March 22, 2008
BETHESDA, Md. – Notre Dame junior Evan Sharpley (Marshall, Mich.) drilled a pair of home runs and sophomore Eric Maust (Alpharetta, Ga.) tossed 8.0 shutout innings to lead the Irish to a 6-0 victory over Georgetown in BIG EAST baseball action from Shirley Povich Field Saturday afternoon. Notre Dame (10-7, 3-0 BIG EAST) swept the Hoyas (7-12, 1-5 BIG EAST) over the three-game series and outscored Georgetown by a combined 38-2.
The sweep is the first in BIG EAST action for the Irish under second-year head coach Dave Schrage. Notre Dame’s last three-game series sweep came back in 2006 at Villanova.
Maust improved to 1-0 on the season with his best career outing as a starter. The righty did not allow a run on just four hits. Maust fanned five and walked just a pair. Maust worked around three hits over the first three innings, inducing double plays in each frame. He would allow just one hit over his final five innings of work.
Sharpley, who homered and drove in six in the 25-1 rout of the Hoyas on Thursday, went 3-for-5 with the two homers (solo and 2-run), three RBI and two runs scored.
The Irish jumped out to a 3-0 in the top of the fourth inning. Junior Jeremy Barnes (Garland, Texas) and senior Ross Brezovsky (Naples, Fla.) each reached with a one-out walk and single, respectively. After senior Sean Gaston popped out, sophomore Billy Boockford (Glen Ellyn, Ill.) singled to load the bases for freshman Greg Sherry (Mendam, N.J.). Sherry was promptly drilled to give Notre Dame a 1-0 advantage.
Senior Brett Lilley (North Canton, Ohio) followed with a two-run single back up the middle to push the Irish lead to 3-0.
Sharpley added an insurance run in the top of the fifth with his team-best fourth home run of the year. Sharpley crushed a 1-0 offering from Georgetown starter Erick Chandler deep and towering over the center field wall.
He then stepped to the plate in the top of the seventh inning, with sophomore David Mills (Battlecreek, Mich.) on second base, and hammered his fifth bomb of the season and second of the afternoon to make the score, 6-0. He has now homered in each of his last two games.
Mills and Boockford each added two hits.
Notre Dame returns to friendly confines of Frank Eck Stadium for a pair of non-conference games on Tuesday (Ball State) and Wednesday (Wisconsin-Milwaukee). First-pitch for each game is scheduled for 5:05 p.m. Freshmen right-handed hurlers Brian Dupra (Rochester, N.Y.) and Ryan Sharpley (Marshall, Mich.) will each take the mound for the Irish. The games can heard live on ESPN Radio 1490 AM and UND.com.
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