Louisville Obliterates Morehead State for Eighth-Straight Win

The Cardinals have averaged 15.4 runs per game during their winning streak.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R
MSU	0	0	2	0	2	0	0	0	1	5
UofL	1	4	6	1	2	3	1	1	X	19

W: Riley Phillips (1-1), L: Joe Rotkis (0-1)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Continuing on their 18-game home stand, the Louisville baseball program's offensive show of force carried into their midweek matchup against in-state foe Morehead State, winning 19-5 on Wednesday at Jim Patterson Stadium.

The Cardinals (8-4) have now won their last eight games after dropping their first four games of the season, and improve to 17-1 against the Eagles (7-5) under head coach Dan McDonnell.

Wednesday marked just the second time under McDonnell that Louisville scored a run in every inning, and the first time since Feb. 25, 2022 against Dartmouth. The Cardinals have plated 15.4 runs per game during their winning streak, and cracked double figures all but once. 

The fireworks at the plate were powered primarily by a pair of explosive performances from J.T. Benson (1-1, HR, 5 RBI, 2 SF) and Lucas Moore (2-4, 5 RBI, 3B), who combined for 10 of Louisville's 18 RBI. Additionally, Benson, Gavin Kilen (4-5, HR, 2 RBI, 3 2B), Michael Lippe (3-4, HR, RBI, 2 BB) and Ryan McCoy (1-3, HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB) all launched home runs on the afternoon.

Logan Beard (1-2, 2 RBI) also had a multi-RBI day, plus Isaac Humphrey (2-3, RBI, 2B, 2 BB) joined Kilen, Lippe and Moore in having multi-hit days. Of Louisville's nine starters, eight of them collected a base hit.

A sacrifice fly from Benson in the opening frame got Louisville's scoring efforts started, then the Cardinals followed that up with a four-spot in the second. In that inning, Moore drove in three with a bases loaded triple, then Benson collected his second sac fly of the game.

On the heels of a quality start last week against Eastern Kentucky, Carson Liggett (4.0 IP, 3 K, 5 BB, 2 H, 4 ER) struggled a touch against Morehead State. He tied his career-high in walks, allowed seven batters to reach base, and gave up a two-run home run - his fourth allowed of the year - in the third to break the shutout.

Louisville immediately responded in the bottom of the frame, putting up six runs in the third. Humphrey hit an RBI double, Moore collected a two-run single, then Benson launched a 391-foot, three-run home run to the left field berm. A 403-foot leadoff solo homer in the fourth by Kilen, the first of his career, made it seven unanswered runs.

Riley Phillips (2.0 IP, 5 K, 1 BB, 1 H) allowed a pair of runs in the fifth on a balk and wild pitch after he replaced Liggett as the first reliever out of the bullpen, but rebounded to strikeout the side in the fifth and toss a scoreless sixth. Not only did he tie his season high, in his last 3.2 innings pitched, he has struck out 10 batters. 

Of course, the scoring did stop there, as Louisville went on to plate seven more unanswered runs in the late stages of the game. Beard hit a two-run single in the fifth, McCoy blasted a 389-foot, three-run homer down the right field line in the sixth, Kilen collected a two RBI double in the seventh, then Lippe launched a 384-foot solo homer in the eighth. 

The Cardinals' bullpen also held their own down the stretch. Colton Hartman (1.0 IP, 2 K) tossed a scoreless seventh inning, Jake Karaba (1.0 IP, 2 K, 1 H) twirled a scoreless eighth for his first scoreless outing since the season opener, then Dan Snyder (1.0 IP, 1 K, 1 H, 1 ER) allowed just a solo homer in the ninth.

Next up for Louisville, they'll face their first Power Five opponent of the year and host Northwestern for a three-game weekend series. First pitch of game one is slated for Friday, Mar. 8 at 3:00 p.m. EST, and will be televised on ACC Network Extra and broadcast on 970 WGTK.

(Photo via Jared Anderson - Louisville Report)

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