University of Louisville
at Houston *
Cardinal Nine Falls to Houston 9-7
May 04, 2003 | Baseball
May 4, 2003
HOUSTON, TX - A ninth-inning rally fell short as the University of Louisville Cardinals lost to Houston 9-7 in baseball action Sunday. The Cougars won two of three over the weekend.
The Cougars (27-21, 15-8) struck for the first run of the ballgame when Hyung Cho doubled home a run in the first, giving them a 1-0 lead.
The Cards (28-16, 11-11) responded in the second on a two-out, two-run double by freshman Nick Haley and a subsequent double by Dave Williams Jr., that gave U of L a 3-1 lead, and extended his hitting streak to 21 consecutive games.
Houston picked up a run in the bottom of the second on a two out single by catcher Nick Bott, cutting the lead to a run, but junior shortstop J.T. LaFountain drilled a 1-2 pitch high over the wall in left-center for a three-run home run and a 6-2 Cardinal advantage.
An RBI groundout by Houston's Cole Bruce in the third, and a two-run home run by Michael Bourn in the fourth cut the lead to 6-5 Louisville, and Cho's solo home run in the fifth knotted the game at six.
A broken bat, two-run single to short center by Travis Tulley broke the tie, and gave the Cougars an 8-6 advantage.
An RBI single by Gabe Lucas increased the Cougar advantage to 9-6 in the seventh.
Williams scored from third on a wild pitch in the ninth to trim the deficit to 9-7 and close the scoring.
Chase Cruse lasted just two innings, surrendering two runs on four hits and a walk while striking out two.
Cruse was relieved by Brian Halford, who allowed three runs on four hits in two innings of work. Freshman Jon Harbridge (0-1) gave up three runs on two hits and a walk in an inning and two-thirds while taking the loss.
Houston starter Brian Henderson was touched for six of the Cardinal runs on eight hits and a walk while fanning three.
Ryan Wagner (3-5) came on for Houston and struck out the first four batters he faced on his way to fanning 11 Cardinals while picking up the win. He allowed one run on three hits and a walk in 5.1 innings.
Mike Eilers tossed the final 2.1 frames, giving up a run on four hits and a walk.
Haley had three hits, while LaFountain was 2 for 4 with three RBI for the Cards.
Louisville will meet Kentucky at Applebee's Field, home of the single A Lexington Legends, on Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. before wrapping up the home schedule against Tulane for three games beginning Friday.
