Louisville Uses Homers, Lights Out Pitching to Shutout EKU

The Cardinals launched three home runs and pitched their first shutout of the season.

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
EKU	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	2
UL	0	1	3	2	0	4	0	1	X	11	10	0

W: Kade Grundy (1-0), L: Isaac Milburn (0-3)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Capping off their home stand to kick of the 2023 season, the Louisville baseball program put together a complete performance against Eastern Kentucky, winning 11-0 Tuesday at Jim Patterson Stadium.

The No. 4 Cardinals (7-1) launched three home runs for their first six runs of the game. Patrick Forbes (2-2, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 1 BB) launched a solo home run in the second and a two-run homer in the fourth, while Jack Payton (3-4, HR, 3 RBI) hit a three-run blast in the third.

Forbes and Payton both had multi-hit games and collected three RBIs on the afternoon. Brandon Anderson (1-3, 2 RBI, 2B) also had a multi-RBI day, and Christian Knapczyk (2-5, RBI) joined Forbes and Payton as Cardinals to collect multiple hits. It also marked Louisville's first shutout of the season, and their first since winning 1-0 against Vanderbilt on May 3, 2022.

Louisville's pitchers operated just as fast as their offensive counterparts, as starter Kade Grundy (3.0 IP, 2 K) and reliever Evan Webster (2.0 IP, 3 K, 1 H) combined to retire EKU's first 14 batters. It was the most retired batters to start a game for the Cardinals since Reid Detmers tossed 5.1 perfect innings on Feb. 22, 2019 against Brown.

Louisville compounded their lead with a four-spot in the sixth. Anderson hit a two-run double that sliced down the left field line, Haven Mangrum (0-1, RBI) collected an RBI groundout, and Knapczyk tallied and RBI single. Their final run of the game came in the eighth courtesy of a Matt Klein (0-0, RBI, SF) sacrifice fly.

Behind Grundy and Webster, Louisville got plenty of bullpen help. Alex Galvan (1.0 IP, 1 H), Kaleb Corbett (1.0 IP, 1 K, 1 BB, 1 H), Kayden Campbell (1.0 IP, 1 K) and Tate Kuehner (1.0 IP, 1 K) - who made his 2023 debut - all combined to pitch four scoreless innings down the stretch to clinch the midweek showdown.

Next up for Louisville, they'll head to Houston for a trio of games in the Shriners College Classic, kicking off their run in the event with a matchup against Texas A&M. First pitch is slated for Friday, Mar. 22 at 8:00 p.m. EST, and will be streamed on Astros.com and broadcast on 93.9 The Ville.

(Photo of Logan Beard: Jared Anderson - Louisville Report)

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