By Matt Bradshaw —

No. 25 baseball defeated Notre Dame 5-4 in the first of a three-game weekend series at home. With the contest tied at 4-4 in the bottom of the ninth inning, Louisville rallied a run for the walk-off victory.

The Cardinals (38-16) enter the weekend third-place in the ACC. The series with the Irish (24-26) comprises the final three games in Louisville’s regular season.

Sophomore Logan Wyatt continued a stellar season at the plate, batting 2-for-4 with three RBIs and a home run. Junior Adam Wolf dominated on the mound with eight strikeouts through seven innings.

Wolf (6-2) started on the mound for the Cards. The lefty began the top of the first inning with two straight walks.

Notre Dame took advantage on the next at-bat with a grounder into left field. Sophomore Justin Lavey committed an error at third base, allowing the Irish to strike first with a score.

Junior Pat Rumoro tied the game at 1-1 with a RBI single in the bottom of the second.

In the bottom of the third, Wyatt gave Louisville a 3-1 lead with a towering two-run homer. The Louisville native continued a strong performance with a RBI single in the bottom of the fifth.

After allowing one run in the first inning, Wolf kept Notre Dame scoreless for six straight innings. Freshman Michael Kirian took the mound in the top of the eighth.

The Irish immediately went to work on the lefty. Kirian allowed a two RBI triple, reducing Louisville’s lead to 4-3.

Coach Dan McDonnell then replaced the freshman with Austin Conway. With two outs and a runner on third base, the graduate student allowed the tying run to score with a wild pitch.

With the game tied at 4-4, junior Devin Mann began a ninth-inning rally with a single up the middle. Notre Dame then intentionally walked Wyatt, putting runners on first and second with one out.

Junior Josh Stowers next drew a walk to load the bases.

Freshman Zach Britton became the hero as he slammed a line-drive into left field, scoring Mann and winning the game 5-4 for Louisville.

Baseball faces Notre Dame in game two of the series on Friday, May 17 at 6 p.m.

You can follow Matt Bradshaw on Twitter @bradmatt8.

Photos by Nancy Hanner / The Louisville Cardinal