Louisville Defeats Youngstown State to Clinch Series
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
YSU | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 |
UL | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | X | 9 |
W: Evan Webster (1-0), L: Sloan Ulrich (0-2)
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Continuing on their weekend series against Youngstown State, the Louisville baseball program carried their momentum from the series opener the day before into game two, capturing a 9-5 decision on Saturday at Jim Patterson Stadium.
The Cardinals (6-4) clinch their three-game set against the Penguins (0-8), and push their active win streak to six consecutive in the process. However, they barely snap their five-game streak in which they plated double-digit runs, which had been the longest for Louisville since 2019.
Making his third start of the season, converted reliever Evan Webster (6.0 IP, 6 K, 6 H) put together one of the best outings of his career. He set a career-high in both innings pitched and strikeouts, and allowed no walks in an outing longer than 4.0 innings for the first time in his career.
While the hitting wasn't quite as explosive as it was the day before, Louisville still got some productive days at the plate. Brandon Anderson (3-4, BB) and Michael Lippe (3-4, 2 RBI, 2 2B) each had three-hit days, while Lippe and Matt Klein (2-4, 2 RBI, 2B) both drive in multiple runs.
Eddie King Jr. (1-4, RBI, 2B) got Louisville's scoring efforts started in the second inning with an RBI fielder's choice, then Lippe struck an RBI double and Gavin Kilen (2-4, RBI) collected an RBI single in the third. Lippe then hit his second RBI double of the game in the fifth.
Louisville blew the game wide open in the sixth inning, plating a trio of runs. J.T. Benson (0-4, RBI) pushed across a run on a bases loaded groundout, then after Anderson was intentionally walked, Klein smacked a two-run single.
The Cardinals added insult to injury in the eighth inning with a pair of two-out home runs to the left field berm, with Ryan McCoy (1-2, HR, RBI, 2 BB) hitting his 370 feet and Logan Beard (1-4, HR, RBI) going 396. It was Louisville's first time hitting back-to-back homers since Anderson and King did it on Apr. 28, 2023 vs. Miami.
Tucker Biven (2.0 IP, 3 K, 2 H) was just as overwhelming as Webster was, tossing a pair of scoreless innings as the first reliever out of the pen.
However, Youngstown State certainly made things interesting in the ninth. Mitchell Dean (0.2 IP, 3 H, 1 HBP, 5 ER) retired the first two batters of the frame, but then loaded the bases and gave up three runs on a bases loaded hit-by-pitch and a two-run double. While Kaleb Corbett (0.1 IP, 1 K) did allow a two-run double to his first batter faced, he followed the up with a strikeout to secure the final out.
Next up for Louisville, they'll go for the sweep over Youngstown State with their game three series finale. First pitch is slated for Saturday, Mar. 3 at 1:00 p.m. EST, and will be televised on ACC Network Extra and broadcast on 970 WGTK.
(Photo of Evan Webster: Jared Anderson - Louisville Report)
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