Saturday, March 16
Durham, NC
1:00 PM
University of Louisville
15-4, 4-1
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Duke
12-7, 2-3
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Louisville
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Duke
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Photo by: Jermaine Bibb | Louisville Athletics
No. 7 Louisville Clinches Series with Second Straight Win at Duke
March 16, 2019 | Baseball
Zach Britton’s eighth inning single lifted Louisville to a 2-1 victory on Saturday.
DURHAM, N.C. – The seventh-ranked Louisville baseball team outdueled No. 24 Duke on Saturday, winning 2-1 to clinch the weekend series at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
Strong pitching and timely hitting were the winning combination for the Cardinals on Saturday. Nick Bennett allowed one run over seven innings before turning the ball over to Michael McAvene, who retired all six batters he faced for the save.
With the game tied at one, Jake Snider led off the eighth inning with a single back through the middle. Tyler Fitzgerald hit a deep fly to the right-centerfield gap that advanced Snider to second, but a strikeout left him standing there for the second out of the inning.
However, Zach Britton proved to be clutch for the second time this week, lining a 1-1 pitch to left to score Snider for what would prove to be the decisive run. It was the second game-winning RBI in the last four games for Britton, who lifted the Cardinals to victory with a walk-off single against Ole Miss on Tuesday.
As it did on Friday, Louisville (15-4, 4-1 ACC) struck again in the first inning. Fitzgerald lined a single to left with one out and moved up 90 feet on a failed pickoff attempt. The junior took third on a wild pitch and the catcher's attempt to throw him out sailed into the outfield to allow the run to score.
Bennett (4-0) then went to work on the mound. The lefthander held the Blue Devils scoreless through the first three innings before a sacrifice fly knotted the game up at one in the fourth. Bennett got better as the game went along, tossing perfect sixth and seventh innings to close out his outing.
McAvene went on to slam the door shut over the final two innings to give the Cardinals their fourth consecutive win and ninth in their last 10 games.
Britton was 2-for-3 in the game with the run-scoring single and also reached with a walk to pace the UofL offensive effort.
Louisville and Duke will wrap up the series on Sunday, as the Cardinals go for the sweep. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET.
Strong pitching and timely hitting were the winning combination for the Cardinals on Saturday. Nick Bennett allowed one run over seven innings before turning the ball over to Michael McAvene, who retired all six batters he faced for the save.
With the game tied at one, Jake Snider led off the eighth inning with a single back through the middle. Tyler Fitzgerald hit a deep fly to the right-centerfield gap that advanced Snider to second, but a strikeout left him standing there for the second out of the inning.
However, Zach Britton proved to be clutch for the second time this week, lining a 1-1 pitch to left to score Snider for what would prove to be the decisive run. It was the second game-winning RBI in the last four games for Britton, who lifted the Cardinals to victory with a walk-off single against Ole Miss on Tuesday.
As it did on Friday, Louisville (15-4, 4-1 ACC) struck again in the first inning. Fitzgerald lined a single to left with one out and moved up 90 feet on a failed pickoff attempt. The junior took third on a wild pitch and the catcher's attempt to throw him out sailed into the outfield to allow the run to score.
Bennett (4-0) then went to work on the mound. The lefthander held the Blue Devils scoreless through the first three innings before a sacrifice fly knotted the game up at one in the fourth. Bennett got better as the game went along, tossing perfect sixth and seventh innings to close out his outing.
McAvene went on to slam the door shut over the final two innings to give the Cardinals their fourth consecutive win and ninth in their last 10 games.
Britton was 2-for-3 in the game with the run-scoring single and also reached with a walk to pace the UofL offensive effort.
Louisville and Duke will wrap up the series on Sunday, as the Cardinals go for the sweep. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Bennett, Nick (4-0)
L: Hunter Davis (0-2)
S: McAvene, Michael (1)
Batting:
2B: Oriente, Danny 1
RBI: Britton, Zach 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Snider, Jake 1 ; Fitzgerald, Tyler 1
SB: Britton, Zach 1 ; Leonard, Trey 1
HBP: Poland, Jared 1
PO: Snider, Jake 1
Batting:
RBI: Matt Mervis 1
SH: Michael Rothenberg 1
SF: Matt Mervis 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kyle Gallagher 1
SB: Chase Cheek 2
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
LHP
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RHP
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