Louisville Drops Opener at NC State

The Cardinals blew a five-run lead to the Wolfpack in the series opener.

Louisville baseball infielder Alex Alicea (0) | Jared Anderson - Louisville Report

Press Release from the University of Louisville:

RALEIGH, N.C. – The 11th-ranked University of Louisville baseball team suffered a 13-11 loss on Friday night in the opening game of the weekend series at NC State.

Louisville (25-8, 8-5 ACC) scored in double figures for the seventh consecutive ACC game, but came up a pair of runs short.

The Cardinals charged out of the gate, taking a 7-2 lead with a run in the first, five in the third and another in the fourth. Eddie King Jr. punctuated the early offense with a two-run homer in the five-run third.

NC State (23-11, 8-5) grabbed its first lead of the night behind a seven-run fourth inning, capitalizing on five walks to take a 9-7 lead.

Trailing for the first time on the night, Louisville answered right back in the fifth. Kamau Neighbors’ single with the bases loaded tied the game at nine and Lucas Moore gave the Cards the lead back with a sacrifice fly. Zion Rose then tacked on the 11th run with a double into the corner.

The Wolfpack then responded with three runs in the bottom half of the fifth to take the lead back for good.

Louisville’s offensive attack came to a halt over the final four innings, being limited to just one hit over from the sixth inning on.

All nine Louisville starters picked up a hit on the night, with eight of the nine scoring a run.

Louisville and NC State continue the series on Saturday with first pitch at 3 p.m. ET.

(Photo of Alex Alicea: Jared Anderson - Louisville Cardinals On SI)

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