University of Louisville
TCU
Cardinals, Horned Frogs Collide in CWS Elimination Game
June 21, 2017 | Baseball
No. 7 Louisville and No. 6 TCU face off Thursday at 7 p.m., CT in Omaha
OMAHA, Neb. - The No. 7 Louisville baseball team will encounter its first elimination game of the 2017 season when the Cardinals challenge No. 6 TCU at the College World Series on Thursday at 7 p.m., CT at TD Ameritrade Park Omaha.
Louisville (53-11) swept through its NCAA Regional (3-0) and Super Regional (2-0) games at Jim Patterson Stadium and opened its fourth CWS appearance with a win over Texas A&M (8-4) on Sunday before ending its six-game winning streak with a 5-1 loss to No. 3 Florida on Tuesday night. The Horned Frogs (48-17) also swept through their NCAA Regional and Super Regional games before falling 3-0 to the Gators in their CWS opener on Sunday. The winner of the Louisville-TCU contest will advance to face Florida on Friday at 7 p.m., CT on ESPN and will need two wins against the Gators to advance to the CWS Finals.
Freshman lefthander Nick Bennett will get the starting nod on the mound for the Cardinals, while the Horned Frogs will likely start senior righty Mitchell Traver or freshman lefty Nick Lodolo. A Freshman All-American and All-ACC Third Team performer, Bennett enters the elimination game with a 5-0 record, 2.70 ERA and 59 strikeouts in 63.1 innings pitched with 12 starts and 14 total appearances. Thursday will mark the Cincinnati native's first start since working five innings in a no-decision against Xavier in Louisville's NCAA Regional title game win on June 4.
The Cardinals are 5-11 all-time against TCU but the teams have not played on the diamond since 2005 when the Horned Frogs won three of four against the Cardinals as Conference USA foes. All 16 previous games between the programs were played from 2002 to 2005 as members of C-USA. Louisville defeated Big 12 foe Oklahoma 11-1 during the NCAA Regional at Jim Patterson Stadium, while TCU knocked Virginia 5-1 in the Fort Worth Regional.
In preparation for Thursday's game, the Cardinals conducted a 75-minute practice session at Bellevue East High School's Don Roddy Field. It marked the team's third practice session at the ballpark since arriving in Omaha last Thursday.
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