Cardinals Drop Doubleheader Opener to Xavier, 2-1

Saturday, February 28

JIM PATTERSON STADIUM

12:00 PM

University of Louisville

5-4

XAVIER

4-4

Xavier

Louisville

February 28, 2015 | Baseball

Box Score

Feb. 28, 2015

Corey Ray attempts to avoid the tag in a rundown during Saturday's first game with Xavier.

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CardsTV Game Highlights

By Taylor Sherrill
GoCards.com

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The No. 12 Louisville baseball team opened a Saturday doubleheader against Xavier with a 2-1 loss at Jim Patterson Stadium.

Sophomore left hander Brad Kirschner improved to 2-1 on the season by pitching six shutout innings allowing five hits and striking out three to earn the victory for the Muskeeters (4-4).

After trading zeroes for six innings, the Musketeers broke the scoreless tie in the seventh inning with a pair of unearned runs against junior righty Kyle Funkhouser (Oak Forest, Ill.). Third baseman Rylan Bannon led off the inning with a single to left for the Musketeers. After an error, catcher Daniel Rizzie followed with a base hit, his third of the game, to right field to load the bases with one out. Derek Hasenbeck followed with a slow rolling infield single to score Bannon for the first run of the game. Outfielder Patrick Jones then followed with an RBI groundout to give the Musketeers a 2-0 lead.

Louisville finally broke through in the eighth inning against freshman lefty Zac Lowther. Redshirt freshman Ryan Summers (Westfield, Mass.) led off the inning with a single to right field. After a botched double play attempt, sophomore Nick Solak (Woodridge, Ill.) beat out an infield single to load the bases with no outs. After a strikeout, sophomore Will Smith (Louisville, Ky.) drove in the only run for the Cardinals with a single to right field to score Summers. Lowther settled in to retire the next two Cardinals to preserve the 2-1 lead.

Xavier pitcher Jacob Bodner pitched a scoreless ninth inning to notch his second save of the season. Funkhouser pitched seven solid innings allowing only two unearned runs and striking out seven, falling to 1-2 on the season.

Louisville's first real scoring threat of the game came in third inning when senior Sutton Whiting (New Wilmington, Pa.) and Solak both lined one-out singles before an inning ending double play kept the Cardinals off the board.

The Musketeers threatened in the third inning by loading the bases with two outs but Funkhouser ended the threat with a strikeout. Xavier had another chance in the sixth inning with a runner on third with two outs before Funkhouser used a strikeout to keep the Musketeers off the board.

The Cardinals had another chance to capitalize in the sixth when sophomore Corey Ray (Chicago, Ill.) lined a one-out triple down the right field line. Smith followed with a chopper to the shortstop Andrew Jernigan, who threw home to get Ray tagged out in a rundown ending another chance for Louisville.

Solak extended his streak of reaching base to nine games with a 2-for-4 effort at the plate. Third baseman Zach Lucas (Louisville, Ky.) also added a 2-for-4 day for the Cardinals. Sophomore lefty Drew Harrington (Elizabethtown, Ky.) continued his strong start to the season by striking out two in two scoreless innings of relief. Harrington has only given up four hits with 17 strikeouts and just one unearned run in 12.1 innings of work out of the bullpen this season.

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