April 13, 2000
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Sophomores Ken Meyer and Andrew Bushey delivered the big hits while their classmate Drew Duff tossed six solid innings of middle relief, as Notre Dame defeated visiting Toledo, 6-3, in non-conference baseball action Thursday at Eck Stadium.
Notre Dame (24-8) scored three runs in the second inning and three in the fourth while three Irish pitchers combined for six 1-2-3 innings. Duff (2-1) took the mound in the third inning and went on to allow the three runs on six hits and no walks while striking out two Toledo batters.
Toledo (12-17) managed just seven baserunners in the game while freshman lefthander Mike Delong suffered the complete-game loss in his first decision of the season, allowing nine hits and two walks while striking out three Irish batters.
Senior righthander John Corbin closed things out in the ninth for his second save in as many days, his seventh of the season and the 16th of his career (extending his own Irish career record). Corbin faced just four batters, yielding a two-out walk to Pilewski.
Meyer-who has hits in seven of his last 11 at-bats-batted 2-for-4 >from the leadoff spot as the Irish DH, with two RBI. The lefthanded-hitting Bushey smacked an RBI double and scored in the second inning before stroking his first home run of the season-and third of his career-over the fence in left field.
Bushey’s home run was the first of his career at Eck Stadium and his first since the 11-5 win at Georgetown on May 9, 1999. His other career home run also went to the opposite field, in the 14-11 win at New Orleans early in the 1999 season (the Irish tied a team record with seven home runs in that game).
Freshman righthander Brandon Viloria opened the game for the Irish by setting down six straight batters, with one strikeout. He has yet to allow a run this season in 10 innings pitched, with just five hits and no walks by opposing batters this season.
Notre Dame-which entered the week ranked sixth in the nation for team ERA-kept that number at 3.02 with Thursday’s effort.
SCORING RECAP
* Senior 1B Jeff Felker led off the bottom of the 2nd with a single through the right side and moved up on Brian Stavisky’s groundout before scoring on Bushey’s 0-1 double to right-center sophomore LF Matt Strickroth plated the second run with a 1-0 single up the middle and Meyer gave the Irish a 3-0 lead with his two-out, 1-2 single through the left side.
* Toledo plated two runs in the 4th, with Eddie Ziemke hitting a 1-2 double to left-center before scoring on Mario Wallace’s two-out single to right Mike Ernst followed with a first-pitch single up the middle before Phil Pilewski hit an RBI single to center.
* ND answered in the bottom of the inning, with Bushey sending a one-out, 0-1 pitch over the leftfield fence before Strickroth walked on five pitches Perconte then singled up the middle and the runners moved up when CF Tony Miller fumbled with the ball Strickroth scooted home on a wild pitch and Meyer pushed the lead to 6-2 with a single down the leftfield line.
* Toledo scored the game’s final run in the 7th, with Ernst hitting a leadoff single to right and moving up on a groundout before scoring on a two-out, 1-2 single to right by Jay Juras.
TOLEDO 0-0-0 2-0-0 1-0-0 - 3 6 2NOTRE DAME 0-3-0 3-0-0 0-0-X - 6 9 0
Viloria, Duff (3), Corbin (9) and Nussbaum. Delong and Ernst.