Boston College
(5-1, 9-12), with WVU and BC set to play once more on Monday.
NATIONAL DIVISION
Notre Dame 10-4 .714
Rutgers 10-6 .625
AMERICAN DIVISION
West Virginia 14-4 .778
St. John's 11-4 .733
WILDCARD CONTENDERS
1. Seton Hall 11-8 .579
2. UConn 8-8 .500
Villanova 6-10 .375
Providence 6-11 .352
Georgetown 5-10 .333
Pittsburgh 6-14 .300
Boston Coll. 4-12 .250
Villanova University 8 (18-22) Univ. of Notre Dame 10 (29-13)
Name (Pos) AB R H RBI BB SO PO A Name (Pos) AB R H RBI BB SO PO A
---------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------
Brian Fili cf............. 5 3 2 0 0 0 1 0 Dan Leatherman rf......... 4 1 1 0 0 0 3 0
Martin Stetina 2b......... 4 2 2 2 1 0 2 2 Pat O'Keefe ph/rf......... 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
Matt Neyland rf........... 4 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 Randall Brooks cf......... 5 2 4 1 0 0 4 0
Rick Welsh 3b............. 5 0 0 1 0 1 0 4 Mike Amrhein dh........... 5 1 2 2 0 0 0 0
Dan Bouslis 1b............ 4 2 1 0 1 1 8 0 Jeff Wagner c............. 4 3 2 2 1 1 6 1
Mike Toth c............... 4 0 1 1 0 2 5 1 Brant Ust 2b.............. 4 1 2 0 1 0 2 2
Bill Brehm lf............. 2 1 1 0 3 0 5 0 Allen Greene lf........... 4 1 1 0 1 2 4 0
Tom Shank dh.............. 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 Jeff Felker 1b............ 3 1 0 1 1 1 7 1
Mike Perate ph/p.......... 2 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 Todd Frye ss.............. 2 0 1 0 2 1 1 5
Pat Kane ss............... 2 0 0 1 0 0 3 2 J.J. Brock 3b............. 4 0 1 3 1 0 0 2
Chris Pilato p............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Wally Widelski p.......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Trevor Pepkowski p........ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Tim Kalita p.............. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Drew Baylor p............. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Mike Balicki p............ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals.................... 35 8 11 8 5 5 24 11 Totals.................... 36 10 14 9 7 6 27 12
Score by innings: R H E
----------------------------------------------
Villanova University 202 011 200 - 8 11 2
Univ. of Notre Dame 002 002 51 - 10 14 3
----------------------------------------------
E - M. Stetina(3), Chris Pilato(1), Rand. Brooks(7), J.J. Brock 2(18).
DP - Irish 1. LOB - Wildcats 9, Irish 11.
2B - Brian Fili 2(9), Rand. Brooks(11), Mike Amrhein(8), Jeff Wagner(17),
Brant Ust(9). 3B - M. Stetina(1), Rand. Brooks(5).
SB - Mike Perate(11).
SH - Mike Toth(2), Todd Frye(7). SF - M. Neyland(3), Pat Kane(2), Jeff
Felker(2).
Villanova University IP H R ER BB SO AB BF Univ. of Notre Dame IP H R ER BB SO AB BF
----------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------------
Chris Pilato........ 5.2 8 4 4 2 5 25 27 Wally Widelski...... 2.1 7 4 3 0 1 13 13
Trevor Pepkowski.... 0.1 4 5 5 1 0 5 6 Tim Kalita.......... 4.0 2 4 3 5 0 13 21
Mike Perate......... 1.0 2 1 1 3 1 5 8 Mike Balicki........ 2.2 2 0 0 0 4 9 10
Drew Baylor......... 1.0 0 0 0 1 0 1 4
Winner - M. Balicki 4-0. Loser - T. Pepkowski 3-1. Save - None.
WP - Mike Perate(1), Chris Pilato(4), Tim Kalita(2). PB - Mike Toth(1),
Jeff Wagner(3).
HBP - by Tim Kalita (Pat Kane).
Start: 12:00 Time: 3:06 Attendance: 275
T. Pepkowski faced 5 batters in the 7th.
Mike Perate faced 2 batters in the 8th.
Play-by-play
Villanova University inning 1
Brian Fili doubled to left center. M. Stetina singled down the lf line,
RBI; Brian Fili scored. M. Neyland singled, advanced to second on an error
by cf; M. Stetina advanced to second, advanced to third on the error. Rick
Welsh grounded out to ss, RBI; M. Stetina scored, unearned. Dan Boublis
reached on an error by 3b; M. Neyland advanced to third on the error. Dan
Boublis advanced to second; M. Neyland out at home p to 1b to ss to c. Mike
Toth struck out. 2 runs, 3 hits, 2 errors, 1 LOB.
Univ. of Notre Dame inning 1
Leatherman grounded out to 3b. Rand. Brooks doubled to right center. Mike
Amrhein popped up to ss. Rand. Brooks advanced to third on a wild pitch.
Jeff Wagner struck out. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Villanova University inning 2
Bill Brehm grounded out to ss. Tom Shank singled to left field. Pat Kane
grounded into double play 3b to 2b to 1b; Tom Shank out on the play. 0
runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Univ. of Notre Dame inning 2
Brant Ust singled to shortstop. Allen Greene reached on a fielder's choice;
Brant Ust out at second 2b to ss. Jeff Felker struck out. Todd Frye struck
out. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Villanova University inning 3
Brian Fili doubled down the lf line. M. Stetina tripled to right field,
RBI; Brian Fili scored. M. Neyland singled to left field, RBI; M. Stetina
scored. Rick Welsh flied out to lf. Tim Kalita to p for W. Widelski. Dan
Boublis reached on a fielder's choice; M. Neyland advanced to second on an
error by 3b. Mike Toth flied out to cf. Bill Brehm walked; Dan Boublis
advanced to second; M. Neyland advanced to third. Tom Shank reached on a
fielder's choice; Bill Brehm out at second ss to 2b. 2 runs, 3 hits, 1
error, 3 LOB.
