LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- There would be no late rally this time. No eighth-inning thunder, no miracle swing. Just a quiet walk back to the dugout, and the slow realization that the ride was finally over.
Louisville's dream run to the College World Series ended Wednesday the way few of its biggest moments began — without drama.
The Cardinals fell behind 6-0 in the first inning before many fans settled into their seats, and never seriously threatened after that, dropping an 11-3 decision to Coastal Carolina in an elimination game at Charles Schwab Field. It was Coastal's 26th consecutive victory.
It was a humbling finish. But don't mistake it for failure.
Louisville | Kentucky | Indiana | Bozich & Crawford
This was not expected to be a College World Series team. Not after missing the postseason entirely the past two seasons. Not after 15 players transferred out last summer. Not after an up-and-down spring that ended with a one-and-done showing at the ACC Tournament.
Louisville began and ended the season unranked. And yet, somehow, here they were — in Omaha, in the national semifinals, matching the deepest run in program history.
"I just want to tell these guys how much I appreciate them," Louisville coach Dan McDonnell told Sean Moth in his postgame radio interview immediately following the loss. "You know, how much joy they brought to the city of Louisville, to our fan base, to the university, to the athletic program, and especially to the baseball program."
This year was a little different. It wasn't about raw power or top-end talent, though this team had both. It was about resolve. And rejuvenation. And the willingness to fight — not just in the box score, but in the trenches of a long season.
The Cardinals got knocked down plenty this year. And like the man whose name adorned their helmets, they kept getting up.
"We've had our bumps in the road," McDonnell said. "But we've always gotten off the mat."
The Muhammad Ali symbolism wasn't just decoration. McDonnell leaned into it all year — showing fight footage, sharing quotes, hugging Ali's widow, Lonnie, before Louisville's second CWS win. The players embraced it, too.
Louisville rallied in the Super Regionals. They won with freshmen, seasoned transfers and a determined core of returnees. They leaned on late-game comebacks and breakout arms. Patrick Forbes, once a converted shortstop, emerged as a dominant postseason pitcher. Freshman Jake Schweitzer, left off the travel roster to start the year, wound up as a key bullpen piece in Omaha. And players like Zion Rose, Matt Klein, and Kamau Neighbors delivered both production and leadership.
In Wednesday's semifinal, the magic finally ran dry. Coastal Carolina pounced on starter Colton Hartman and never looked back. He hadn't started a game in more than a month, and couldn't retire a batter, eventually being credited for five runs allowed. The bullpen scattered five runs through the rest of the game, but even that wasn't enough of a performance against one of the best pitching staffs in the nation.
The Cardinals mounted a brief rally in the sixth, with RBIs from Davis, Pike, and Neighbors. But the gap was too wide, the gas tank too empty.
Still, what Louisville accomplished can't be discounted. A program many thought was fading surged back into the national conversation. The run to Omaha wasn't just a response to last year's disappointment — it was a rebuttal to the idea that this program's best days were behind it.
"This team restored this baseball program and got us back where we've always expected to be, where we've proven we could be," McDonnell told Moth. "And if we just get the right support, it's a place that we can come to maybe without a six-year hiatus. So I'm just super proud of these guys. Man, they brought so much joy all season long, but especially in the postseason. It was something special."
The season ended short of a championship. But it delivered something just as valuable: belief. In the coach. In the culture. In the program. Louisville didn't finish on top. But they stood back up. And that, too, is a victory worth remembering.
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