By Derek DeBurger

Louisville has now strung together a seven-game winning streak after starting the season 0-4, continuing to improve on both sides of the ball.

The week started with the EKU Colonels on Tuesday. Carson Liggett pitched six innings with five strikeouts and three earned runs. All in all, Liggett had an ok day, but he didn’t need to be perfect; U of L’s bats swung early, scoring often. By the time Liggett’s day was over he left the mound with an 8-3 lead. The bullpen came in, gave up zero runs, and Riley Phillips had a great day with five strikeouts in just seven batters.

Louisville would win the game 12-3, with Liggett picking up his first win of the season.

JT Benson stood out, going 3-for-3 with four RBIs and one walk.

The weekend series was with the Youngstown State Penguins, and Louisville dominated both sides of the ball in Friday’s game. With Sebastian Gongora pitching six innings he nicked 10 strikeouts, gave up only three hits, and one earned run. Gongora was easily able to pick up his first win of the season, leaving the game with a 14-1 lead. Louisville swung well in scoring 19 runs, but they also were seeing the ball well as they were walked just 12 times. Once again, Jake Karaba didn’t close out the game but the relief pitchers did just fine.

Kade Grundy recorded five strikeouts in the two innings he pitched.

Saturday’s game was the closest of the series in the final inning. Evan Webster pitched six scoreless innings en route to his first win of the season, and Tucker Biven did very well coming in for middle relief. Louisville maintained a constant momentum, scoring nine runs through the first seven innings, but the Penguins were able to score five runs in the top of the ninth. Louisville got out of the inning to end the game, but it was a definite scare for a team still looking to see the potential in the bullpen.

Final score, 9-5.

Sunday’s game featured a relentless offense, and the pitching was stout. Louisville only had seven hits on the game, but recorded 10 runs after capitalizing off of several errors and walks thrown by the Penguins. Louisville also threw five different pitchers, all with a fair amount of success.

Louisville cruised to a 10-2 win, sweeping the series with ease.

EKU and Youngstown State are not good teams, but it’s nice to see the Cards go an entire week without there being any real doubt about an outcome. It’s also very reassuring to see the bullpen perform so well. The starters finally showed the ability to shut down opponents.

Louisville didn’t throw Karaba the whole week, and Luke Napleton didn’t see the field until Sunday, though it didn’t look like their absences were missed too much. It’s a great sign that the Cards are deep enough to win despite being without some of their best players.

This time, Dan McDonnell reverted to the veterans in the lineup and the underclassmen were interspersed. The fielding errors were cleaned up and the batting didn’t seem to suffer. It looks like McDonnell is still figuring out who he likes to play in what situations, but this past week has given him a lot to go off of.

The talent on the other side of the field might not have been there, but it was great to see the Cards dominate on their way to 7-4 on the season.

Photo Courtesy // Adam Mouchrani, Louisville Athletics