University of Louisville
Eastern Kentucky
Cards Crush Colonels 16-1
March 06, 2002 | Baseball
March 6, 2002
LOUISVILLE, KY- The Louisville baseball team used the long ball to crush Eastern Kentucky 16-1 Wednesday at Cardinal Stadium. Cardinal batters clouted four home runs, including two by sophomore right fielder Mark Jurich in a 17 hit attack.
The Colonels(1-5) put its only run on the board with an RBI single by third baseman Adam Visnic in the first.
Louisville(6-1) answered when junior left fielder Josh Bolen smoked a triple to center and scored on a tape-measure shot by Jurich high in the bleachers in right-center, giving U of L a 2-1 advantage.
In the third, Bolen walked to lead off the stanza, and Jurich followed by jacking one deep into the seats down the right field line making it 4-1.
Louisville plated seven runs in the fourth inning. Scott Gerlach and Dave Williams Jr. hit back-to-back singles and Gerlach scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of senior catcher Fernando Isa.
Bolen singled in a run, Jurich walked and first baseman Morgan Bojorquez cranked a 2-1 pitch into the seats in right for a three-run shot and his team-leading 13th RBI.
After a Mike Budak double, a single by J.T. LaFountain and a walk to Gerlach, Williams singled for the second time in the inning, driving in two and closing the scoring in the frame.
Junior Ken Tirpack singled home Gerlach in the sixth, and scored when Will Shelton picked up his first career hit and RBI with a double to left.
A double by DH Carlos De la Osa scored another, capping the four-run inning with a 15-1 Cardinal lead. The Colonels committed three errors in the sixth.
The final run of the game scored when Tirpack hit the first home run of his collegiate career on an 0-1 pitch that he jacked to right.
The Colonels used nine pitchers, and starter Spencer Boley(0-1), who gave up Jurich's first homer took the loss. The Cards scored on five of the nine pitchers that appeared for EKU. Boley gave up two runs on two hits in his inning of work.
In a typical midweek game, the Cardinals used seven pitchers of their own, with starter Mike Eilers getting the win. Eilers(1-0) pitched two frames, giving up the one run on two hits, while striking out three.
Freshman Zach Jackson followed with three K's in two perfect innings. Willie McKenzie pitched a 1-2-3 fifth with a strikeout. Clif Novak walked the first batter he faced, and then punched out the next three in his inning of work.
Grant Williams tossed an inning, giving up a hit and a walk while striking out one.
Carlos Fernandez allowed just one hit in the eighth, his only inning, while Josh Ring retired the side in order in the ninth, striking out one.
Louisville pitchers struck out 12 Colonel batters on the day.
The four home runs was the most since the Cards hit five in a loss to Memphis on April 8 of last season. The seventeen hits was the most since they banged out 18 in a win over Morehead(5/8/01).
U of L has 12 or more hits in five of its seven games this season, and have now won four straight.
Cardinal pitching has yet to allow more than nine hits in a game.
Bojorquez and Bolen have hit safely in each of the Cards seven games this season, with Bojorquez now holding an 11 game hit streak, dating back to last season.
The two home runs and four RBI are new single game career highs for Jurich who is now hitting .481 with a 1.111 slugging percentage and 12 RBI.
Louisville will host Kent on Friday at Cardinal Stadium at 3:00 p.m., admission is free. Live audio broadcasts are available for all games at www.uoflsports.com.
