University of Louisville
Eastern Kentucky
Colonels Rally to Top Cardinal Nine
April 28, 2004 | Baseball
April 28, 2004
RICHMOND, KY - A five-run eighth gave Eastern Kentucky a 9-6 win over the University of Louisville on Wednesday.
A two-run double by EKU's Neil Sellers gave the Colonels(26-9) a 2-0 advantage in the first.
In the Cardinal half of the second, Daniel Burton walked to open the frame, and an out later Logan Johnson singled, setting up and RBI single by Danny Plasencia that would cut the lead in half.
Chris O'Dell's ninth home run of the season, a two-run shot in the third increased the EKU lead to 4-1.
Louisville(20-21) tied the game at four in the fourth.
Isaiah Howes doubled down the left field line with one away, Johnson reached on an error and Luis Pardo walked to load the bases.
Plasencia hammered the first pitch he saw to the gap in right-center, plating two, and Mark Jurich followed with a single to center scoring Pardo and knotting the game.
Louisville broke the tie in the top of the seventh as Chris Cates lead off with a walk, Ryan McKinnon was issued a free pass and Burton walked to again load the bases.
Howes walked home Cates to give the Cards a 5-4 lead.
Jurich belted his 12th home run of the season, and sixth in his last seven games with two out in the eighth making it 6-4 Cards.
O'Dell then drilled his second home run of the game to lead off the eighth, cutting the lead to one, and second baseman Jonathan Woodard hit a three-run shot to right, putting the Colonels back up 8-6.
EKU added an RBI single by Stephen Carter in the five-run eighth for a 9-6 lead.
Cardinal reliever Brian Halford (5-4) took the loss, allowing a pair of runs on two hits in a third of an inning.
Brandon Scott(3-0) picked up the win for EKU, allowing a run on two hits and a walk, striking out two in 1.2 frames.
Junior Chase Cruse tossed three innings as the Cardinal starter, surrendering four runs, three of which were earned, on four hits and a walk. He struck out one.
Griffin Bailey followed with four innings out of the pen. He gave up two runs on three hits and a walk, while striking out three.
Sophomore Jon Harbridge was touched for a run on two hits, while Skylar Meade gave up a hit in getting the final two outs.
Jurich was 3 for 5 with two RBI, while Plasencia drove in three on a 2 for 4 afternoon.
For Jurich, he is now the eighth Cardinal to hit 40 home runs in a career, and is 7th all-time with 161 career RBI. His 52nd career double has him fourth on the all-time list.
The Cards have now lost five straight, its longest losing streak since April 29th to May 7th, 2000, a six-game slide.
Louisville will host TCU on Friday in game one of a three-game weekend series. First pitch at Cardinal Stadium is set for 6:00 p.m. ET and admission and parking are free.
