May 21, 2007

BIG EAST Tournament Game Notes

QUEENS, N.Y.-- On Tuesday morning No. 6 seed Villanova (28-23, 12-15 Big East) will return to postseason play for the first time in 10 years when its takes on No. 3 seed Louisville (38-18, 19-8) at 10 a.m. at KeySpan Park in Brooklyn. The Wildcats earned their first berth to the BIG EAST Championship since 1997 by finishing in sixth place in the regular season league standings.

On the other side of the Villanova bracket in the championship, No. 2 seed Rutgers (36-18, 20-7) will play No. 7 seed Notre Dame (28-26, 11-15) at 1 p.m. on Tuesday. The winners of the two games meet at 5 p.m. on Wednesday while the losers will play on Wednesday at 10 a.m. The BIG EAST Championship utilizes a double-elimination format.

The Wildcats and Cardinals will meet for the fourth time this season in Tuesday's game. Villanova won the opening game of a three-game series at the Villanova Ballpark at Plymouth in late March to open conference play, winning 1-0 on an unearned run in the bottom of the ninth inning. Louisville responded by winning the next two games and has won five of the six meetings between the teams since the Cardinals joined the BIG EAST Conference last season.

Senior starting pitcher Mike Loree (Gillette, N.J.) will get the start for Villanova on Tuesday and will pitch against BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year Zack Pitts. The two faced each other in that 1-0 Wildcat win in March. Loree, a second team All-BIG EAST honoree, pitched a four-hit shutout to win that contest while Pitts went seven scoreless innings in the game. The four-hitter for Loree marked the first complete game shutout by a Villanova pitcher since 2003.

Live audio and video of all games in the BIG EAST Championship is available for free by accessing www.bigeastbaseball.com or www.villanova.com. Live scoring via Gametracker will also be available for every tournament game.