Louisville Dominates NC State in Series Opener
(Photo of Jack Payton: Justin Krueger via University of Louisville Athletics)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UL | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 16 | 1 |
NCSU | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
W: Michael Kirian (4-0), L: Evan Justice (1-2)
RALEIGH, N.C. - Hoping to rebound from their upset loss at Eastern Kentucky earlier in the week, the No. 7 Louisville baseball program got back in the win column with authority, routing NC State 13-1 on Friday at Doak Field at Dail Park.
The Cardinals (12-5, 5-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) extend their win streak over the Wolfpack (4-7, 1-6 ACC) to four games, six straight on the road, and 13-4 in the all-time series.
Left-handed pitcher Michael Kirian (7.1 IP, 13 K, 2 H, 2 BB, 1 ER) made his fourth start of the season, and the long-time closer had arguably his best performance as a Cardinal. He retired 22 of the 26 batters he faced, struck out a career-high 13 batters, and had a no hitter going until the start of the eighth inning.
Not to be outdone, Louisville's batters had a fantastic bounce-back game following their dud at EKU. 10 different batters collected a base hit, with six driving in runs, five having multi-hit days and three driving in multiple runs.
Catcher Henry Davis (2-4, HR, 5 RBI, 2B, BB) and infielder Lucas Dunn (1-3, HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 2 R) both launched home runs, with designated hitter Ben Metzinger (2-4, 3 RBI, 2B, R) collecting his first hits and RBIs since returning from a back injury.
After Kirian reached 124 total pitches thrown, fellow southpaw Evan Webster (1.2 IP, 2 K, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 ER) entered the game. While NC State broke up the shut out in the eighth, it was the lone run scored by the Wolfpack all night.
Next up for Louisville, they'll continue their three-game weekend series at NC State with game two. First pitch is slated for Saturday, Mar. 19 at 2:00pm EST, and will be televised on ACC Network Extra & broadcast on 93.9 The Ville.
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