Baseball: Hurlers dominate in Irish victory against Falcons
By JEFF BALTRUZAK
Assistant Sports Editor
It was the nation's top bats against the nation's top pitchers Tuesday night at Frank Eck Stadium, and in the end, the men on the mound emerged victorious.
The Notre Dame pitching staff, owner of the country's best ERA, held Bowling Green's hard-hitting lineup to just a pair of runs in a 5-2 victory.
The Falcons entered the game with a national best .359 batting average, but were befuddled by the pitching of righthanders Peter Ogilvie and Matt Buchmeier.
Ogilvie was handed the ball for his first start and three weeks, but was able to hold Bowling Green to six hits in five innings of work.
"I was a little rusty," said Ogilvie. "I had trouble with my command of my fastball, but my teammates really picked me up."
That pickup came in the form of stunning fielding plays by the Irish, including several highlight reel plays by senior shortstop Alec Porzel.
"I can't say enough about the defense, they played great," Ogilvie said.
The Falcons could never rev their offense into high gear, and did not score after the third inning.
"They hit some hard balls," said Irish catcher Paul O'Toole. "But then our pitchers started taking advantage of their weaknesses."
Falcon pitcher Kyle Knoblauch spent a better part of the early innings looking over his shoulder watching Irish hits go by or watching his pitches go past catcher Tim Newell. Freshman Steve Sollmann grabbed the team lead for homeruns with a two-run jack in the bottom of the first, scoring teammate Steve Stanley.
The Irish kept the rally going in the first inning, with singles from Kris Billmaier and Brian Stavisky. Stavisky then scored on a wild pitch for the third run of the inning, advancing Billmaier to second.
Third baseman Andrew Bushey then capped off the Irish scoring with a first-pitch single up the middle to score Billmaier.
Stanley and Sollmann teamed up again to score the final Irish run. Stanley had a one-out single, and then took off for second to steal his team leading 23rd base of the season.
Sollmann then stepped in, hitting out of the second spot, and drilled a double to right center, easily scoring the junior Stanley.
The late innings would be dominated by Buchmeier, who held the Falcons to just two hits over the last four innings.
"Turn Back the Clock Night," at Frank Eck Stadium, with the Irish in retro uniforms, was a hit with the fans, with 826 faithful on hand for the contest.
The support of the large crowd did not go unnoticed by the home team.
"It was great, the crowd," said O'Toole. "They really gave us an advantage."
The Irish return to action Wednesday with a doubleheader with Valparaiso. The Crusaders come to South Bend sporting a 20-13 record. The Crusader pitching staff could have problems with the Irish, as they have given up over six earned runs a game.
Notre Dame looks to continue its nation-leading 15 game winning streak against Valparaiso at 4:05 and 6:05 in a pair of seven inning contests.
All Sports Stories for Wednesday, April 25, 2001
