Louisville Drops Series Opener at Virginia Tech

Press Release from the University of Louisville:

BLACKSBURG, Va. – The No. 15 University of Louisville baseball team rallied in the ninth inning, but came up one run short in a 5-4 loss at Virginia Tech on Friday evening.

Louisville (17-4, 2-2 ACC) entered the ninth inning trailing 5-1 before nearly coming all the way back.

Kamau Neighbors got things started with a one-out double off the left field wall before Lucas Moore walked. Alex Alicea then singled on the infield to bring the tying run to the plate.

Zion Rose beat out an infield single to plate the first run of the inning, which was followed by run-scoring walks for Matt Klein and Jake Munroe to make it a 5-4 game with still only one out.

However, a strikeout and groundout left the Cardinals on the wrong end of the scoreboard.

Virginia Tech (15-7, 3-4) was carried by a pair of Sam Tackett two-run home runs, one in the first and one in the sixth. The Hokies got another run on a double in the sixth as well and held a 5-0 lead after seven.

Louisville finally got on the board in the eighth as Klein singled home Rose.

Patrick Forbes (2-1) took his first loss of the season with five runs allowed over six innings. The right-hander allowed seven hits and tallied seven strikeouts. Brandin Crawford and Ty Starke each pitched scoreless innings.

The top five hitters in Louisville’s lineup each had two hits on the day, with Klein the only player to drive in multiple runs.

Louisville and Virginia Tech continue the three-game weekend set on Saturday with first pitch set for 3 p.m. ET.

(Photo of Zion Rose via University of Louisville Athletics)

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