Louisville Splits Doubleheader at Pitt to Open Series

Game 1

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
#5 UL	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	5	7	12	6
UP	2	3	0	1	0	0	2	0	X	8	8	7

W: Matt Gilbertson (4-2), L: Tate Kuehner (4-1)

Game 2

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
#5 UL	2	0	4	4	0	0	0	2	2	14	17	0
UP	0	0	2	0	1	0	0	1	2	6	9	2

W: Jared Poland (2-1), L: Logan Evans (3-2)

PITTSBURGH - Heading up to the Steel City for a weekend series with Pitt, the Louisville baseball program got the action started by splitting a doubleheader to open the series, falling 8-7 in game one but taking game two 14-6 Saturday at Charles L. Cost Field.

The Cardinals (21-6, 7-1 ACC) might have suffered their first loss in league play to snap a 12-game winning streak to the Panthers (14-11, 4-6 ACC), but are still very much positioned atop both the Atlantic Division and the ACC as a whole. The series now heads to a rubber match, where Louisville sports a 17-6 record in ACC series since joining the league.

Game one saw the Cardinals attempt to mount a furious rally in the ninth inning, only to come up short by the slimmest of margins. Louisville entered the final frame trailing 8-2, and were able to scratch across five runs before Pitt put a stop to the late surge.

For the second time in three pitching starts, Tate Kuehner (4.0 IP, 3 K, 5 BB, 4 H, 4 ER) struggled from the mound. Pitt jumped on his early by plating two runs in the opening frame, then immediately followed that up with a three-spot in the second. The Panthers also got a solo home run off of him in the fourth.

Louisville finally got on the board in the sixth inning, with Cam Masterman (2-5, HR, RBI) launching a solo home run and Levi Usher (2-4, RBI, 2B) adding an RBI double. Unfortunately, Pitt then responded by plating a pair of runs off of reliever Cam Robinson (2.1 IP, 3 K, 2 H, 2 ER) in the seventh.

Bullpen arm Kade Grundy (1.2 IP, 3 K, 2 H, 0 ER) gave the offense a bit of a chance by keeping the Panthers at bay in the eighth.

An inning later, Ben Bianco (1-4, RBI) got the rally attempt started with an RBI single. That was then followed up by a fielder's choice RBI from Christian Knapczyk (1-5, RBI), then a three-run homer from Ben Metzinger (2-5, HR, 3 RBI).

Louisville took that momentum from the end of game one, and carried it directly into the second leg of the doubleheader. They put up 10 runs in the first four innings, plating a pair in the opening frame, then four runs in the third and fourth innings. The Cards also added four runs in the final two innings for good measure.

Jack Payton (2-5, 4 RBI, 2B) led the offensive effort with a game-high in RBI, but the Cardinals did also get home runs from Usher (1-5, HR, 2 RBI), Masterman (4-4, HR, 3 RBI, 2B, 2 BB) and Dalton Rushing (2-4, HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB).

Metzinger, (2-5, BB) Isaac Humphrey (3-3, BB), Logan Beard (2-4, RBI), Christian Knapczyk (1-4, BB) also got on base multiple times.

Jared Poland (6.0 IP, 6 K, 1 BB, 4 H, 3 ER) made up for Kuehner's rough start in game one, posting a quality start in game two. Pitt had a pair of runs in the third innings and additional run in the fifth, but that was all the scoring Pitt did under Poland's watch.

Ryan Hawks (2.0 IP, 2 K, 3 H, 1 ER), Seamus Barrett (0.2 IP, 1 K, 1 BB, 2 H, 2 ER) and Evan Webster (0.1 IP, 1 K) were tasked with closing out the game following Poland's exit. The Panthers did score three runs in the final two innings, but Louisville had manufactured enough insurance runs that they were able to coast to the finish line.

Next up for Louisville, they'll conclude their three-game weekend series at Pitt. First pitch is slated for Sunday, Apr. 3 at 1:00 p.m. EST, and will be televised on ACC Network Extra and broadcast on 93.9 The Ville.

(Photo of Ben Metzinger: Jared Anderson - State of Louisville)

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