Louisville Falls to North Carolina in Series Opener
(Photo of Louisville Players: William Caudill via University of Louisville Athletics)
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UL | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
UNC | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 5 | 11 | 0 |
W: Austin Love (7-4), L: Michael Kirian (5-3)
CHAPEL HILL, N. C. - Heading to the Tar Heel state for their final road trip of the regular season, the No. 8 Louisville baseball program had another disappointing late season performance, dropping their opener against North Carolina 5-1 on Friday at Boshamer Stadium.
The Cardinals (26-16, 16-11 ACC) suffered their fourth straight series opener in conference play, and have now lost five of their last eight games. They also drop to 5-6 all-time against the Tar Heels (22-22, 15-16 ACC).
For the third straight start, left-hander Michael Kirian (6.0 IP, 4 K, 8 H, 3 BB, 5 ER) looked shaky out on the mound. He gave up a two-run home run in the second, a solo homer in the third, and a two RBI single in the fifth. Fellow southpaw Evan Webster (2.0 IP, 1 K, 3 H, 1 BB) was able to toss a pair of scoreless innings of relief.
Meanwhile over at the plate, Louisville's batting was silenced by UNC starting pitcher Austin Love. The only offense the Cardinals could muster was a solo home run from catcher Henry Davis (1-3, HR) in the sixth, with outfielder Levi Usher (1-3), designated hitter Dalton Rushing (1-3) and shortstop Christian Knapczyk (1-3) collecting the only other base hits by Louisville.
Next up for Louisville, they'll continue their three-game weekend series at North Carolina with game two. First pitch is slated for Saturday, May. 15 at 2:00pm EST, and will be televised on ACC Network Extra & broadcast on 93.9 The Ville.
You can follow Louisville Report for future coverage by liking us on Facebook & following us on Twitter:
Facebook - @LouisvilleOnSI
Twitter - @LouisvilleOnSI and Deputy Editor Matthew McGavic at @GeneralWasp