For the sixth time in program history, the Louisville Cardinals are headed to Omaha for the College World Series.
Dan McDonnell’s club once again relied on its postseason recipe of stellar pitching and timely hitting to pull off a dramatic 3-2 win over Miami in the winner take all Super Regional game three Sunday afternoon at Jim Patterson Stadium.
After falling behind 2-0, U of L claimed the series by scoring three unanswered runs, the last coming on a two-out double by Super Regional MVP Eddie King Jr. in the bottom of the seventh. Zion Rose (1-4, RBI, 2B) and Bayram Hot (1-3, RBI) — who made his first start of the postseason at 2nd base — drove in Louisville’s other two runs.
Freshman lefty Ethan Eberle was solid on the bump for a second straight Sunday, allowing two runs — both coming on a two out home run in the top of the third — over 5.0 innings. Despite getting in more than their fair share of trouble, Jake Schweitzer (3.0 IP, 2 BB, 2 H), Justin West (0.2 IP, 2 K, 2 BB) and Brennyn Cutts (0.1 IP) combined to shut the door on the Hurricane offense over the game’s final four innings.
Louisville will square off against either Oregon State or Florida State in their College World Series opener. The Seminoles and Beavers will play game three of their series tonight at 9.
Not since 2007 has a U of L trip to Omaha been this unexpected, and I’m not sure there’s ever been one that has felt this sweet.
Let’s go win the whole damn thing.