Univ. of Notre Dame inning 3
J.J. Brock grounded out to 3b. Leatherman singled to left field. Rand.
Brooks singled to pitcher, bunt, advanced to second on an error by p;
Leatherman advanced to second, advanced to third on an error by p. Mike
Amrhein singled to left field, RBI; Rand. Brooks advanced to third;
Leatherman scored. Jeff Wagner reached on a fielder's choice, advanced to
second on an error by 2b, RBI; Mike Amrhein out at second ss to 2b; Rand.
Brooks scored. Brant Ust grounded out to p. 2 runs, 3 hits, 2 errors, 1
LOB.
Villanova University inning 4
Pat Kane fouled out to 1b. Brian Fili flied out to rf. M. Stetina grounded
out to ss. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Univ. of Notre Dame inning 4
Allen Greene struck out, out at first c to 1b. Jeff Felker flied out to cf.
Todd Frye singled to center field. J.J. Brock grounded out to 3b. 0 runs,
1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Villanova University inning 5
M. Neyland flied out to lf. Rick Welsh flied out to rf. Dan Boublis
singled to center field. Dan Boublis advanced to second on a passed ball.
Mike Toth singled to center field, RBI; Dan Boublis scored, unearned. Bill
Brehm walked; Mike Toth advanced to second. Tom Shank flied out to cf. 1
run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Univ. of Notre Dame inning 5
Leatherman popped up to ss. Rand. Brooks grounded out to 3b. Mike Amrhein
flied out to lf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Villanova University inning 6
Pat Kane hit by pitch. Brian Fili reached on a fielder's choice; Pat Kane
out at second 2b to ss. M. Stetina walked; Brian Fili advanced to second.
M. Stetina advanced to second on a wild pitch; Brian Fili advanced to third
on a wild pitch. M. Neyland flied out to cf, SF, RBI; M. Stetina advanced
to third; Brian Fili scored. Rick Welsh flied out to rf. 1 run, 0 hits, 0
errors, 1 LOB.
Univ. of Notre Dame inning 6
Jeff Wagner singled to left field. Brant Ust lined out to lf. Jeff Wagner
advanced to second on a passed ball. Allen Greene struck out. Jeff Felker
walked. Todd Frye walked; Jeff Felker advanced to second; Jeff Wagner
advanced to third. J.J. Brock singled, advanced to second on the throw, 2
RBI; Todd Frye advanced to third; Jeff Felker scored; Jeff Wagner scored.
T. Pepkowski to p for Chris Pilato. Leatherman flied out to lf. 2 runs, 2
hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Villanova University inning 7
Dan Boublis walked. Mike Toth grounded out to c, SAC, bunt; Dan Boublis
advanced to second. Bill Brehm walked. M. Balicki to p for Tim Kalita.
Mike Perate pinch hit for Tom Shank. Mike Perate singled to right field,
RBI; Bill Brehm advanced to third; Dan Boublis scored. Mike Perate stole
second. Pat Kane flied out to cf, SF, RBI; Mike Perate advanced to third;
Bill Brehm scored. Brian Fili flied out to lf. 2 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1
LOB.
Univ. of Notre Dame inning 7
Rand. Brooks tripled to right center. Mike Amrhein doubled to right field,
RBI; Rand. Brooks scored. Jeff Wagner doubled down the lf line, RBI; Mike
Amrhein scored. Brant Ust walked. Allen Greene singled to left field;
Brant Ust advanced to second; Jeff Wagner advanced to third. Mike Perate to
p. / for T. Pepkowski. Allen Greene advanced to second on a wild pitch;
Brant Ust advanced to third on a wild pitch; Jeff Wagner scored on a wild
pitch. Jeff Felker grounded out to 2b. Todd Frye walked. J.J. Brock
walked, RBI; Todd Frye advanced to second; Allen Greene advanced to third;
Brant Ust scored. Pat O'Keefe pinch hit for Leatherman. Pat O'Keefe struck
out. Rand. Brooks singled to shortstop, RBI; J.J. Brock advanced to second;
Todd Frye advanced to third; Allen Greene scored. Mike Amrhein reached on a
fielder's choice; Rand. Brooks out at second ss to 2b. 5 runs, 5 hits, 0
errors, 3 LOB.
Villanova University inning 8
Pat O'Keefe to rf. M. Stetina grounded out to 3b. M. Neyland flied out to
lf. Rick Welsh struck out. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Univ. of Notre Dame inning 8
Jeff Wagner walked. Brant Ust doubled to right field; Jeff Wagner advanced
to third. Mike Perate to dh. Drew Baylor to p. Allen Greene walked. Jeff
Felker flied out to lf, SF, RBI; Jeff Wagner scored. Todd Frye grounded out
to p, SAC, bunt; Allen Greene advanced to second; Brant Ust advanced to
third. J.J. Brock flied out to lf. 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Villanova University inning 9
Dan Boublis struck out. Mike Toth struck out. Bill Brehm singled to right
field. Mike Perate struck out. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
