Cardinals Walked Off in Opener at Duke

Friday, April 21

Durham, N.C.

6:00 PM

University of Louisville

26-11, 8-8

Duke

25-12, 10-8

Louisville

Duke

Photo by: Shane Sturtz | Duke Athletics

April 21, 2023 | Baseball

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Louisville lost 10-9 on Friday night in Durham.

By: Stephen Williams

DURHAM, N.C. – A walk-off grand slam downed the 10^th-ranked University of Louisville baseball team in a 10-9 defeat Friday night at Duke.

Louisville (26-11, 8-8 ACC) took a 9-6 lead into the ninth, but an error and two walks loaded the bases with only one out. A first-pitch grand slam then handed the Cardinals the loss.

The Cardinals held a 7-0 lead early in the opening game of the series. Ryan McCoy hit a three-run home run in the first inning, the first of two home runs for the first baseman on the night.

McCoy doubled home a run in his second at-bat and later scored on a Logan Beard RBI single to make it 5-0 in the third.

JT Benson singled in a run in the fourth and McCoy hit his second homer of the night leading off the fifth to put Louisville up a touchdown.

Duke (25-12, 10-8) clawed back in the bottom half of the fifth. The Blue Devils hit three two-run home runs in the inning and were back within one after five.

Tate Kuehner helped stabilize things for the Cardinals, getting the final out in the fifth and putting up a zero in the sixth before the offense was able to get back on the board.

Benson launched a long solo shot in the seventh and Haven Mangrum tacked on a ninth run with a run-scoring double one inning later.

Ryan Hawks held Duke hitless through the first four innings before running into trouble in the fifth. Kuehner had a similar fate, not surrendering his first hit in 3.1 innings until the grand slam in the ninth. The duo combined to strike out 15 on Friday.

Benson and McCoy each went 3-for-5 on the night with McCoy driving in a career-best five in the loss.

Louisville and Duke will play the second game of the series on Saturday night at 7 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on ACC Network.

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