Louisville Dominates Bowling Green to Clinch Series

The Cardinals move the 6-1 on the year with the series win over the Falcons.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
BG	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	5	3
UL	1	3	0	0	1	6	2	1	X	14	15	0

W: Carson Liggett (2-0), L: Peyton Wilson (0-1)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Playing in their first rubber match of the season, the Louisville baseball program capped off their three-game series against Bowling Green with a dominating performance, cruising to a decisive 14-1 win Sunday at Jim Patterson Stadium to clinch the series.

It was an offensive show-of-force for the No. 4 Cardinals (6-1), with several batters contributing to the cause. Seven different Cardinals drove in runs, with Christian Knapczyk (2-4, 2 RBI, 2B, BB), Ryan McCoy (2-3, HR, 2 RBI, BB), Patrick Forbes (3-4, 2 RBI, 2B) and J.T. Benson (2-3, 2 RBI, 2B) driving in multiple runs.

Those four, plus Logan Beard (2-5, RBI, 2 2B) and Gavin Kilen (2-5), also had multiple hits for the afternoon.

Louisville built themselves an early cushion, plating the first four runs of the game. McCoy launched a solo home run, his fourth of the season, in the first inning, then the Cardinals put up a three-spot in the second. Beard collected an RBI double, scored on throwing error following a bunt single from Kilen, then Kilen scored after a groundout from Tyeler Hawkins.

The quick scoring burst by the Cardinals was backed up by another solid start from Carson Liggett (5.2 IP, 6 K, 1 BB, 4 H, 1 ER). He tied his career-high in strikeouts, set a new career mark in innings pitched, and only allowed a RBI single in the third inning.

Following scoreless third and fourth innings from the Cardinals, they proceeded to scratch across runs in each of the remaining innings of the afternoon, including a six-spot in the sixth inning.

McCoy kicked off the stretch of 10 uninterrupted runs with an RBI single in the fifth. As part of the half a dozen runs plated in the sixth, Benson and Knapczyk collected RBI singles, Forbes hit an RBI double, and Eddie King Jr. (0-3, RBI) drew a bases loaded hit-by-pitch. Both Benson and Forbes' base hits sent home a pair of runners.

Benson and Knapczyk struck again in the seventh, with the former scoring on a throwing error and the latter striking a two-run double. Louisville's final run on the afternoon came in the eighth when Tyeler Hawkins (0-3, RBI, BB) drew a bases loaded walk.

Behind Liggett was a trio of scoreless relief outings. Will Koger (1.1 IP, 1 K, 1 H), Wyatt Danilowicz (1.0 IP, 1 K, 1 BB) and Cam Robinson (1.0 IP, 2 K, 1 BB) combined to fan four batters over the final 3.1 innings and clinch the series.

Next up for Louisville, they'll cap off their season-opening homestand with a midweek matchup against Eastern Kentucky. First pitch is slated for Tuesday, Feb. 22 at 3:00 p.m. EST, and will be televised on ACC Network Extra and broadcast on 93.9 The Ville.

(Photo of Isaac Humphrey: Jared Anderson - Louisville Report)

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