The bats were dinging all weekend long for Louisville baseball through the second week of the 2023 season.
The University of Louisville baseball team followed up an undefeated opening weekend with another strong week of baseball.
The week started on Wednesday when the Musketeers of Xavier made the short trip to Jim Patterson for the Cardinals first midweek action of the season. The Musketeers were 0-4 heading into Wednesday following an opening weekend series against Oregon. However, their first win of the season will have to wait a little bit longer following a slugfest against the Cardinals.
Xavier jumped out to an early 1-0 lead, it would not last long however. Ryan McCoy once again got the scoring started for the Cardinals with an opposite-field, solo home run for his second of the season. Eddie King Jr. followed McCoy with a blast of his own, his first collegiate home run, and a 2-1 Cardinals lead.
Windy conditions made for an offensive fueled day. The two teams would combine for seven home runs and it was Xavier that played long ball more often.
Louisville would find themselves down 6-2 and 8-5, late in the game before the relentless Cardinal offense would prevail late.
Logan Beard would hit a three-run shot to center in the seventh to tie the game at eight apiece. It was Beard’s first long ball of the year.
By the time the eighth inning rolled around, the Xavier pitching staff appeared to have run out of steam. Jack Payton, McCoy, and Tyeler Hawkins added RBI hits and made it a 12-8 game heading into the ninth.
Ben Wiegman slammed the door on the Musketeers with the aid of spectacular defense from Isaac Humphrey in center. Wiegman moves to 1-0 on the year to go along with a save against Bucknell. It would appear that he figures to stick around in a late inning, high leverage role.
Another major storyline from Wednesday is starter, Justin West. West is a freshman who is coming off of Tommy John surgery and made his first career start against Xavier. He made it to the second inning before feeling discomfort and was pulled after recording just three outs.
No word has been given on his condition yet.
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One step back two steps forward
This all set up for a weekend tilt with the Falcons of Bowling Green coming to town. The weekend offered a little bit of everything and it started with an anomaly of a game on Friday.
Ryan Hawks took the mound for his second start of the year and was even better than his first time out.
He went 7.1 innings with just four hits, no walks, and eight strikeouts en route to his second win of the season. The lone run allowed was unearned, lowering Hawks’ season ERA to 0.66.
The bats were quiet compared to the midweek game, but Jack Payton shined still.
The Cardinals got on the board first with a solo home run from Payton in the first. His second of the young season. Then, in a 1-1 game in the seventh, he led off the inning with a double and came around to score on an RBI single from Eddie King Jr. Those two runs would be all the Cardinals would need as Greg Farone would slam the door with a five out save and had Louisville rolling to their fifth straight win.
Accelerando
The storyline from Friday however, was the pace of play. The time of game was one hour and 46 minutes, the fastest nine inning game in recorded Louisville baseball history. Fans should get used to these types of games with Hawks on the mound. His incredibly quick tempo and lights out performance so far ensures that he has a hold on the Friday night rotation spot.
That trend would not hold for the rest of the weekend as Saturday was the beginning of a two-day slugfest at Jim Patterson stadium.
Looking for their sixth win in a row to start the season, Louisville turned to junior Riley Phillips on Saturday. He would struggle however, and for the second consecutive start, be unable to make it out of the fourth inning. He would eventually be tagged with five earned runs as he seemed to struggle with command a little bit.
No amount of pitching woes this season will ever put the game out of reach due to the high octane offense that the Cardinals have. In fact, Louisville took a 3-0 lead in the first thanks to a home run from Ryan McCoy. They would tack on three more thanks to RBI hits from Will Vierling, Christian Knapczyk, and a sac-fly from Payton. This made it a 6-5 game heading into the eighth inning.
The bullpen gave it their all, led by freshman Tucker Biven who turned in four scoreless innings, however the Falcons sent eight men to the plate in the eighth inning, making it a 9-6 game.
That would prove to be more than what the Cardinals could handle, giving them their first loss of the season. It would also be the first ever ranked win in program history for Bowling Green.
The rubber match
This all set the stage for a rubber match with the Falcons on Sunday.
Following a loss on Saturday, it was important for Louisville to bounce back and bounce back in a big way. They needed an early lead and got it in the form of Ryan McCoy once again. His fourth home run of the season gave the Cards a 1-0 lead in the first and they never looked back.
They would tack on three more in the second and one in the fifth before the floodgates would open.
JT Benson drove home two in the sixth with a single. Knapczyk, King, and Patrick Forbes would tack on RBI’s of their own to make it an 11-1 game. The offense batted around for the first time this season which included two hits from Forbes in the sixth.
They would tack on three more in the final two turns at bat and Cam Robinson slammed the door shut for a 14-1 win, securing the series win over the Falcons.
On the mound, the charge was led by Carson Liggett who picked up his second win of the season on Sunday afternoon. He went 5.2 innings, struck out six, and allowed just one run. He figures to be a mainstay in the rotation this season.
Overall, the Cardinals finished off a nice week, picking up three wins and doing it in a variety of ways. There are still some question marks, but still some time to figure that out before conference play begins. There is one more opportunity to tune up before the tournament in Houston next weekend, where a lot of those questions will be answered.
Statistical Leaders of the Week
Jack Payton
7-15, HR (2), 6 R, 3 RBI
Ryan McCoy
6-14. 3 HR (4), 7 RBI, 6 R, SB
Ryan Hawks
W (2-0), 7.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R (unearned), 8 K
Carson Liggett
W (2-0), 5.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 6 K
Up Next for Louisville baseball
2/28- Eastern Kentucky 3:00 @ Jim Patterson Stadium
Shriners College Classic- Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas
3/3- Texas A&M 8:00 PM
3/4 – TCU 4:00 PM
3/5- Michigan 12:00 PM
