University of Louisville
13-6, 1-1
Virginia Tech
13-4, 4-1
Kilen Hits for Cycle as Louisville Drops Game to Virginia Tech
March 16, 2024 | Baseball
Gavin Kilen hit for the seventh cycle in program history in a 12-6 loss.
Louisville (13-6, 1-1 ACC) lost its first conference game of the season and lost for just the second time in the last 15 games.
Despite the loss, Kilen was the star for the Cardinals at the plate. The shortstop hit a one-out triple off the wall in the second inning before belting his fifth home run of the season in the fourth, going back-to-back with Matt Klein for the second time on the year.
Kilen then lined a ball off the pitcher that scooted into centerfield for a hustle double in the fifth to leave himself just a single shy of the cycle through the first five innings.
The sophomore grounded out in the seventh, but hit a ball into the hole in the ninth that the sliding shortstop couldn't make a play on to complete the feat.
Kilen was the seventh player to hit for the cycle in program history and the first since Alex Binelas did so against Alabama A&M on April 26, 2019.
The Cardinals fell behind early on Saturday as Virginia Tech (13-4, 4-1) took a 2-0 lead on a two-run homer in the first inning. The Hokies then added three more in the fourth to open up a 5-0 advantage.
Klein and Kilen went back-to-back in the bottom of the fourth and JT Benson delivered a two-out, two-run single to get the Cards back to within one run.
However, Virginia Tech responded with four runs of its own in the fifth and three more in the sixth to stretch the margin out.
Evan Webster (2-1) suffered his first loss of the year, allowing five runs over four innings. Jared Lesman turned in his best outing in a Louisville uniform, pitching three scoreless innings of relief work.
Louisville and Virginia Tech wrap up the weekend series on Sunday. First pitch is scheduled for noon ET and will be televised on ACC Network.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Brady Kirtner (2-0)
L: Webster, Evan (2-1)
Batting:
2B: Christian Martin 1 ; Gehrig Ebel 1 ; Ben Watson 1 ; Henry Cooke 1
HR: Carson DeMartini 2 ; Eddie Micheletti Jr. 1
RBI: Christian Martin 2 ; Carson DeMartini 4 ; Eddie Micheletti Jr. 1 ; Henry Cooke 2 ; David McCann 2
SH: David McCann 1
SF: David McCann 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Christian Martin 2 ; Carson DeMartini 2 ; Eddie Micheletti Jr. 2 ; Gehrig Ebel 1 ; Ben Watson 2 ; Henry Cooke 2 ; David McCann 1
CS: Carson DeMartini 1
PO: Carson DeMartini 1
Batting:
2B: Klein, Matt 1 ; Kilen, Gavin 1 ; King Jr., Eddie 1
3B: Kilen, Gavin 1
HR: Klein, Matt 1 ; Kilen, Gavin 1 ; King Jr., Eddie 1
RBI: Benson, JT 2 ; Klein, Matt 1 ; Kilen, Gavin 2 ; King Jr., Eddie 1
SH: Moore, Lucas 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Klein, Matt 2 ; Kilen, Gavin 1 ; King Jr., Eddie 2 ; McCoy, Ryan 1
SB: Dickerson, Korbyn 1 ; Moore, Lucas 1 ; Benson, JT 1 ; Kilen, Gavin 1 ; McCoy, Ryan 1 ; Alicea, Alex 1
HBP: Moore, Lucas 1
