Louisville Defeats Southeast Missouri State in NCAA Tournament Opener

The Cardinals are now a perfect 9-0 in home regional openers.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
SEMO	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	5	0
UL	0	0	0	2	1	0	1	2	X	7	15	1

W: Garrett Schmeltz (2-0), L: Jason Rackers (6-4), S: Tate Kuehner (3)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Playing in their first NCAA Tournament game since 2019, the Louisville baseball program started their Road to Omaha on the right foot, taking down Southeast Missouri State 7-2 in their Louisville Regional opener.

With the win, the No. 1 regionally seeded Cardinals (39-18-1) move to a perfect 9-0 in NCAA Tournament regional openers at home, and are now 30-6 this season at Jim Patterson Stadium - marking their sixth 30-win campaign at home in the last 10 full seasons.

Making only his second career start, Garrett Schmeltz (5.1 IP, 8 K, 2 BB, 4 H, 1 ER) put together one of the best performances of his collegiate career, setting a career-high in both strikeouts and innings pitched. SEMO did score the first two runs of the game in the first two frames, but one was aided by a Louisville defensive error.

After the quick scoring burst from the No. 4 regionally seeded Redhawks, the Cardinals scored four unanswered runs, starting with a solo home run from Cam Masterman (2-4, HR, RBI) in the second. In the fourth, Levi Usher (1-4, RBI) tied the game with an RBI single, then a stolen base and two consecutive balk calls sent him home to put Louisville in front.

Jack Payton (4-5, 4 RBI, 2 2B) had a phenomenal effort down the stretch, tallying three consecutive RBI base hits and his first four-hit game. He notched RBI doubles in the fifth and seventh innings, then added a bases loaded RBI single in the eighth that brought home two runs.

Following Schmeltz' fantastic start, Tate Kuehner (3.0 IP, 4 K, 1 H) had an equally as impressive relief appearance, twirling three scoreless innings to close the door and earn the save.

Next up for Louisville, they'll face the winner of tonight's Oregon vs. Michigan matchup. First pitch against either the Ducks or Wolverines is slated for Saturday, June 4 at 4:00 p.m. EST, and will be televised on ESPN+ and broadcast on 93.9 The Ville.

(Photo of Louisville Players: Jared Anderson - State of Louisville)

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