Louisville Throttles Youngstown State in Series Opener

W: Sebastian Gongora (1-0), L: Jacob Gehring (0-3)

Kicking off a three-game weekend series against Youngstown State, the Louisville baseball program claimed the opener of the series in dominating fashion, winning 19-1 on Friday at Jim Patterson Stadium.

After dropping their first four games of the season for the first time since 2009, the Cardinals (5-4) are now on a five-game win streak to get over .500 on the season. Louisville has plated double-digit runs in each of their games during their winning streak, cracking double figures in scoring in five straight games for the first time since 2019.

Louisville launched four home runs on the afternoon, with Brandon Anderson (2-3, HR, 4 RBI, BB), Logan Beard (1-2, HR, 2 RBI), Isaac Humphrey (1-3, HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB) and Eddie King Jr. (1-2, HR, RBI) going yard. It marked the Cardinals' first four-homer day since Mar. 28, 2023 at Cincinnati.

Alex Alicea (2-4, 3 RBI, 3B, 2 BB) Anderson and Humphrey led the charge offensively for Louisville, driving in 10 of the Cardinals' 16 runs batted in. J.T. Benson (1-1, 3 RBI) also got on base in all four of his plate appearances, plus Luke Napleton (2-5) and Gavin Kilen (2-5, 2 RBI, SF) joined Alicea, Anderson and Humphrey in having a multi-hit day.

Over on the mound, Sebastian Gongora (6.0 IP, 10 K, 1 BB, 3 H) posted his best start so far in a Louisville uniform, and one of the best over his collegiate career. Not only did the Wright State transfer tie his career-high in strikeouts, he struck out four in an inning for the first time since Riley Phillips did so on Mar. 12, 2023 vs. Dayton.

Louisville was fast and furious with their scoring efforts, plating the first 10 runs of the game. The Cardinals put up a four-spot in the opening frame, then scratched across two runs in each of the next three innings.

Facing the bases loaded in the first, Anderson drove in two runs on a single, with a third run coming in on a scoring error. Kilen would then collect a sacrifice fly later in the frame.

Anderson continued on his hot day at the plate in the second inning, blasting a 409-foot, two-run home run to center field. Alicea and Benson each hit RBI singles in the third inning, then Alicea came back in the fourth inning with a two RBI triple.

Youngstown State was able to break the shutout in the fifth due to a wild pitch that brought home a runner from third, but the run was not charged to Gongora due to a throwing error earlier in the frame.

Following a scoreless fifth by the Cardinals, they quickly resumed their relentless scoring barrage by plating five runs in the sixth inning, all coming with two outs in the frame. Two runs came home after a throwing error on a ground ball from Beard, then Humphrey launched a 399-foot, three-run homer to left-center field.

Another brief scoring break in the seventh, was followed up by a four-spot in the eighth. King got the scoring in the frame started with an inside-the-park home run, Louisville's first since Isaiah Howes did so on May 14, 2005 at TCU. Beard then launched a 396-foot, two-run homer to the berm, then Kilen added an RBI double.

After Gongora's day on the bump was done, Louisville's bullpen picked up where he left off. Kade Grundy (2.0 IP, 5 K, 1 BB, 1 H) twirled a pair of scoreless innings and tied his career-high in strikeouts in the process, then Jared Lessman (1.0 IP, 1 K, 1 H) closed the door with a scoreless ninth.

Next up for Louisville, they'll continue their weekend series against Youngstown State with game two. First pitch is slated for Saturday, Mar. 11 at 1:00 p.m. EST, and will be televised on ACC Network Extra and broadcast on 970 WGTK.