By Derek DeBurger
Louisville heads home after a winless weekend in Tampa.
The threat of rain modified what was supposed to be a one-game-a-day tournament into a doubleheader against the Indiana State Sycamores and the UConn Huskies on Friday, and a final game against the USF Bulls on Saturday.
We start with the Sycamores…
Against Indiana State, transfer pitcher Sebastian Gongora got off to a slow start allowing two runs in the second inning, but finding his rhythm and retiring his final eight batters faced. Louisville’s batters recorded only one hit in the first two innings but scored three runs in the third including two runs scored off of a triple from Luke Napleton. The Cards brought home another run in the fourth inning to take a 4-2 lead.
After an impressive first outing, Gongora was pulled before the sixth inning and things began to sour. Will Koger started the sixth and promptly gave up two walks and two hits, and allowing the Sycamores to tie the game. Koger was then pulled for Riley Phillips who gave up one more run but got the Cards out of the inning. In the bottom of the sixth, the Cards responded with two more triples and three runs of their own to reclaim the lead at 7-5.
In the seventh inning, Phillips walked a batter, gave up a hit, and then allowed a three-run home run to give the Sycamores a one-run lead once more. Phillips was pulled for Jake Karaba who would finish the game, allowing no more runs. With Karaba pitching well, the pressure was all on Louisville’s batters, but they were unable to make anything happen with only one batter reaching base in the final three innings.
Louisville would lose 7-8.
…and end with UConn.
The second game of Friday’s doubleheader against UConn started as another low-scoring affair. Evan Webster received the start and allowed two hits and two walks to four strikeouts in four innings. In the fifth inning, UConn finally broke the stalemate with a solo home run to take a one-run lead.
Louisville would break their drought in the seventh after loading the bases and scoring three runs on the next two at-bats. In the eighth inning, their side struck out, and back-to-back solo home runs tied the game at 3-3. After failing to score again, Louisville needed to try and force extra innings. Instead, Louisville gave up one hit and allowed the pinch-runner to make his way home for the walk-off run.
Louisville would lose the game 3-4.
After a rain delay postponed the USF game until Sunday, more rain cut the series short at just two games. Louisville’s 0-2 finish starts their season off on the wrong foot.
After dealing with pitching troubles the past few seasons, it was refreshing to see what looks like a strong starting lineup and a great closer in Karaba. The problem is with the relief — it needs to be figured out if the Cards want to make it back to the NCAA tournament. The batting left a little bit to be desired as it failed to get hits when it mattered most but still scored in bursts.
The two one-run losses give the Cardinal faithful painful flashbacks of last season, with eight of the losses in 2023 being by just one run. The returning production from the dugout and the promise from the starting and closing pitchers leave you hopeful that Dan McDonnell and company can figure things out, but the gap in the relief pitching may scare you.
For now, the Cards are 0-2 to start the year.
