Here is your Big East Tournament Recap for Day 2.
South Florida 12 Pittsburgh 2
CLEARWATER, Fla. – The University of South Florida (33-23) baseball team won their first game of the BIG EAST Tournament by defeating Pittsburgh 12-2 in eight innings.
The Bulls mercy ruled the Panthers (28-20) on a game-ending three run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning by Sam Mende.
“It started out a little shaky, but Randy [Fontanez] settled down,” said head coach Lelo Prado. “I’m happy with the win. Now it’s a matter of win and move on. After last week, when we didn’t do a very good offensively, it was nice to see our bats going.”
USF got a complete game eight inning performance from sophomore starter Randy Fontanez (7-3) who allowed a pair of runs and eight hits while striking out one. Pittsburgh scored a run in the first and in the second, but Fontanez held them scoreless over the final six innings.
South Florida Recap
Pittsburgh Recap
St. John’s 12 Cincinnati 2
CLEARWATER, Fla. – Junior righty Bruce Kern allowed just two runs to notch his first-career complete game and lead St. John’s past Cincinnati, 12-2, in the second round of the BIG EAST Tournament. Greg Hopkins was 5-for-6, tying a BIG EAST Tournament record for hits in a single game, and Tim Morris was 4-for-6 with a two-run home run to lead St. John’s (30-21). Kern (5-4) threw just 107 pitches and worked 1-2-3 innings in the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth. Mike Spina was 2-for-4 with a home run for Cincinnati (29-29).
After a scoreless first inning, St. John’s took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second. After Morris singled into center to open the frame, Hopkins followed with a slow rolling infield single. Following a fly out, both runners moved up on a groundout before Danny Benedetti sent a two RBI single past the first baseman. When Morris trotted home, he broke the single season record for runs scored with 66.
Spina singled for Cincinnati to open the second before Kiley Jones drew a one-out walk. A balk advanced both runners, but a strikeout and a groundout kept the Bearcats off the board.
St. John’s Recap
Cincinnati Recap
Louisville 9 Notre Dame 2 (suspended Top 4)
CLEARWATER, Fla. – The 17th-ranked Louisville baseball team scored seven runs in the first inning and held a 9-2 advantage over Notre Dame when Wednesday’s second round game at the 2009 BIG EAST Championship was suspended after three innings due to heavy rain at Bright House Field.
The game will be resumed on Thursday at 10 a.m. ET in the top of the fourth inning with Louisville sophomore Phil Wunderlich scheduled to lead off. The winner advances to Friday’s semifinal round with a 2-0 record in the tournament, while the losing team will play an elimination game on Thursday night at a time to be determined.
After the start of Wednesday’s game was delayed two hours because of heavy rain, the two teams played three innings of baseball before the game was halted at 8:13 p.m. ET for rain. After more than an hour of extremely heavy rain saturated the playing surface at Bright House Field, BIG EAST officials made the decision to suspend the game until Thursday morning.
Louisville Recap
Notre Dame Recap
