University of Louisville
2-0
Bucknell
0-2
Cardinals Roll to Second Straight Victory over Bucknell
February 18, 2023 | Baseball
Louisville improved to 2-0 with an 11-2 victory on Saturday.
Louisville (2-0) pounded out 10 hits in the win, including the first home run of the season for Jack Payton.
Will Koger (1-0) recorded his first career win with 2.2 hitless innings of relief out of the bullpen. Riley Phillips gave up just one run in 3.1 innings in his first start of the season.
The Cardinals jumped on the board in the opening frame without needing a hit. Christian Knapczyk was hit by the first pitch he saw and three walks to the next four batters forced the first run across the plate.
It was Knapczyk that keyed a third inning rally as well. A leadoff single was followed by a hit by pitch and walk that loaded the bases and Ryan McCoy drove in a pair of runs with a single into right. Eddie King Jr. added a run-scoring knock of his own and the Cards led 5-0 after three innings.
Bucknell (0-2) scored its first run of the day in the fourth and, but the Cardinals responded with three in the bottom half. Isaac Humphrey drove home Knapczyk to get the run right back and Payton then launched a 1-2 pitch off the batter's eye in centerfield to make it an 8-1 game.
Louisville pushed two more runs across in the seventh and added another in the eighth to close out its scoring.
Knapczyk was 2-for-3 on the day with two stolen bases and three runs scored. King was 2-for-3 as well, driving in a pair of runs.
Tucker Biven pitched a scoreless eighth inning in his collegiate debut and Kaleb Corbett worked a scoreless ninth.
Louisville wraps up its opening weekend with the series finale on Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Koger, Will (1-0)
L: Chris DiFiore (0-1)
Batting:
RBI: Billy Kender 1 ; Jacob Terwilliger 1
SF: Jacob Terwilliger 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jacob Corson 1 ; Kyle Lyons 1
PO: Drew Uccello 1
Batting:
2B: Vierling, Will 1
HR: Payton, Jack 1
RBI: Humphrey, Isaac 1 ; Payton, Jack 2 ; McCoy, Ryan 2 ; King Jr., Eddie 2 ; Benson, JT 1 ; Smith, Noah 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Knapczyk, Christian 3 ; Humphrey, Isaac 2 ; Payton, Jack 2 ; McCoy, Ryan 1 ; Beard, Logan 1 ; Anderson, Brandon 1 ; Benson, JT 1
SB: Knapczyk, Christian 2
CS: King Jr., Eddie 1
HBP: Knapczyk, Christian 1 ; Humphrey, Isaac 1 ; Payton, Jack 1 ; Klein, Matt 1
PO: Kilen, Gavin 1
