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Notre Dame comeback bid versus Franklin College comes up short; Lilley collects 200th career hit.

May 2, 2007

Final Stats

NOTRE DAME, Ind. - Senior lefthander Dustin Eck allowed just two earned runs in 7.0-plus innings while junior righthander Andy Clark came on to close the game with two scoreless innings, as Franklin College held on for a 4-3 win over Notre Dame in Wednesday-night action at Eck Stadium.

Notre Dame (25-20) - which had won its four previous one-run games - came up shy in batling back from an early 4-0 deficit, with an error leading to a pair of unearned runs in the opening inning. It marked the eighth time this season that Notre Dame's losing margin has been due to unearned runs. The hosts scored an early run of their own and were in position to tie the game in the 8th, instead settling for just two runs while two runners were left on base and another was erased on a double-play ball.

Eck (6-4) allowed three total runs on six hits and two walks, with a pair of strikeouts among his 112 pitches. Clark then faced eight batters over the final two innings, with a pair hits and a strikeout that ended the game.

A fielding error allowed the game's first batter (Adam Blacburn) to reach safely and Lance Noel (who batted 5-for-5 in the game) then followed with a single through the right side of the infield. Freshman righthander Andrew Scheid (0-1) then induced a pair of flyouts - with no advancement by either runner - but 5-hole hitter Ryan East sent a double into the right-center gap, scoring both runners for the quick 2-0 lead.

It marked just the third time this season that the Irish have entered the 2nd inning trailing by more than one run, with Central Michigan (6-2) being the only team to lead Notre Dame by more than two runs after a single inning of play.

Franklin (22-14) scored two more runs in its next trip to the plate. Lance Labonte hit a one-out single up the middle, stole second and took third on David Federoff's full-count single into right field. The Grizzlies then executed a double steal to take a 3-0 lead and a groundout moved Federoff to third before Noel placed an RBI single into left field.

Notre Dame brought home just three of its 12 baserunners in the game, with five of those runners reaching in the 8th. Eck hit Brett Lilley with the first pitch in that sequence - Lilley's 23rd HBP of the season (tied for 3rd-most in ND history) and 74th of his career (now tied for 5th in NCAA history) - before A.J. Pollock sent a sharp linedrive over the shortstop's head and into left field.

Ross Brezovsky then beat out a bunt to the third-base side, loading the bases with no outs - but Clark came on to roll up a key 6-4-3 double-play ball (with Lilley scoring for a 4-2 game). A fielding error on the second baseman then allowed Pollock to score an unearned run and Danny Dressman's added an opposite-field single to left-center, moving the tying run (Jeremy Barnes) to second base. But Clark again got the key out on a flyball to right-center, ending Notre Dame's chance to complete the comeback.

Lilley (1-for-4) picked up his 200th career hit in the 9th, after diving headfirst on a slow roller to the second baseman. Clark still was just one out from closing the win and delivered the strikeout to end the game.

Franklin College (22-14) 2-2-0 0-0-0 0-0-0 - 4 10 1
Notre Dame (25-20) 0-1-0 0-0-0 0-2-0 - 3 8 3

Dustin Eck (W, 6-5), Andy Clark (8; SV, 2) and Ryan East.
Andrew Scheid (L, 0-1), Eric Maust (3), Jess Stewart (8) and Ryand Smith.

Doubles: Ryan East (FC), Ryan Smith (ND).