Slanker, Louisville Dominate Marshall in First Half of Two-Game Set

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Welcoming Marshall to Jim Patterson Stadium for a two-game midweek set, the Louisville baseball program came out on top in authoritative fashion in game one, earning a 16-5 run-rule victory on Tuesday.

The Cardinals (11-5) have now won four straight and eight of their last nine, and have captured run-rule wins in three of their last four games. They also snap the Thundering Herd's (8-7) five-game winning streak.

The winning effort was fueled primarily by an other-worldly effort from Ben Slanker (2-3, 2 HR, 8 RBI, SF). The outfielder hit Louisville's first grand slam of the season, had the first two-homer day by a Card since Eddie King Jr. back on June 7, 2025 against Miami, and had the program's first eight-RBI day since Alex Binelas had one on Apr. 26, 2019 against Alabama A&M.

First baseman Tague Davis (2-4, 3 RBI, HR) and second baseman Kade Elam (4-4, HR, RBI) also went yard, designated hitter Zion Rose (2-4, 2 RBI, 2 2B) drove in multiple runs in his season debut, while outfielder Lucas Moore (2-5, RBI, 3B) and shortstop Alex Alicea (2-4, RBI, 2B) were a part of the six players to have multi-hit days. As a team, Louisville collected 16 base hits, eight of which went for extra bases.

With as prolific of a day at the plate that Louisville had, it was actually Marshall that struck first with a trio of runs in the second. Jake Schweitzer (2.0 IP, 3 H, 3 ER) got the start, and the left-hander allowed an RBI double, RBI single and another run on a fielding error.

Fortunately, the bullpen was able to steady the ship. Fellow lefty Nicholas Ballard (2.0 IP, 3 K, 2 H, 1 ER) allowed only a run on a wild pitch in the fourth, right-hander Zane Stahl (0.2 IP, 1 K, 2 BB, 1 H, 1 ER) gave up just an RBI double in the fifth, while southpaw Ty Starke (1.0 IP, 1 K, 1 H) and right-hander Jack Brown (1.1 IP, 1 H) posted scoreless outings.

After not scoring in the opening frame, Louisville put up crooked numbers in each of the remaining five frames that they stepped up to the plate. They put back-to-back four-spots in the second and third, three-spots in the fourth and sixth, and a pair of runs in the fifth.

Slanker blasted a 448-foot three-run blast in the second, then Elam went back-to-back with a 388-foot solo shot. An inning later in the third, Slanker went yard again with a 372-foot grand slam, then Davis joined the party with a 367-foot three-run shot on the fourth.

In the fifth, Rose drove in both runs in the frame on an RBI double. Rounding out the scoring in the sixth, Slanker drove in his eighth run on a sacrifice fly, Alicea collected an RBI double, and Moore hit an RBI triple.

Next up for Louisville, they'll go for the midweek sweep against Marshall in game two. First pitch is slated for Wednesday, Mar. 11 at 11:00 a.m. EST, and will be televised on ACC Network Extra and broadcast on 970 WGTK.

More Cardinals Stories