No. 18 Louisville Tallies 8-6 Win Over USC Upstate

Tuesday, May 18

LOUISVILLE, KY

3:00 PM

University of Louisville

27-18

USC Upstate

34-14

USC Upstate

Louisville

Photo by: Taris Smith | Louisville Athletics

May 18, 2021 | Baseball

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Luke Brown recorded his second straight four-hit game to lead the way.

By: Stephen Williams

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The 18^th-ranked University of Louisville baseball team got back in the win column with an 8-6 victory over USC Upstate on Tuesday at Jim Patterson Stadium.

Louisville (27-18) pounded out 12 hits in the victory led by four from Luke Brown, his second consecutive four-hit game. Cooper Bowman and Christian Knapczyk each had multi-hit games as well.

The Cardinals tallied the opening run of the ballgame in the second, with Levi Usher rolling a ball on the infield to bring Henry Davis home.

The lead would be short-lived though, as USC Upstate (34-14) plated a pair of runs in the top of the third.

Louisville answered back in its half of the third, pushing three runs of its own across. Knapczyk started the inning off with a bunt single and swiped second base. Brown then recorded the first of his three doubles to tie the game at two. Bowman then battled back from an 0-2 count and blasted his eighth home run of the season on the ninth pitch of the at-bat to make it a 4-2 game.

The Spartans got one run back in the fourth, but the Cardinals responded once again. Jack Payton doubled with one away and scored on Brown's second double of the day.

The contest remained at 5-3 until the seventh when Brown turned in another run-scoring double and later touched the plate to extend the margin to four.

The two sides then exchanged solo homers in the eighth, with Lucas Dunn hitting his fifth of the season onto the berm in left field.

USC Upstate cut Louisville's lead down to two on a home run in the ninth inning before the Cardinals turned the game over to Michael Kirian to try and close it out. In just his second relief appearance of the season, Kirian issued a one-out walk, but shut things down for his first save of the year.

Jack Perkins drew the start on Tuesday, allowing two runs over his three innings of work. Kaleb Corbett (2-1) worked a career-long 3.2 innings out of the bullpen, allowing just one run for his second win.

Louisville wraps up the regular season with three games against Miami beginning on Thursday at Jim Patterson Stadium. First pitch on Thursday is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET.

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