Cardinals Defeat Purdue on Elementary School Day

Tuesday, March 17

JIM PATTERSON STADIUM

12:00 PM

University of Louisville

15-6

PURDUE

7-11

Purdue

Louisville

March 17, 2015 | Baseball

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March 17, 2015

Corey Ray reaches base with a bunt single, one of his two hits in Tuesday's home victory.

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The eighth-ranked Louisville baseball team closed a 15-game homestand with a 5-3 victory over Purdue on Tuesday afternoon during Elementary School Day at Jim Patterson Stadium.

A trio of pitchers combined to allow just one earned run with 10 strikeouts for the Cardinals (15-6), who have won four straight games and six of their last seven overall. After junior righty Anthony Kidston (Defiance, Ohio) worked five solid innings allowing only two unearned runs on three hits with six strikeouts in the starting role, freshman righty Lincoln Henzman (Lexington, Ky.) struck out two in two shutout innings of relief for the win to move to 3-0. Freshman righthander Kade McClure (Mentor, Ohio) closed the game allowing a run with two strikeouts in two innings for his first collegiate save.

At the plate, sophomore outfielder Corey Ray (Chicago, Ill.) was 2-for-4 with one RBI and scored once, while senior infielder Zach Lucas (Louisville, Ky.) added a double, drove in a run and scored twice. Senior infielder Sutton Whiting (New Wilmington, Pa.) chipped in with a pair of hits and scored once in the victory.

The Boilermakers (7-11) found the scoring column first on Tuesday plating a pair of unearned runs in the fourth inning against Kidston. After reaching base to start the inning in a dropped flyball, third baseman Brandon Krieg scored later in the inning on a RBI groundout by catcher Jack Picchiotti. The second run of the frame came when outfielder Kyle Johnson scored from third on a two-out wild pitch for the 2-0 lead.

The Cardinals answered quickly in the bottom of the fourth with three straight hits to open the inning against Purdue starter Gavin Downs. After leading off with a bunt single, Ray scored moments later on a RBI double to left by Lucas. Freshman Brendan McKay (Darlington, Pa.) followed with a RBI single up the middle to score Lucas to even the score at 2-2.

Louisville gained its first lead of the afternoon in the sixth inning on RBI groundball off the bat of freshman outfielder Ryan Summers (Westfield, Mass.) to score Lucas. The Cardinals added their fourth run of the day in the seventh on a RBI single by Ray to score Whiting, before pushing the lead to 5-2 in the eighth when sophomore catcher Will Smith (Louisville, Ky.) scored from third on a wild pitch by reliever Joe Eichmann.

The Boilermakers plated their final run of the game in the ninth on a RBI single by pinch hitter Daniel Sander. Reliever Tim McElroy was charged with the loss for Purdue and dropped to 0-1 on the season after allowing three runs, just one earned, on two hits in 2.1 innings.

Up next, eighth-ranked Louisville plays its first ACC road series with a visit to Notre Dame for a three-game set in South Bend, Ind. The Cardinals and Fighting Irish are scheduled for Friday at 6:05 p.m., ET, Saturday at 2:05 p.m., and Sunday at 1:05 p.m.

Fans can follow Louisville baseball on Twitter (@UofLBaseball) at http://twitter.com/uoflbaseball and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ulbaseball.

Louisville Postgame Notes
? The Cardinals improved to 12-3 at home this season and are 260-85 all-time at Jim Patterson Stadium since its opening in 2005.

? Louisville improved to 9-6 all-time against Purdue and has won four straight in the series.

? The Cardinals have won 112 straight games dating back to 2012 when entering the ninth inning with a lead.

? Kade McClure became the fourth Louisville pitcher to earn a save this season joining Brendan McKay (four), Drew Harrington (two) and Zack Burdi (one).

? With his RBI double in the fourth, Zach Lucas extended his hitting streak to eight games overall.

? Lincoln Henzman has three wins in nine appearances on the mound this season. The three wins are tied for the team-lead with McKay.

? The Cardinals' freshman pitchers are unbeaten this season with a combined record of 8-0. Along with the 3-0 marks from Henzman and McKay, McClure is 1-0 and Butch Baird is 1-0.

? With his 2-for-4 performance on Tuesday, Sutton Whiting earned his team-leading ninth multi-hit game of the season, while Corey Ray added his eighth.