Louisville Outlasts Xavier in Midweek Showdown

The Cardinals came out on top over the Musketeers in a game that combined for seven home runs.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
XU	0	1	0	0	0	3	2	0	0	8	15	1
UL	0	2	0	0	0	3	3	4	X	12	17	1

W: Ben Wiegman (1-0), L: Luke Bell (0-2)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Hosting Xavier for their first midweek action of the young 2023 season, the Louisville baseball program continued on their undefeated start to the year, coming out on top with a 12-8 victory Wednesday at Jim Patterson Stadium.

3rd and Central proved to be a launching pad during the midweek showdown, as the No. 4 Cardinals (4-0) and Musketeers (0-5) hit a combined seven home runs on the afternoon. Logan Beard (1-5, HR, 3 RBI), Eddie King Jr. (3-4, HR, RBI, BB) and Ryan McCoy (3-4, HR, 2 RBI) each hit homers for the home squad.

King, McCoy and Jack Payton (3-5, RBI, 2B) each had three-hit days; while Beard, McCoy, Tyeler Hawkins (1-2, 2 RBI, 2B) and Will Cook (1-3, 2 RBI, 2B) both had multi-RBI days.

True freshman Justin West (1.0 IP, 1 K, 1 BB, 1 H) made the first start of his collegiate career, but it was short-lived, as he was forced to exit early in the second inning due to injury. Xavier jumped on the pitching change and struck first, collecting a solo home run in the second and a two-run homer in the third off of reliever Kade Grundy (2.0 IP, 2 K, 1 BB, 4 H, 3 ER).

Louisville responded with back-to-back solo shots in the second inning from McCoy and King to briefly take the lead, but then the bats fell into a bit of a lull. After Xavier jumped back in front, the Cardinals stranded the bases loaded in the third, and only got one base runner over the next two innings.

Will Koger (2.1 IP, 3 K, 1 BB, 4 H, 3 ER) gave Louisville a bit of stability on the mound, pitching scoreless fourth and fifth innings, but the Musketeers caught up to him in the sixth. They drove him out of the game following an RBI single, then added two more runs in the frame off of Evan Webster (1.0 IP, 1 K, 3 H, 2 ER) courtesy of an RBI single and groundout. Webster would also then go on to give up two solo homers in the seventh.

Fortunately for the Cardinals, their bats woke up at just the right time. They put up a pair of three-spots in the sixth and seventh innings, the latter of which tied the game, then a four-spot in the eighth to jump in front for good.

Cook and J.T. Benson (1-4, 2B) each smacked RBI doubles in the sixth, with Cook's bringing home two runs, then Beard launched a 405-foot, three-run blast in the seventh. In the eighth, Payton and McCoy each collected RBI singles, then Hawkins broke the game open with a two RBI double.

Down the stretch, Ben Wiegman (2.0 IP, 1 K) gave the Cardinals some much needed scoreless innings, putting zeroes in eighth and ninth to close the door on the Musketeers.

Next up for Louisville, they'll host Bowling Green for a three-game weekend series. First pitch is slated for Friday, Feb. 24 at 3:00 p.m. EST, and will be televised on ACC Network Extra and broadcast on 970 WGTK.

(Photo via Jared Anderson - Louisville Report)

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