Louisville Allows Late Florida State Rally, Falls to Even Series

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
FSU	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2	3	7	10	0
UL	0	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	7	1

W: Jackson Baumeister (5-5), L: Tate Kuehner (2-4), S: Brennen Oxford (1)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - After capturing a come-from-behind win in their series opener against Florida State the night before, the Louisville baseball program was dealt a crushing blow to their postseason hopes in game two, falling 7-4 Friday at Jim Patterson Stadium to even the series.

Holding onto a 4-0 lead heading into the late innings, the Cardinals (31-23, 10-19 ACC) then allowed the Seminoles (22-31, 8-21 ACC) to plate seven unanswered runs down the stretch.

Louisville, who is currently on the outside of the ACC Tournament looking in, came into their series with Florida State needing a sweep to guarantee a spot in the 12-team field. With a loss, the Cardinals now need a win in their finale against Seminoles and an NC State sweep over Pitt to make it to Durham. The Wolfpack won their first two games of their series against the Panthers, giving UofL a shot to still clinch a berth.

First pitch of Louisville-Florida State series finale, which is the final game of the regular season, is slated for Saturday, May 20 at 1:00 p.m. EST. It will be televised on ACC Network Extra and broadcast on 93.9 The Ville. The NC State-Pitt finale will kick off at the same time.

Starting pitcher Evan Webster (3.0 IP, 4 K, 1 H) and reliever Greg Farone (3.1 IP, 6 K, 1 BB, 2 H, 1 ER) carved up Florida State batters out of the gates. Only five of their 23 combined batters faced reached base in some form, and they combined to strike out 10 over 6.1 innings.

Louisville struck first with some fireworks in the third inning. Logan Beard (1-3, HR, RBI) hit a towering 472-foot leadoff home run to left-center, while J.T. Benson (1-4, HR, 3 RBI) launched a 388-foot three-run shot to the left field berm.

That being said, the Cardinals' hitters struggled for most of the afternoon. Four of the Cardinals' seven hits for the game came in the fourth, and they generated just three base runners for the rest of the game following Benson's homer. Florida State starting pitcher Jackson Baumeister went eight innings deep, striking out eight Cardinals in the process.

Florida State took advantage of this offensive stagnation starting in the seventh inning. After a leadoff walk chased Farone out, Alex Galvan (0.0 IP, 1 BB, 1 H, 1 ER) was then inserted, but then promptly yanked after allowing both batters faced to reach.

Tate Kuehner (2.2 IP, 4 K, 2 BB, 6 H, 5 ER) was inserted after Galvan, but then allowed a two-run single in the frame to get FSU on the board. The 'Noles tied the game an inning later with a two-run homer, then used an RBI single and two-run double in the ninth to jump in front.

Louisville put themselves in a position to mount a ninth-inning rally, with Brandon Anderson (0-3, BB) and Eddie King Jr. (1-4) reaching base to lead off the frame, but a strikeout and double play struck down the comeback attempt.

(Photo of Tate Kuehner: Jared Anderson - Louisville Report)

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