Louisville Splits Doubleheader at Notre Dame to Drop Series
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The Cardinals suffer their first series loss to the Fighting Irish since 2009.
Game One
W: Jack Findley (4-0), L: Will Koger (2-1), S: Will Mercer (2)
Game Two
W: Carson Liggett (5-0), L: Birkholz Radek (0-2), S: Tate Kuehner (3)
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Two days removed from falling in their series opener at Notre Dame, the Louisville baseball program was unable to bounce back in a doubleheader at Frank Eck Stadium to end the series, splitting the games to suffer their first series loss of the year.
The No. 2 Cardinals (19-4, 3-3 ACC) fell 5-4 in the opening leg of the doubleheader, but were able to avoid getting swept with a 2-1 win in the series finale. Not only is it their first series loss in ACC play this season, but it’s their first series loss to the Fighting Irish (12-9, 4-5 ACC) since 2009. Heading into the weekend, Louisville had won 23 of the last 24 games in their all-time series against Notre Dame.
Continuing a theme as of late, Louisville struggled all afternoon at the plate. Across both games of the doubleheader, the Cardinals hit 16-for-66 (.242) overall, 3-for-20 (.150) with two outs and 3-for-24 (.125) with runners on base. Eight of their 16 hits in the doubleheader came from Christian Knapczyk and Ryan McCoy.
Louisville was quick to get the action started, as Knapczyk (3-4, HR, RBI, 2B, BB) launched the first pitch of the doubleheader for a solo home run. The Cardinals plated the first three runs of game one, with Eddie King Jr. (1-4, RBI) adding an RBI single in the fourth, and Logan Beard (1-3, HR, RBI, BB) hitting a solo homer of his own in the fifth.
Starting pitcher Greg Farone (4.1 IP, 8 K, 4 BB, 3 H, 3 ER) twirled four scoreless innings right out of the gate, but then Notre Dame caught up to him in the fifth. He would surrender a solo home run, then two walks would see the end of his day.
The Fighting Irish immediately capitalized on the pitching change, launching a three-run and solo home run off of reliever Will Koger (2.2 IP, 2 K, 2 BB, 2 H, 2 ER) for a fifth inning five-spot. Koger was able to rebound down the stretch, and Kaleb Corbett (1.0 IP, 1 K, 1 H) followed that up with a clean ninth.
The Cardinals put themselves in position to make a comeback in the late innings, but couldn’t capitalize on the opportunities they created. With the bases loaded in both the seventh and eighth innings, the only run they were able to scratch across was a bases loaded walk by Tyeler Hawkins (0-0, RBI, BB) in the eighth.
Like in the first leg of the doubleheader, Louisville’s pitching gave themselves a chance in the second leg. Carson Liggett (5.0 IP, 4 K, 1 BB, 3 H, 1 ER) tossed five solid innings while only allowing a groundout RBI in the fourth, while Tate Kuehner (4.0 IP, 4 K, 1 H) followed that up with a lengthy scoreless relief outing.
The Cardinals struggled again at the plate in game two of the doubleheader, but plated just enough runs to stave off the sweep. McCoy (2-4, RBI, 2B, BB) collected a groundout RBI in the third, while Will Vierling (0-2, RBI, BB) broke a sixth inning tie with a bases loaded hit-by-pitch.
Next up for Louisville, they’ll stay on the road and head to the Queen City for a midweek showdown with rival Cincinnati. First pitch is slated for Tuesday, Mar. 28 at 6:00 p.m. EST, and will be televised on ESPN+ and broadcast on 93.9 The Ville
(Photo via Jared Anderson – Louisville Report)
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