Louisville (9-3) hit four home runs and five doubles in another impressive display of offense, coming up with 20 hits as they cruised to a 16-3 win over Morehead State (4-7).
The win is Louisville’s eighth straight, as the Cardinals are set to begin conference play on Friday. It’s also the second straight game where U of L scored 16 runs, and the third time in Louisville’s eight-game winning streak that they have scored over ten runs.
A ten-run second inning would give the Cardinals a gigantic cushion that would allow them to cruise to victory. Levi Usher and Henry Davis got things started with back-to-back home runs, putting Louisville up 2-0. An error during Tim Borden’s single allowed Borden to advance to second, and also allowed Justin Lavey to score. Luke Brown’s RBI on a fielder’s choice, along with RBI singles from Borden, Zach Britton, Ben Bianco, and Henry Davis added more runs for the Cardinals, with Justin Lavey driving in an RBI double.
In total, the second inning saw the Cardinals put up ten runs on nine hits. The ten-run inning was the first by Louisville since April 2019.
Louisville would add five more runs in the fourth inning, coming on a two-run home run by Ben Metzinger, and an RBI double by Ben Bianco that cleared a bases-loaded situation. Cam Masterman also had a solo home run in the seventh inning, leaving the Cardinals with a 16-0 lead heading into the final two innings.
Morehead State’s only runs would come in the eighth, via three-run homer to right field by Dom Peroni.
However, lost in the shuffle of Louisville’s offensive showcase was the effort that the midweek pitching lineup had. Louisville allowed five hits and held the Eagles scoreless through the first seven innings. Tate Kuehner earned his first collegiate win in his first start, throwing three shutout innings with just two hits and two walks. The Cardinals used six pitchers in the contest and threw 12 strikeouts as a team, the eighth time Louisville’s staff has gone over ten strikeouts in a game.
Zach Britton and Tim Borden II were perfect at the plate, going 3-for-3 and 2-for-2, respectively, both with an RBI. Ben Bianco went 2-for-3 with four RBIs, now 4-of-7 with nine RBIs, a double and a home run in his last two games. Justin Lavey finished 2-for-5 with two RBIs, both hits going for doubles. Henry Davis also went 2-for-3 at the plate with two RBIs, one of those hits going for a home run. Davis, along with Levi Usher, Ben Metzinger, and Cam Masterman, all hit home runs in the contest. Louisville has now hit seven home runs in their last two games, after hitting four in the previous ten.
Morehead State was able to get five hits, but only three runs, all on Dom Peroni’s three-run homer in the eighth. Peroni, along with Bryce Hensor and Ryan Layne, all went 1-for-4 for the Eagles.
Louisville is now set to open conference play on Friday, heading to Winston-Salem to take on Wake Forest. The Cards and Demon Deacons are set to begin their series at 6:00 ET.
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