Louisville Drops Pitcher's Duel at Virginia Tech to Even Series
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UL | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 0 |
VT | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | X | 4 | 8 | 1 |
W: Drue Hackenberg (9-1), L: Carter Lohman (1-1), S: Henry Weycker (1)
BLACKSBURG, Va. - After putting together a complete performance the day before in their series opener against Virginia Tech, the Louisville baseball program found themselves on the wrong end of a pitcher's duel, falling 4-3 Saturday at English Field to even the series.
The No. 7 Cardinals (35-14-1, 16-9-1 ACC) suffer their first loss to the No. 5 Hokies (35-11, 15-9 ACC) since joining the ACC, snapping a seven-game winning streak against them. The series now heads to a Sunday rubber match, where Louisville has a 19-7-1 record since 2015.
Like Jared Poland the day before, starting pitcher Carter Lohman (6.0 IP, 3 K, 2 BB, 6 H, 3 ER) also put together a quality start. While he did give up a trio of runs in the third, that was the only inning in which the Hokes scored against him, throwing a career-high 105 pitches in the process.
The bullpen also had a solid outing as well. Kade Grundy (0.2 IP, 1 K, 1 BB) was the first out of the pen, combined to pitch a scoreless seventh with Garrett Schmeltz (1.1 IP, 2 K, 1 BB, 2 H, 1 ER), with Schmeltz giving up only a single run in the eighth during his time on the mound.
Conversely, Louisville's hitters struggled immensely against Virginia Tech starter Drue Hackenberg. The Cardinals collected just three base hits while during Hackenberg's first sixth innings on the bump, with Brandon Anderson (2-4, RBI) driving in their only run during this time with an RBI single in the fifth.
Louisville was able to drive out Hackenburg in the seventh inning thanks to an RBI single from Logan Beard (2-3, 2 RBI, BB), but weren't able to claw out of the two-run hole heading to the ninth inning. Beard was able able to collect another RBI single in the final frame, but that was all the offense they were able to muster in the ninth.
Next up for Louisville, they'll conclude their weekend series at Virginia Tech with game three. First pitch is slated for Sunday, May 15 at 11:00 a.m. EST, and will be televised on ACC Network Extra and broadcast on 93.9 The Ville.
(Photo of Jared Poland: Jared Anderson - State of Louisville)
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