Around the Bases: Back to the ‘Ville

The Louisville baseball team got off to a solid start in Texas on opening weekend, notching a pair of ranked wins against Texas (4-3) and Arizona (13-1). Though the Cardinals had a 12-3 loss to Oklahoma State sandwiched in between, they are 2-1 heading into their homestand.

Louisville is playing home games from now until March 18th, starting with this weekend’s series against Western Michigan.

Weekend Recap

Louisville got the weekend started with a 4-3 win over Texas, one that saw the Cardinals come from behind to walk it off in ten innings. Trailing 2-0 in the ninth inning, Garret Pike tied the game with a two-RBI single. Texas later retook the lead in the top of the tenth inning, but Louisville got RBI singles from Zion Rose and Lucas Moore (the latter being a walk-off) in the bottom half to secure the victory.

The weekend took a quick downturn as Oklahoma State drilled Louisville in a 12-3 game on Saturday afternoon. Louisville took an early 3-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning, but Oklahoma State’s Colin Breuggemann hit a grand slam in the bottom portion to give the Cowboys the lead for good. The Cowboys added eight more runs, including fourth in the sixth inning, to put the game out of reach.

However, Louisville closed the weekend with a strong 13-1 win over Arizona. Despite trailing 1-0 after the first inning, the Cardinals managed to hold the Wildcats to just one hit in the entire game. Louisville’s offense also had big surges in the fifth and eighth innings, scoring eight and five runs in each of those innings, respectively.

Notable Statistics

It was a solid weekend for Louisville at the plate for the most part. Louisville enters this weekend averaging .300 as a team, including three .400 hitters in Zion Rose (.462), Matt Klein (.417), and Lucas Moore (.400).

Zion Rose (6-for-13 batting) logged a hit in every game last weekend, including a 3-for-5 outing against Arizona. Klein (5-for-12) and Moore (4-for-10) had strong outings in the wins against Texas and Arizona; Klein went 2-for-4 against the Longhorns and 3-for-5 with two RBIs against the Wildcats, with Moore going 2-for-5 and 2-for-4 in those games, respectively. In addition, Moore also had the aforementioned walk-off RBI single in extra innings to give Louisville its season-opening win against Texas.

Garret Pike made an immediate impact in his first few games as a Cardinal, batting .300 with a team-high four RBIs last weekend. Jake Munroe (.308 batting, one double, two RBIs) and Kamau Neighbors (.333 batting, one double) also had solid outings on opening weekend.

On the mound, Patrick Forbes came away looking every bit like a Friday starter for Louisville. Forbes struck out 11 batters and allowed two earned runs in five innings of work, showcasing solid off-speed pitches and a fastball that can now reach the high-90s.

Forbes’ efforts on the mound were compounded by a solid bullpen, one that helped Louisville record 16 strikeouts in the season opener against Texas. Jack Brown led the charge with 2.2 shutout innings leading into extra innings, with Justin West (1.1 IP, 2 H, 3 Ks) and Tucker Biven (1.0 IP, 2 H, ER, 2 Ks) also contributing.

Sunday’s one-hit outing was highlighted by a solid start from Northwestern transfer Peter Michael. Michael allowed just one earned run in 4.2 innings and struck out five, while the bullpen trio of Colton Hartman, Brennyn Cutts, and Wyatt Danilowicz allowed just two walks and zero hits combined in the final 4.1 innings.

Opponent Outlook: Western Michigan

Western Michigan is looking to rebound after going 0-4 last weekend, losing both ends of doubleheaders against Michigan State and Dayton. WMU was picked to finish fifth in the MAC this season, after finishing 32-23 and winning the MAC Baseball Championship last season to earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

Tanner Mally was the only Western Michigan player to bat over .300 on their opening weekend, hitting .583 with a double and an RBI. WMU had to replace All-MAC First Team players Cade Sullivan and CJ Richmond, but All-MAC Second Team player and MAC Baseball Tournament MVP Dylan Nevar returns for them. Nevar started all 55 games last season as an outfielder and batted .353 with 16 home runs and a school-record 71 RBIs.

On the mound, expect both Ty McKinstry and Joey Wizceb to make starts. Both guys actually had solid outings against Michigan State, with zero earned runs between the two pitchers in the doubleheader. Turner Doran was also named on the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Watch List, he just threw 2.1 innings with one earned run in the Dayton doubleheader. Zach Vriesanga is another top reliever to watch, allowing just one earned run in four innings of work against Dayton.

How to Watch / Listen:

The weekend series against Western Michigan is set for 1 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday, with a Monday finale at 3 p.m. ET. All three games this weekend will be aired on ACC Network Extra, as well as 970 AM.

Note: Due to inclement weather, Louisville’s original home opener against Xavier, scheduled for Wednesday, February 19th, has been postponed.