Louisville baseball sweeps last full week of non-conference play

By Derek DeBurger

Louisville ended their weekend on the up and up by sweeping the week.

This was the final week of non-conference play, as Louisville will begin facing ACC opponents Friday.

Tuesday

Despite a great week, it got off to a rocky start against the Morehead State Eagles.

For the second straight weekday game the Cards found themselves in a hole early. Colton Hartman received the short-lived start after walking the first batter, hitting the second and giving up a home run to the third to bring the score to 0-3 with no outs.

Harman was pulled and the Cards were able to get out of the inning.

The pitching staff shored up for a bit, holding the Eagles scoreless through their next three innings.

Then in the fourth inning, Morehead loaded the bases with three walks. Matt Klein then brought two runs home, then just one pitch later Jake Munroe brought home another run.

After a bunt and a ground out, Louisville took the lead 4-3.

The good times ended in the top of the fifth. Yet another string of letting two runners on base and a three-run homer to follow put Louisville back down 4-6.

A double from Tagger Tyson and a single from Kamau Neighbors cut the lead to one run, but that would be the bulk of scoring for quite some time.

Then the Eagles would tack on two more runs combined in the eighth and ninth innings to bring the score to 5-8.

With Louisville struggling to get any offense going, they were suddenly backed into a corner with no other option but to score.

Louisville saw their first two batters in the bottom of the ninth get out, and their room for error dropped to none. Then in back-to-back at bats, Klein and Munroe hit solo homers to cut the deficit to one run.

Louisville then loaded the bases, and Neighbors drew a walk to send the tying run to home plate. After failing to score further, Louisville was headed to extra innings.

The pitching staff gave up a walk and a hit, but a fly out and a double play got the Cards back on offense.

Two more walks and a pop fly set Alex Alicea in scoring position, and Munroe got the base hit to walk it off for the Cards.

Louisville escaped 9-8.

Friday

The weekend series against the UIC Flames got out to a much better, more fun start for the Cards.

Louisville scored at least a run in each of the first five innings, jumping out to an 8-0 lead.

During this run, Tague Davis was the only Cardinals player to hit a home run. Klein drove in two runs, but both were off of sacrifice flies.

On the mound, Patrick Forbes mowed down batters left and right, recording nine strikeouts in six innings pitched. In three of his innings pitched, he didn’t allow a single base runner.

His day came to an end an inning after giving up his only run of the day in the fifth inning.

Dan McDonnell started getting bench players some playing time in the seventh inning, tipping his hand on how confident he was.

UIC hit a solo homer on a full count in the seventh, but that would be their last hurrah.

Zion Rose was the last to score, hitting an RBI single in the eighth but the Cards came up just shy of a run-rule.

Louisville won 10-2.

Saturday

Louisville got out to a slower start in game two. Parker Detmers gave up a base hit to the first batter, then a wild pitch, steal and a SAC fly saw the Cards fall behind 0-1.

Detmers got Louisville out of the inning, and Lucas Moore matched the score off of a fielder’s choice.

Detmers then walked the first batter of the second inning, ending his day in favor for Jack Brown. Brown then hit the next batter, and UIC played small ball all the way to another run.

The bottom then fell out for the Flames, loading the bases exclusively off walks. UIC made a pitching change, but nothing really changed as Munroe drove in a run being hit by a pitch, and Davis walked in another run.

Garret Pike sent another run home on a SAC fly and two walks later Louisville scored their fourth run of the inning.

In the fourth Louisville kept on the attack with RBIs from Munroe and Davis followed by a two-run homer from Pike. After a walk and a HBP, Moore drove home the fifth run of the inning to give Louisville a 10-2 lead.

After taking a break in the fifth, Louisville had a walk and three consecutive HBPs to score another run. A two-RBI-single from Klein brought the score to 13-2.

Suddenly just three outs from victory, the Cards gave up a solo homer just three pitches into the inning. But Louisville tightened up, getting two of the next three batters out via strikeout.

Louisville won via run-rule 13-3, clinching the series.

Sunday

Looking for the sweep, Louisville gave themselves an early lead.

Peter Michael was a maestro on the mound, getting eight strikeouts through five scoreless innings.

Meanwhile, Louisville gave themselves a cushion in the early innings with a fielder’s choice in the first and a solo homer from Davis in the second.

Then the bats went quiet, with neither team scoring through the sixth inning. While the Cards couldn’t score, it wasn’t for lack of trying. In three straight innings the Cards left two runners stranded on base.

Then the Flames took advantage of Louisville’s mistakes in the seventh. UIC had a base hit, then off of a wild pitch and a throwing error on a pick-off attempt the runner reached third. A double sent the runner home and brought the score to 2-1.

In the bottom of the seventh, Rose got hit by a pitch, stole second and third and got sent home off a base hit from Munroe. Then a single from Bayram Hot and a SAC fly from Davis put extended Louisville’s lead to 5-1.

A solo home run in the eighth cut the lead to three, but Wyatt Danilowicz came out to the mound and closed the game out.

Louisville won 5-2 and swept UIC.