LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Raucous stadium, top-ranked opponent, stakes rising by the inning. On a Saturday night stage built for drama, the Louisville baseball team delivered — and maybe showed it is peaking at just the right time.
The Cardinals edged national No. 1 seed Vanderbilt 3-2 at Charles Hawkins Field, riding timely power and clutch pitching to seize control of the NCAA Nashville Regional.
After a season marked by inconsistency and injuries, Louisville suddenly looks like a team finding its rhythm when it matters most.
“This is what we came here for,” catcher Zion Rose said. “These moments, this rivalry, the history between these two teams – this is what we want. We’re not dodging anything. We loved it.”
The power surge
Louisville struck first with a solo home run from Trinity grad Matt Klein in the second inning — his second in as many games — and reclaimed the lead in the fifth when Rose launched a leadoff shot over the right-field fence. The sophomore catcher pumped his fist around the bases and later admitted he got “caught in the moment a little bit.”
“I was as happy as this guy when he hit that ball,” Louisville coach Dan McDonnell said of Rose. “He's been fighting it a little bit the last few weeks. And one thing about Z man, he wants it so bad that, you know, I just need to keep him smiling and just let him play. He's so talented. He plays with so much juice and energy that this is good for him. This is how he gets better. This is why he came here.”
A throwing error later in the fifth allowed a third run to score, giving the Cardinals a 3-1 cushion that proved just enough.
Biven sets the tone
Starting for just the fourth time in 20 appearances this season, New Albany High School product Tucker Biven gave Louisville 4 2/3 hard-fought innings, allowing just two hits and two runs — one unearned — while striking out five. He wriggled out of early trouble and didn’t allow a hit until the fourth.
“Whatever I can do, no matter if it’s the ninth or the first inning, I just want to help this team win,” Biven said. “I’ve got full trust in our bullpen.”
He handed the ball to Justin West with two outs in the fifth, after Vanderbilt clawed back a run off a pair of Louisville errors. From there, the bullpen trio of West, Wyatt Danilowicz and Jake Schweitzer held the Commodores scoreless over the final 4 1/3 innings.
Schweitzer, a freshman right-hander out of Trinity High School, pitched a tense ninth, working around a hit batter and another baserunner to seal the win with a pair of strikeouts a ground ball to short.
“They’ve grown up a lot this year,” McDonnell said of his pitching staff. “It hasn’t always gone their way, but they’ve learned to pitch through it.”
Vanderbilt coach Tim Corbin bemoaned his team's lack of timely hitting. The Commodores were 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position (though Louisville was 0-for-10 itself).
"Good ballgame, tough ballgame. Couldn’t get the timely hits," he said. " ... We pitched well, played good defense, ran the bases well. But as far as timely hitting, no. Give credit to Louisville. They pitched well. That was the tough part for us."
One win away
The victory puts Louisville in the regional final Sunday night (9 p.m. ET), awaiting the winner of Sunday’s elimination game between Vanderbilt and Wright State. A win would send the Cardinals to the Super Regional. A loss would force a winner-take-all finale on Monday.
It’s a familiar spot for McDonnell’s program. Louisville has reached the regional final in its last 11 NCAA Tournament appearances. It’s seeking a 10th NCAA Super Regional berth under McConnell.
“I’m happy for these guys, man. They work hard. They put it on the line. They want it so bad,” McDonnell said. “And even though we didn't play our best baseball … they showed how tough they are. And as we keep saying, the tests and the struggles and some of the challenges we went through this year, you know, ‘So what? What now?’ And they showed their toughness tonight and now in back-to-back games.”
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