Louisville Falls to Lipscomb to Continue Midseason Slump

The Cardinals have lost six of their last 11 games after opening up the season at 16-1.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
LIP	0	1	4	5	0	0	2	0	0	12	11	0
UL	2	1	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	7	6	2

W: Chandler Giles (1-2), L: Evan Webster (0-1)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Hosting Lipscomb to kick off an eight-game home stand, the Louisville baseball program's midseason slump continued to press onwards, dropping the midweek matchup 12-7 Tuesday at Jim Patterson Stadium.

After starting the season at 16-1, the No. 9 Cardinals (21-7) have now dropped three of their last four games and six of their last 11. Louisville's last two losses in regular season midweek matchups have both come at the hands of the Bisons (12-16), also dropping a 6-2 decision back on Mar. 22, 2022.

Over on the mound, Cardinals pitchers struggled all night long against Lipscomb hitters Trace Willhoite and Austin Kelly. The Bison batters combined to go 7-for-10 with four home runs and 10 RBI.

Logan Beard (3-3, HR, 3 RBI, SF) led the charge for Louisville at the plate, collecting half of their base hits and tying his season high for RBI. Seven different Cardinals scored a run, with eight of the nine position starters either drawing a walk or collecting a base hit.

Louisville's offense got off to a fast start, plating five runs in the first three innings of the contest. J.T Benson (0-3, RBI, BB, SF) collected a sacrifice fly and Matt Klein (1-3, RBI, BB) struck an RBI single in the opening frame, Beard launched a solo home run in the second, then Isaac Humphrey (1-4, RBI, BB) drew a bases loaded walk and Beard hit a sac fly of his own in the third.

But it was Lipscomb's bats that struck with more authority in the early goings, plating 10 runs in the first four innings, including nine runs in the third and fourth innings combined.

Cardinals starter Kade Grundy (2.1 IP, 2 K, 2 BB, 4 H, 4 ER) was chased out in the third inning for his shortest start of the season, then reliever Evan Webster (1.1 IP, 2 K, 6 BB, 4 H, 6 ER) was yanked an inning later after giving up a career-high in walks and earned runs. The Bisons plated four runs in the third and five in the fourth, including three home runs.

Tucker Biven (2.1 IP, 2 K, 1 BB) tossed a couple scoreless innings of relief to give Louisville some stability on the mound, but that was quickly lost when he exited the game. Will Koger (0.1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER) surrendered a leadoff home run in the seventh, then Kayden Campbell (0.1 IP, 1 K, 1 BB) allowed a bases loaded walk later in the frame.

Patrick Forbes (1.1 IP, 3 K), Wyatt Danilowicz (0.2 IP, 1 BB, 1 H) and Alex Galvan (0.1 IP) combined to pitch scoreless eighth and ninth innings, but a comeback from the offense fell well short. The only production Louisville got at the plate outside of the first three innings was a pair of runs in the fifth, when Beard hit an RBI single and Gavin Kilen (0-3, RBI, SF) tallied a sacrifice fly.

Next up for Louisville, get back to ACC play and host Boston College for a three-game weekend series. First pitch for game one is slated for Thursday, Apr. 6 at 6:00 p.m. EST, and will be televised on ACC Network Extra and broadcast on 93.9 The Ville.

(Photo via Jared Anderson - Louisville Report)

You can follow Louisville Report for future coverage by liking us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram:

Facebook - @LouisvilleReport
Twitter - @UofLReport
Instagram - @louisville_report

You can also follow Deputy Editor Matthew McGavic at @Matt_McGavic on Twitter