University of Louisville
at South Florida *
Cardinal Nine Opens USF Series with 9-5 Win.
May 20, 2004 | Baseball
May 20, 2004
TAMPA, FL - Ryan McKinnon's grand slam in the third capped a five-run inning, and helped the University of Louisville to a 9-5 win over South Florida Thursday night at Red McEwen Field.
Boomer Whiting singled with one out in the third and was plated on an RBI double by Tampa native Chris Cates for a 1-0 U of L lead.
Nick Haley followed the double by walking and Ron Braun had an 0-1 pitch glance off his helmet and nose to load the bases for McKinnon.
The junior DH from Hamilton, Ontario blistered a 1-0 pitch to right for his second career grand slam, a towering shot that made it 5-0. It was his eight home run of the season. His other grand slam was in the second game of the season, a win over San Diego State on February 21st.
In the bottom of the sixth, Myron Leslie doubled to open the frame and scored on a single by Bryan Hierlmeier to put the Bulls(31-22, 12-15) on the board.
The Cards(24-28, 11-17) got the run back when Mark Jurich doubled with one out in the seventh, moved to third on a passed ball and scored on a sac fly by Cates for a 6-1 lead.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Bulls loaded the bases on a pair of singles and a walk. A walk to Hierlmeier plated a run, and catcher Devin Ivany cleared the bases with a double, cutting the Cardinal lead to 6-5.
Louisville notched three insurance runs in the eighth.
Daniel Burton singled up the middle and Logan Johnson punched a base hit through the left side to put runners at first and second. Isaiah Howes then reached on an infield single, while Jeff Baisley's throw to second went into right, allowing Burton to score, and Johnson advanced to second.
An RBI groundout by Whiting plated Johnson, and after walks to Jurich and Cates loaded the bases, another walk to Haley scored the third run of the frame, making it 9-5 Cards.
B.J. Rosenberg (2-4) earned the win, tossing 6.1 innings and allowing three runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out one.
Brian Halford was touched for two runs on a hit and two walks to go with a strikeout, and Griffin Bailey struck out a pair in two innings to close the game.
USF starter Casey Hudspeth (8-4) took the loss, surrendering six runs on eight hits and two walks in 6.2 innings, striking out three.
Jurich doubled twice on the evening, giving him 56 in his career and tying him with Tim Harper and Darren Oppel for the U of L record.
Braun moves into a tie for second all-time, getting hit for the 14th time of the season, and is now 6th on the career list, getting drilled 22 times in two years.
The Cards are currently in ninth place in the C-USA standings, with the top eight teams going to the C-USA tournament in Houston. A sweep over the Bulls would guarantee a spot in the tourney for U of L.
Game two is Friday night at 7:00 p.m. ET.
