Louisville Falls to Northwestern in Series Finale, Snaps 10-Game Winning Streak
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
NW | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
UofL | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
W: Kyle Potthoff (2-0), L: Parker Detmers (1-1), S: Garrett Shearer (2)
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Their three-game weekend series against Northwestern might have already been secured, but the Louisville baseball program was unable to finish what they started, falling 6-3 on Sunday in the series finale at Jim Patterson Stadium.
Not only are the Cardinals (10-5) denied the series sweep over the Wildcats (6-7), their 10-game win streak - which was the fifth-longest active streak in D1 - is snapped in the process. Louisville averaged 14.4 runs per game during their winning streak.
Louisville's 10-game winning streak had been primarily powered by a red-hot offense, but the Cardinals' bats went ice cold in most of the series finale. Through the first six innings, they generated just three base hits, four total baserunners, and didn't have a single inning where more than one player reached base.
Their pitching and defense didn't have a banner day, either. For the afternoon, Louisville walked nine batters despite striking out 11, allowed 18 Northwestern players to reach base, and committed four errors - their second-most of the season.
Getting the start on the mound after Patrick Forbes was scratched due to illness, Parker Detmers (1.1 IP, 1 K, 3 BB, 2 H, 2 ER) struggled with his command. After loading the bases to start the game, Northwestern struck first with a pair of runs in the first, doing so on a sacrifice fly and a wild pitch.
Two batters into the second, Detmers was pulled in favor of Kayden Campbell (0.2 IP, 1 BB, 2 H, 1 ER), and he didn't have a crisp outing, either. The Wildcats scratched across two more runs in the frame, with Campbell allowing an RBI single and RBI groundout.
Colton Hartman (2.0 IP, 4 K, 3 BB, 1 H, 1 ER) had a much better outing than the first two pitchers who took the mound, but NW got to him as well. After Hartman pitched a scoreless third inning, he would then allow an RBI single in the fourth.
Louisville finally got some stability on the mound when Riley Phillips (2.2 IP, 4 K, 1 BB, 2 H) entered the game, tossing scoreless fifth and sixth innings, The only reason Northwestern added a run under his watch in the seventh was due to a pair of defensive errors by the Cards.
It wasn't until the sixth inning that Louisville finally broke the shutout. Isaac Humphrey collected his third home run of the season, blasting a 424-foot solo shot into the right field trees.
The Cardinals' bats finally started to wake up in the seventh, plating a pair of runs and generating five of their seven base runners of the afternoon in the frame. Alex Alicea (0-2, BB) drew a bases loaded walk, then Zion Rose (2-3) scampered home on a wild pitch.
Kaleb Corbett (0.2 IP, 1 BB, 1 H) and Jared Lessman (1.2 IP, 2 K, 1 H) combined to keep the Wildcats off the board in the final two innings, but Louisville was unable to capitalize on it. They produced just two base runners in the final two innings, erasing any hope of a comeback.
Next up for Louisville, they'll kickoff a two-game midweek series with Lipscomb. First pitch of game one is slated for Tuesday, Mar. 12 at 3:00 p.m. EST, and will be televised on ACC Network Extra and broadcast on 970 WGTK.
(Photo of Eddie King Jr.: Jared Anderson - Louisville Report)
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