University of Louisville
19-7, 9-1
No. 28 GEORGIA TECH
17-8, 5-5
Louisville Pitches Past Georgia Tech in Series-Opener
March 27, 2015 | Baseball
Kyle Funkhouser delivers a pitch while first baseman Danny Rosenbaum prepares defensively.
CardsTV Postgame Interviews: Dan McDonnell | Kyle Funkhouser
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Kyle Funkhouser pitched seven strong innings and Will Smith drove in a pair of runs to lead the No. 6 Louisville baseball team to a 4-1 series-opening victory over No. 28 Georgia Tech on Friday afternoon at Jim Patterson Stadium.
Funkhouser, a junior righthander from Oak Forest, Ill., finished with seven strikeouts and allowed just one run on four hits to win his second straight start and improve to 3-2 on the season. The Cardinals (19-7, 9-1) won their fourth straight ACC series-opener and extended their conference winning streak to eight games overall.
At the plate, Smith (Louisville, Ky.) drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the third inning and added a RBI single in the seventh as the Louisville finished with a 10-6 advantage in hits against the Yellow Jackets (17-8, 5-5 ACC). Sophomore Nick Solak (Woodridge, Ill.) was 2-for-5 with a double and a run scored, while sophomore Corey Ray (Chicago, Ill.) chipped in with a RBI single, a run scored and two stolen bases. Senior Sutton Whiting (New Wilmington, Pa.) added an RBI and junior Danny Rosenbaum had a pair of hits in the win.
The Cardinals struck for the first two runs of the game in the third inning against Georgia Tech lefty starter Jonathan King. Solak started things with a one-out double down the right field line before scoring moments later on a RBI single up the middle by Ray. After stealing second and third, Ray scored on the sac fly by Smith for the 2-0 edge.
Louisville extended its lead to 3-0 in the fourth inning on a RBI single by Whiting to score freshman Devin Hairston (Lexington, Ky.), who led off the frame with a single to right. Hairston took second on a sacrifice bunt by freshman Ryan Summers (Westfield, Mass.) before scoring on the Whiting single.
The Yellow Jackets broke through for their only run of the game in the seventh inning on a RBI groundball off the bat of Connor Justus to score A.J. Murray. However, the Cardinals answered in the bottom of the seventh when Brendan McKay was hit by a two-out pitch, took second on a wild pitch and scored on a RBI single by Smith for the final margin.
Following Funkhouser, sophomore lefty Drew Harrington (Elizabethtown, Ky.) recorded the first out of the eighth inning before giving way to sophomore righty Zack Burdi (Downers Grove, Ill.), who recorded the final five outs of the game for his second save of the season. King took his first loss of the season for Georgia Tech and dropped to 2-1 overall after allowing four hits on nine hits in 6.2 innings.
The Cardinals and Yellow Jackets will continue their weekend series on Saturday at 1 p.m., ET. Sunday's finale is also slated for a 1 p.m., start and admission is free throughout the weekend.
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 13-3 at home this season and are 261-85 all-time at Jim Patterson Stadium since its opening in 2005.
? Louisville moved to 3-1 all-time in the series against Georgia Tech.
? Through 10 ACC games, the Cardinals have a 2.34 ERA with 96 strikeouts in 100.0 innings.
? After two shutout innings on Friday, the Louisville bullpen has a 1.75 ERA and 118 strikeouts in 103.0 innings of work.
? The Cardinals have won 115 straight games when entering the ninth inning with a lead dating back to May 2012.
? In his last three starts, Kyle Funkhouser is 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 21.0 innings pitched.
? With the run in the seventh inning, Funkhouser's scoreless streak halted at 14.1 innings dating back to March 14 against Boston College.
? Sutton Whiting extended his hitting streak to 10 games overall and has hit safely in all 10 ACC games this season.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Funkhouser, Kyle (3-2)
L: Jonathan King (2-1)
S: Burdi, Zack (2)
Batting:
RBI: Connor Justus 1
SH: Arden Pabst 1
Base Running:
RUNS: A.J. Murray 1
CS: Thomas Smith 1
Batting:
2B: Solak, Nick 1
RBI: Whiting, Sutton 1 ; Ray, Corey 1 ; Smith, Will 2
SH: Summers, Ryan 1
SF: Smith, Will 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Solak, Nick 1 ; Ray, Corey 1 ; McKay, Brendan 1 ; Hairston, Devin 1
SB: Whiting, Sutton 1 ; Ray, Corey 2 ; Lucas, Zach 1
HBP: McKay, Brendan 1
