By Brad McGuffin —

After baseball’s 2018 postseason ended in the NCAA Regionals, the 2019 season looks promising.

U of L is still loaded with talent after losing eight players to the MLB draft. Last year’s lineup was laden with sophomores, so the squad returns a junior-heavy team with veteran experience.

The team took to the diamond this past weekend for the first Red/Black intrasquad scrimmage of the fall.

Pitchers for the Black team were sophomore Nick Bennett, junior Austin Dickey and freshman Garrett Schmeltz

Pitchers for the Red team were sophomore Michael Kirian, freshman Jake Rosing and junior Michael McAvene.

Sophomore Ben Bianco gave the red team a 1-0 lead with a sacrifice fly in the top of the first.

The black team responded in the bottom of the inning with two runs. Freshman Ben Metzinger RBI singled for the 2-1 score.

Sophomore Cameron Masterman of the red team tied the contest 2-2 with a RBI single in the following inning.

In the bottom of the fifth, the black team took a 4-2 lead. Metzinger added his second RBI single and junior Ethan Stringer brought in another run with a RBI hit-by-pitch.

Freshman Jared Polland rocked a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth for a 6-2 black team lead.

The red team rallied with three runs in the top of the seventh but came up short, giving the black team a 6-5 victory. Freshman Chris Seng’s two RBI double powered the rally.

Opening day for the 2019 regular season is six months away. Seven starters return alongside 10 pitchers from last year’s squad.

Freshmen Metzinger, Poland and Seng stood out amongst the upperclassmen in the scrimmage. Each recorded multiple RBIs at the plate.

Baseball hosts WKU on Sept. 15 at 1 p.m. for their first fall scrimmage.

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File Photo / The Louisville Cardinal