March 10, 2009
SAN ANTONIO – Junior A.J. Pollock (Hebron, Conn.) dropped in a jam-shot RBI single with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to give Notre Dame a 3-2 victory over Grambling in college baseball action from Wolfe Stadium Tuesday afternoon. With the victory, the Irish improve to 6-4 on the season. The Tigers drop to 3-9.
After Grambling tied the game, 2-2, on Brandon Smith’s two-out RBI infield single off Notre Dame closer Steven Mazur (Round Rock, Texas) in the top of the inning, the Irish rallied with two outs in the home-half of the ninth.
Sophomore Greg Sherry (Mendham, N.J.) laced a single back up the middle and fellow sophomore Golden Tate (Hendersonville, Tenn.) followed with a hit-by-pitch. Junior David Mills (Battle Creek, Mich.) then walked to set the stage for Pollock.
The All-American candidate blooped a 1-0 offering from Grambling reliever Destin Hardy just in front of a charging Anthony Clifton in left field to give Notre Dame the victory.
The base hit made a winner out of Mazur. The right-handed hurler, who blew his first career save, yielded a pair of hits and one earned run in 1.0 inning of work. He improved to 2-0 on the year.
Hardy picked up the defeat and fell to 1-1 on the season. He was charged with one earned run on three hits in 4.0 innings of work.
Pollock was the only Irish player with a multi-hit game. He went 2-for-5 with a double and RBI. Tate, Mills and Sherry all added a hit apiece. Sherry also scored two runs.
Lost in the wild finish was the quality start from freshman Dustin Ispas (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.), who did not render in the decision. The southpaw did not allow an earned run in 6.0 innings. Ispas struck out three, walked four and limited Grambling to just a pair of hits.
Fellow freshman Will Hudgins (Richmond, Va.) tossed 1.2 innings of scoreless relief. He did allow a couple of base hits, but also struck out a batter and did not issue a walk. Senior Jeremy Barnes (Garland, Texas), who went 0-for-1 from the plate with an RBI and three walks, made his first career pitching appearance for the Irish. He fanned the only batter he faced.
The Irish return to action Wednesday afternoon with second game of the series against Grambling. First pitch is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. CT.
— ND —