Stellar pitching and some timely deep balls helped Louisville upset No. 1 overall seed Vanderbilt, 3-2, in the second game of the Nashville Regional for both teams.
Sunday night at 9, the Cardinals will face the winner of the earlier game between Vandy and Wright State. Should U of L prevail, the Cardinals will advance to the Super Regional. If they falter, they’ll still have a shot on Monday in a winner-take-all regional final contest.
The story of the night for Dan McDonnell’s club was the pitching of Tucker Biven, Justin West, Wyatt Danilowicz and Jake Schweitzer. The quartet combined to allow just five hits and no earned runs against the top-ranked squad in college baseball. The Commodores’ only two runs of the game came off of back-to-back wild pitches in the third inning and back-to-back fielding errors in the fifth.
In both instances, Louisville’s pitching was able to settle down and prevent the snowball from becoming an avalanche. That’s not an area where this team has been especially proficient this season.
U of L struck quickly, with catcher Matt Klein belting a one-out solo home run in the top of the first inning. It was Klein’s second bomb in as many days, a fact made especially impressive when combined with the knowledge that Friday was Klein’s first start since breaking a bone in his hand back on March 22.
After Vandy tied the game on back-to-back wild pitches from Biven, Zion Rose put the Cards back on top with a solo blast to start the fifth.
Louisville would add another run in the frame off of Vanderbilt’s lone error of the game.
Rose and shortstop Alex Alicea (2-for-4 with 2 singles) were the only Cardinals who finished the game with multiple hits.
There’s nothing like beating a rival in the postseason. There’s really nothing like beating a rival in the postseason when it’s on their home fiend and they’re the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament.
We may need to do it again to get where we want to go.