The No. 14 University of Louisville baseball team has been crowned the winner of the 2023 Shriners Children’s College Classic after an undefeated weekend that included victories against No. 15 Texas A&M, No. 10 TCU, and Michigan.
Congratulations to the 2023 @shrinershosp College Classic Champions, @LouisvilleBSB! pic.twitter.com/yura9CFY9x
— Houston Astros (@astros) March 5, 2023
In this year’s Shriners College Classic, the Cards outscored their opponents 27-5 and outhit them 37-11. Although the Louisville baseball team’s offense was phenomenal, the real story of the weekend was the dominant performances of the UofL starting pitchers.
Ryan Hawks, Greg Farone, and Carson Liggett combined for 20.0 innings, 24 strikeouts, 5 hits, and 1 earned run allowed over the weekend.
If these guys can maintain anywhere near this level of success throughout the rest of the season, Louisville will be the team to beat in the ACC and one of the most dangerous teams in college baseball.
Continue reading below for a quick recap of the 2023 Shriners Children’s College Classic and each of the University of Louisville baseball team’s matchups over the weekend.
Recap of the 2023 Shriners College Classic
The 2023 Shriners Children’s College Classic was held from Friday, March 3rd to Sunday, March 5th at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas and featured six of college baseball’s top programs: Louisville, Michigan, Texas A&M, Rice, TCU, and Texas Tech.
Each team’s record and results from the tournament are provided below:
- Louisville: 3-0 (14-5 win vs. Texas A&M, 3-2 win vs. TCU, 10-0 win vs. Michigan)
- TCU: 2-1 (6-0 win vs. Michigan, 2-3 loss vs. Louisville, 7-0 win vs. Rice)
- Texas A&M: 2-1 (5-14 loss vs. Louisville, 13-1 win vs. Rice, 4-2 win vs. Texas Tech)
- Rice: 1-2 (3-2 win vs. Texas Tech, 1-13 loss vs. Texas A&M, 0-7 loss vs. TCU)
- Texas Tech: 1-2 (2-3 loss vs Rice, 10-7 win vs. Michigan, 2-4 loss vs. Texas A&M)
- Michigan: 0-3 (0-6 loss vs. TCU, 7-10 loss vs. Texas Tech, 0-10 loss vs. Louisville)
After a victory over Eastern Kentucky on Tuesday and three wins this weekend, the Cards have improved to 10-1 on the season. They will return home to face Morehead State at Jim Patterson Stadium on Tuesday, March 7th at 3:00 p.m.
Friday, March 3 – Louisville 14, Texas A&M 5
After two narrow losses to Texas A&M in the 2022 NCAA College Station Super Regional, it became apparent very early on that the Cards were looking to make a statement in their weekend opener against the No. 15 Aggies.
Louisville scored 14 runs in the first five innings, including an eight-run fifth inning in which five different Cardinals recorded a hit.
Meanwhile, senior Ryan Hawks was spectacular on Friday night. He finished the outing with eight strikeouts, no earned runs allowed, and just two hits in six innings pitched. With the win, Hawks improved to 3-0 on the season.
Left fielder Eddie King Jr. led the team with three hits in four at-bats and finished with two RBIs and one run scored.
T5 | @EddieKingJr17 collects hit #3 and another run scores.
— Louisville Baseball (@LouisvilleBSB) March 4, 2023
💻 https://t.co/hspYOyMA2S#GoCards pic.twitter.com/vKTAIStpPY
Shortstop Christian Knapczyk added a double and a triple as well as two runs, one RBI, and one walk.
Saturday, March 4 – Louisville 3, TCU 2
Despite the close final score, the Cards were in control against No. 10 TCU for the majority of the game.
Junior Jack Payton gave UofL a 2-0 lead in the top of the third inning with a two-run homer, and the Cardinals added another run in the fourth after a double from freshman Matt Klein scored Gavin Kilen on a close play at the plate.
T4 | @mattsklein gives viewers a nice welcome back with his first career double, scoring @GavinKilen
— Louisville Baseball (@LouisvilleBSB) March 4, 2023
💻 https://t.co/hspYOyMA2S#GoCards pic.twitter.com/WarDTnfQLO
The Horned Frogs threatened late, cutting the lead to 3-2 in the eighth inning on a two-run home run to left center by catcher Karson Bowen.
However, Louisville baseball veteran Tate Kuehner was able to hold TCU scoreless in the ninth inning and earn his fifth career save.
JUCO transfer Greg Farone made his first career start for the Cards and showed everyone that he deserves a spot in the starting rotation for this Louisville baseball team. Farone gave up just two hits and one earned run in seven innings while also finishing with nine strikeouts on the day.
The Cardinals outhit TCU 13-4 but left 11 runners on base and went just 1-9 with runners in scoring position. Nonetheless, the Louisville baseball team managed to earn their first top 10 win of the 2023 season.
Sunday, March 5 – Louisville 10, Michigan 0 (7 inn.)
The only two teams in the 2023 Shriners College Classic from outside the Lone Star State, Michigan and Louisville, faced off on Sunday afternoon.
In early 2022, the Louisville baseball team hosted and won a regular-season series against Michigan. The Cardinals would also go on to defeat the Wolverines in a regional championship matchup during the 2022 NCAA Tournament after a controversial call late in the game.
On Sunday, the Cards took a commanding lead against Michigan with a six-run third inning, which included a three-run homer from Logan Beard. UofL scored another pair of runs in the fifth on a two-run home run from JT Benson, his first of the season..
The game came to an end in the bottom of the seventh inning via the 10-run rule after a double from Noah Smith scored Brandon Anderson and gave Louisville a double-digit lead.
Sophomore Carson Liggett threw seven scoreless innings for the Louisville baseball team and improved to 2-0 on the season. Liggett finished with seven strikeouts, walked just two batters, and gave up only one hit against the Wolverines.
Jack Payton had a team-high three hits for the Cards, and Eddie King Jr. added two hits of his own. Louisville capped off an impressive undefeated stint outside of their home stadium and looks to establish themselves as a threat in the college baseball landscape.