Louisville baseball (37-21) is now in the Nashville regional final after beating ETSU 8-3 on Friday, and upsetting #1 Vanderbilt 3-2 on Saturday night.
The Cardinals now await the winner of today’s game between Vanderbilt and Wright State, which takes place at 3 p.m. ET. Louisville faces the winner of that game tonight at 9 p.m. ET, with a chance to advance to the Super Regional round.
Louisville-ETSU Recap
Louisville’s 8-3 win over ETSU was highlighted by a stellar performance from Patrick Forbes and Brennyn Cutts on the mound. Both players combined for 18 strikeouts (Forbes with 13, Cutts with five), setting a new single-game postseason record for Louisville.
The Cardinals fell behind early 2-0, after ETSU’s Cody Miller hit a two-run homer against Forbes in the top of the third inning.
After that, Louisville went on an eight-run rally that spanned from the third to the seventh inning. Lucas Moore tied the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the third inning, hitting a two-run homer of his own. Garret Pike and Zion Rose had RBIs in the fourth inning to put Louisville ahead for good, with Matt Klein and Eddie King, Jr. each hitting home runs in the fifth inning. King would add an RBI single in the seventh inning to cap off Louisville’s run.
King led the Cardinals with a 3-for-4 afternoon, adding two RBIs and a home run to his total. Lucas Moore (1-for-3, two RBIs, two runs, BB, SB) and Matt Klein (1-for-4, HR, two RBIs) also had home runs, with Klein making his first start since late March after being sidelined with an injury. Garret Pike (2-for-4, RBI) joined King as the only other Louisville hitter with a multi-hit game.
Patrick Forbes earned his third win of the season, pitching six full innings with 13 strikeouts and allowing two earned runs on two hits. Brennyn Cutts pitched the final three innings with just one earned run and hit apiece, throwing five strikeouts as well.
Louisville-Vanderbilt Recap
Louisville’s 3-2 win over Vanderbilt was highlighted by two big home runs from Matt Klein and Zion Rose, as their pitching lineup managed to hold off multiple attempts by the Commodores to rally back.
Klein got things started early for Louisville, hitting a solo home run in the first inning to left field to put the Cardinals ahead 1-0.
Vanderbilt managed to tie the game in the third inning off back-to-back wild pitched from Tucker Biven, scoring Mike Mancini. But after allowing a four-pitch walk in the next at-bat, Biven retired the next two batters to keep the game knotted at 1-1 through three innings.
Louisville added two runs in the fifth inning, with Zion Rose adding another solo home run in the fifth inning, and Tague Davis scoring as a result of a throwing error by Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt cut the deficit to 3-2, capitalizing on two Louisville throwing errors in the inning to allow Jacob Humphrey to reach home.
Justin West then came in to relieve Biven, and retired the final batter to close out the fifth inning. He would go on to pitch a shutout sixth and seventh inning, with Wyatt Danilowicz retiring the side in order in the bottom of the eighth.
Jake Schweitzer closed the game in the ninth inning, striking out two batters in the ninth inning, as Alex Alicea ran out a grounder from Vanderbilt’s Austin Rigdon to force the runner out at second and close the game, with Vanderbilt’s potential tying run being stranded at third base.
Despite three errors and multiple wild pitches, Louisville managed to get good pitching from its four-man lineup to upset #1 Vanderbilt. Justin West (2.1 IP, 2 H, 2 Ks), Wyatt Danilowicz (1.0 IP, K), and Jake Schweitzer (1.0 IP, H, 2 Ks) combined to allow just three hits in 4.1 bullpen innings, with West being credited with the win, and Schweitzer securing a save. Tucker Biven threw 4.2 innings and allowed two runs (one earned) on two hits, adding five strikeouts.
Zion Rose and Alex Alicea both went 2-for-4 at the plate, the only Louisville players with a multi-hit game. Rose and Matt Klein (1-for-4, HR, RBI) had Louisville’s only home runs and RBIs in the game.
