Louisville Routs Western Kentucky Behind Offensive Explosion
(Photo of Lucas Dunn: William Caudill via University of Louisville Athletics)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
WKU | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 1 |
UL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 4 | X | 13 | 17 | 1 |
W: Seamus Barrett (1-0), L: Aaron Shiflet (0-2)
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Fresh off the heels of their three-game sweep on the road at NC State, the No. 6 Louisville baseball program returned home and continued on that momentum with an explosion of offense, taking down Western Kentucky 13-6 on Tuesday at Jim Patterson Stadium.
The Cardinals (15-5, 7-2 ACC) collected 17 hits and seven extra base hits, extending their win streak to four and winning eight of their last nine games in the process. They also extend their win streak against the Hilltoppers (10-10, 0-0 C-USA) to seven.
Western Kentucky opened up the scoring with a two-run home run in the first off of starting pitcher right-hander Luke Smith (3.0 IP, 3 K, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 ER), but Louisville immediately countered with an RBI groundout from catcher Henry Davis (1-5, 2 RBI, R) in the bottom of the inning to trim the deficit.
After a couple quiet innings, the Cardinals' offense then took off. Designated hitter Ben Metzinger (2-4, RBI) tallied an RBI knock in the fourth, third baseman Alex Binelas (4-4, 5 RBI, 2 3B, BB, 3 R) sent home a pair on a base hit of his own fifth, later scoring on a wild pitch, then second baseman Cooper Bowman (2-5, RBI, R) launched a solo home run in the sixth for his fifth of the year.
However, the Hilltoppers would not go quietly. After plating a single run in the fifth off of right-hander Seamus Barrett (1.0 IP, 1 K, 1 H, 1 BB 1 ER), they followed that up with three runs in the seventh off of fellow righty Cam Robinson (0.1 IP, 1 K, 1 H, 2 BB, 3 ER) to get within a run of the Cardinals.
Louisville didn't spend much time ahead by just a single run. Immediately after the WKU three-spot, infielder Lucas Dunn (2-4, 2 RBI, 2B, 3B, 2 R) sent Binelas home on his first triple of the season, then outfielder Cam Masterman (0-3, RBI) sent him home on a fielder's choice groundout.
Not to be outdone, the Cardinals followed their seventh inning two-spot with an eighth inning four-spot. Davis extended his hitting streak to 22 with an RBI single, the second-longest in school history, then Binelas struck a 3 RBI triple for his second three-bagger of the night.
By game's end, Louisville used eight different pitchers, with left-handers Kellan Tulio (1.0 IP, 1 K, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 ER), Tate Kuehner (1.0 IP, 1 K, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 ER) and Evan Webster (0.1 IP, 1 K, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 ER); and right-handers Kaleb Corbett (1.1 IP, 1 K, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 ER) and Alex Galvan (1.0 IP, 2 K, 0 H, 2 BB, 0 ER) also getting in on the action.
Next up for Louisville, they'll hit the road for a three-game weekend series at Notre Dame. First pitch is slated for Friday, Mar. 19 at 4:00pm EST, and will be televised on ACC Network Extra & broadcast on 93.9 The Ville.
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