Louisville Hammers Bellarmine Behind Balanced Attack
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
BU | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
UL | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | X | 14 | 21 | 0 |
W: Evan Webster (1-1), L: Brady Morse (0-1)
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Taking on Bellarmine in a midweek affair, the Louisville baseball program had little trouble dispatching their crosstown foe, using a balanced attack at both the plate and on the mound to cruise to a 14-2 victory Wednesday at Jim Patterson Stadium.
The No. 8 Cardinals (25-7) and Knights (10-23) scheduled the matchup to create "a night focused on community and healing throughout the city" following Monday's mass shooting in downtown Louisville. It replaced a matchup against Kentucky that had been set for Tuesday, but was postponed following the shooting.
Louisville put together arguably their best offensive game of the season against Bellarmine. They tied for their most runs scored this season, posted their most hits since collecting 28 against Alabama A&M on Apr. 26, 2019, and struck eight doubles for the first time hitting 11 against in the same game. Every player in the starting nine made it into the hit column, 13 of the 15 Cardinals to see a plate appearance collected a base hit.
Isaac Humphrey (3-4, 2 RBI, 2B, BB), J.T. Benson (2-4, RBI, 2B), Jack Payton (2-4, RBI, 2B, 2 BB), Eddie King Jr. (2-3, RBI, 3B), Brandon Anderson (2-2, 2 RBI, BB), Logan Beard (2-4, RBI) and Haven Mangrum (2-2, 2B) had multi-hit days for the evening. Christian Knapczyk (1-4, 2 RBI, 2B, BB), Will Cook (1-2, HR, 2 RBI), Anderson and Humphrey all drove in multiple runs, as well.
The pitching staff also had a good day on the mound as well. Of the eight Cardinals to be deployed to the mound, only two surrendered runs - starter Will Koger (1.2 IP, 1 K, 3 BB, 2 H, 1 ER) and final reliever Cam Robinson (1.0 IP, 2 K, 1 H, 1 ER) - and neither allowed multiple runs.
Between those two were six relievers who tossed 6.1 combined scoreless innings: Evan Webster (1.1 IP, 2 K), Kaleb Corbett (1.0 IP, 1 K), Greg Farone (1.0 IP, 2 K), Alex Galvan (1.0 IP, 1 K, 1 BB, 1 H), Ben Wiegman (1.0 IP, 2 BB) and Kade Grundy (1.0 IP, 1 K).
Bellarmine struck first in the matchup with an RBI groundout in the opening frame, but Louisville didn't trail for long. They plated a combined seven runs over the next two innings - five in the second and two in the third - to take complete control of the game.
The Cardinals didn't take their foot off the gas, either. After going scoreless in the fourth, Louisville then proceeded to score in their final four innings at the plate, putting up three in the sixth, two in the seventh and one run in both the sixth and eighth. The Knights scored the final run, a solo homer in the ninth.
Next up for Louisville, they'll resume ACC play and host No. 2 Wake Forest for a three-game weekend series. First pitch of game one is slated for Friday, Apr. 14 at 6:00 p.m. EST, and will be televised on ACC Network Extra and broadcast on 93.9 The Ville.
(Photo of Carson Liggett: Jared Anderson - Louisville Report)
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