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Louisville Baseball: Sloppiness hurts the Cards in pivotal ACC series

By Hunter Lane

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The Cards came into the weekend really needing an ACC series win, having lost three straight. Unfortunately, seven errors and eight unearned runs ruined the Cards’ chances against the 4th-ranked Wolfpack, losing two of three on the weekend.

NC State is no easy foe, let that be known. Their 25-6, (11-4 in the ACC) record is very indicative of that. Louisville, however, let this very important series get away.

Coming off of an ugly loss against its in-state rival Kentucky, a game in which the Cards gave up 13 free passes and a pair of unearned runs, Dan McDonnell and company had hopes of cleaning things up before the Wolfpack embarked on Jim Patterson Stadium for a crucial ACC series.

Prior to this weekend, Louisville had a 19-9 overall record, 5-7 in the ACC. The Cardinals hadn’t won an ACC series since the start of ACC play, when they defeated the North Carolina Tarheels two games to one.  In the three ACC series that followed, the Cards were able to win just three games total- one in each of the series.

The Wolfpack, on the other hand, have won every ACC series that they’ve played. They’ve yet to lose two in the same weekend all season.

The weekend started out strong for the Cards, as they won the series-opener 8-2.  The Wolfpack were somewhat silenced at the plate, thanks to a dominant outing from junior Adam Wolf.  The southpaw went seven innings, striking out six and giving up just a pair of hits. At the plate, it was sophomore Logan Wyatt and sophomore Danny Oriente getting things done for the Cards as the two combined for seven RBIs.

In the fourth inning, Wyatt capitalized on a Tyler Fitzgerald single and a pair of walks as he crushed a ball over the right field wall.  Following the grand slam, the Cards would use a balanced scoring attack, adding on two runs in the sixth inning  and two more in the 8th. Adam Wolf got his fourth win of the season for Louisville.

Saturday and Sunday were a different story for the Cards.  Six errors and eight unearned runs over the two-day span eliminated any chances the hometown team may have had at winning the series.

On Saturday, it looked as if the Cards were going to get back to .500 in the ACC. The top of the seventh inning, however, the Wolfpack had other plans.

Louisville entered the seventh inning with a 6-3 advantage, having just scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth thanks to back-to-back doubles by sophomores Drew Campbell and Justin Lavey. The Cards had all the momentum.

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Things quickly changed for these two players, however, as they would both commit crucial errors in the top of the seventh. Lavey’s error came first as he couldn’t corral a hard-hit ball off the bat of NC State’s McLain. Consequently, a baserunner that was previously walked, scored and the Wolfpack found themselves down just two runs. This deficit would be cut to one on just the very next batter as Campbell bobbled the ball in right field, allowing McLain to score all the way from first base. The momentum was now NC State’s.

Sam Bordner, the Cards’ go-to saver, couldn’t fulfill his job, allowing four runs in top of the ninth inning.  The Cards would ultimately lose the game 9-6.

Sunday’s rubber match would start right where the Cards left off. An errant throw by the third baseman Lavey would allow three Wolfpack to score.  The rocky start truly set the tone for Louisville as they would go on to allow two more unearned runs in the seventh inning.

Free passes didn’t help the Cards either. In the fourth and eighth innings combined, the Cards allowed five runs on one hit.

In a game in which no Louisville batter had more than a single hit, the Wolfpack won the series-decider, 10-3.

In conclusion, the Cards really need to get back to the fundamentals of baseball.  Did the Cards play one of the toughest teams in the country this weekend?Possibly. Could this have played a factor? Maybe. But the amount of walks and fielding errors committed by the Cards this weekend won’t result in wins against a lot of teams. If there’s a positive to come out of this weekend, it’s this: Louisville still has Dan McDonnell as their head coach. This young squad will find their way.

Next: Former Cards making offseason moves in the NFL

Looking ahead, the Cards have four games this week.  They host Northern Kentucky at 6 on Tuesday before hitting the road for an ACC weekend series in Blacksburg against the Virginia Tech Hokies.

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