Cold weather does not affect Irish in 6-1 win over Toledo
By COLIN BOYLAN
Sports Writer
The scattered groups of fans at the Eck Baseball Stadium Wednesday night wore heavy winter coats and mittens as a testament to the chilly March weather. So what the heck was right fielder Brian Stavisky doing wearing short sleeves?
"I just came out to take batting practice this afternoon and I was so pumped up — I didn't really feel cold," Stavisky said.
Weather notwithstanding, Stavisky was red-hot at the plate and his three hits sparked a solid offensive outburst that propelled the Irish to a 6-1 victory over Toledo last night. Earning the win was starter Pete Ogilvie, who improved his record to 2-0 on the year.
Notre Dame took control of the game early, loading the bases in the first inning. A walk by catcher Paul O'Toole brought designated hitter John Heintz home and gave the Irish a lead they would never relinquish.
In the fourth inning, Notre Dame expanded their lead when Andrew Bushey scored on a wild pitch and Steve Sollman came home on Steve Stanley's sacrifice fly.
The lead was pushed to 6-0 on sixth inning RBI's by Heintz and Stavisky, and another sacrifice fly by Stanley in seventh. However, the cushion wasn't as large as it could have been. Notre Dame hitters recorded 14 hits, with every starter getting at least one.
The team left many runners on base in the early innings and made uncharacteristic judgement errors on the basepaths. Despite these flaws, head coach Paul Mainieri was pleased with the offensive outcome.
"I think our hitters broke out tonight," he said. "This is definitely a win we can build upon."
For a while, it appeared that any lead would be safe behind Notre Dame's starting pitching. After allowing a lead-off double in the first inning, Ogilvie settled down and pitched five innings of flawless baseball.
His most significant jam came in the sixth inning, when Toledo had runners on second and third base with only one out and a three-run Irish lead. With the prospect of a comeback looming, Ogilvie caught Phil Pilewski looking at a third strike and induced Jay Juras to ground meekly back to the mound.
"Peter definitely made some clutch pitches. I thought he was outstanding tonight," said Mainieri.
After pitching seven innings of scoreless baseball, Ogilvie gave way to relievers Brandon Villoria and Matt Blair who locked up the game, allowing only a meaningless run in the eighth inning.
Once again, the players had nothing but praise for the team's defensive effort.
"Pitching and defense have been our strongest aspects as a team all year," said Stavisky. "They played really well again tonight."
The win improves Notre Dame's record to 17-4-1 on the season. Toledo falls to 11-10. The next test for the Irish comes today at Eck field when they play Hillsdale College.
The game was added to the schedule after weather concerns caused the cancellation of Tuesday's matchup against Western Michigan. The first pitch is scheduled for 5:05 p.m.
All Sports Stories for Thursday, March 29, 2001
