Louisville Drops Rematch at Eastern Kentucky
(Photo of Kaleb Corbett: Justin Krueger via University of Louisville Athletics)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UL | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 1 |
EKU | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | X | 6 | 9 | 0 |
W: Bryce Travis (1-0), L: Tate Kuehner (1-2)
RICHMOND, Ky. - Hitting the road for a rematch with Eastern Kentucky, the No. 7 Louisville baseball program could not complete the regular season sweep against the Colonels, falling 6-3 on Tuesday at Earl Combs Stadium.
The Cardinals' (11-5, 4-2 ACC) 14-game win streak against the Colonels (6-9, 1-2 OVC), which was the second-longest active winning streak against any opponent for Louisville, has now been snapped. Head coach Dan McDonnell suffers only his second ever loss to EKU, and first since 2009.
Eastern Kentucky plated a pair of runs in the first inning off of starting right-hander Seamus Barrett (2.0 IP, 3 K, 4 H, 1 BB, 2 ER), but Louisville responded by scratching across a run in the first three innings.
Catcher Henry Davis (1-2, RBI, 2 BB) struck an RBI single in the first, outfielder Cam Masterman (1-4, HR) hit his fifth home run of the season in the second, and third baseman Alex Binelas (0-3, RBI, SF) hit a sacrifice fly in the third.
The Colonels had a response of their own, tying the game in the fourth thanks to a solo home run off of left-hander Riley Phillips (2.0 IP, 3 K, 2 H, 0 BB, 1 ER). Fellow southpaw Tate Kuehner (2.0 IP, 3 K, 2 H, 1 BB, 3 ER) kept EKU at bay for a couple innings, until he worked himself into a bases loaded jam with no outs in the seventh.
Left-hander Adam Elliott (2.0 IP, 4 K, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 ER) replaced Kuehner, and seemed destined to work out of the jam as he struck out the next two batter he faced. But when he was down to his final strike, he allowed an HBP and then a base hit to bring home three runs for EKU.
Louisville's offense gave them very little chance to get back in the game, as they were ice cold down the stretch. The Cardinals' final 13 batters were retired in order, their last base hit came in the fourth inning, and they only four for the entire game.
Next up for Louisville, they'll continue their four-game road trip for a a three-game weekend series at NC State. First pitch is slated for Friday, Mar. 19 at 6:30pm EST, and will be televised on ACC Network Extra & broadcast on 93.9 The Ville.
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