Hits for the Irish Wednesday afternoon were few and far between, but they came at the right time as Notre Dame secured a 3-0 victory over Cleveland State.

The Irish capitalized off of five Viking errors, scoring three unearned runs with some very timely hitting.

As has been the story most of the year, Irish pitchers baffled their opponents and let the defense play behind them. Sophomores Peter Ogilvie and Matt Laird combined to throw a four-hit shutout against the Vikings.

"Pitching was outstanding for us today," said Coach Paul Mainieri. "Peter [Ogilvie] really brought it to their hitters today, working the strike zone and letting his defense make plays. Matt [Laird] also had an excellent showing today. He really improved his consistency and got back into a good groove."

Ogilvie was impressive once again in his second start of the year, working seven innings, allowing no runs on just three hits. He showed great poise in getting out of some jams in the early innings, then really settling down as the game wore on to earn his first win of the season.

"It was great for me to get the opportunity to pitch today, especially in our first home game," said Ogilvie. "I just tried to go out, throw strikes, and let our defense take care of the rest."

Laird was just as dominant in relief of his teammate, picking up a save for his efforts. He demonstrated excellent control, striking out four of the seven batters he faced, and only allowing one to reach base.

The Irish hitters continued the same style of small-ball they have played all year, relying on base hits, walks, stolen bases and bunts to produce runs one at a time.

Notre Dame first struck in the fourth inning, when junior right fielder Brian Stavisky reached base on an error by Cleveland State shortstop Mike Lehman.

Stavisky then stole second and advanced to third on a past ball. A groundball by sophomore left fielder Kris Billmaier brought Stavisky home to give the Irish a 1-0 lead.

Notre Dame got its only other runs in the sixth inning when senior shortstop Alec Porzel reached second on a dropped fly ball by left fielder Geremy Hoover.

With two outs in the inning, Billmaier, who was two for three on the day, got his second RBI with a base hit up the middle. The next batter, junior catcher Andrew Bushey, provided the Irish with one more insurance run with a base hit that scored Billmaier from second.

Coach Mainieri feels his club is ready to begin Big East play on Friday.

"I think our pitching and defense can really limit the potential of any offense we may face," he said. "And our hitting has really improved over the past games. We are starting to get some big hits at key times to win ball games."

The Irish begin conference play Friday at Pittsburgh. Their next home game is Tuesday against Western Michigan.

• Tamayo overcomes diversity to throw for victory
  
• The question remains: Will Murphy leave the Irish?
  
• Athletes will not be the only winners at Midnight Madness
  
• Championships heat up Angela
  
• Irish favored to defeat Nitanny Lions in NCAAs
  
• Errors and pitching play key role in Irish victory