Louisville Eliminated By Texas A&M in Super Regional Play

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
TAMU	0	0	2	0	0	1	1	0	0	4	5	0
UL	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	3	13	1

W: Will Johnston (3-1), L: Ryan Hawks (5-3), S: Jacob Palisch (5)

COLLEGE STATION, Tex. - Needing a win to keep their postseason run alive after getting walked-off by Texas A&M in the College Station Super Regional opener, the Louisville baseball program was unable to force a decisive game three, falling 4-3 Saturday at Blue Bell Park.

The No. 12 nationally seeded Cardinals (42-21-1) see their season come to an end in the Lone Star State, with the No. 5 Aggies (42-18) becoming the first team this season to punch their ticket to the College World Series.

Playing the role of the "home" team in game two, it was Louisville who struck first, with Dalton Rushing (2-5, HR, 2 RBI) launching a two-run home run in the opening frame.

Coming off of a stellar performance in the Louisville Regional, Riley Phillips (5.0 IP, 5 K, 3 BB, 4 H) was tasked with the start to help the Cardinals stave off elimination. He looked untouchable in the first two innings, but a bases loaded walk and sacrifice fly by the Aggies in the third tied the game up.

Louisville squandered a couple opportunities in the early innings, but cracked the scoreboard again in the fifth thanks to an RBI single from Jack Payton (1-4, RBI, BB). Texas A&M then immediately re-tied the game in the sixth thanks to a first-pitch solo homer that knocked Phillips out of the game.

An inning later, the Aggies took their first lead of the game, collecting a sacrifice fly off reliever Ryan Hawks (2.0 IP, 2 K, 1 H, 1 ER) in the seventh. Evan Webster (2.0 IP, 1 K, 1 BB) was able to give the offense a fighting chance, putting up zeroes in the eighth and ninth innings.

Unfortunately, Louisville's hitters were unable to deliver down the stretch when it mattered the most. Despite getting the leadoff man on base in the final four innings, including Christian Knapczyk (4-5, 2B) in the ninth, the Cardinals were unable to push across any runs to extend their season.

Like in game one, situational hitting plagued the Cardinals. While they out-hit the Aggies 13-to-5, UofL was just 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position, stranding 10 base runners for the day. The 1-3 spots in the lineup - Knapczyk, Ben Metzinger (2-5) and Rushing - collected eight base hits on the day, while the 4-9 spots had just five.

(Photo of Cam Masterman: Maria Lysaker - USA TODAY Sports)

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