Cardinals Down ETSU in NCAA Regional Opener

Mark BlankenbakerMay 30, 2025

The University of Louisville baseball team returned to the postseason with a bang, defeating East Tennessee State 8-3 on Friday in the opening round of the NCAA Nashville Regional.

Louisville (36-21) has now won 12 straight NCAA regional openers and will now take on the winner of Vanderbilt and Wright State on Saturday night at 9 p.m. ET.

The Cardinals used a combination of power hitting and power pitching on Friday.

Patrick Forbes punched out five batters over the first two innings, but it was ETSU (41-16) that struck first. After a leadoff hit by pitch in the third, the Buccaneers cashed in with a two-run home run to right-centerfield.

The lead would be short-lived for the Bucs though. Kamau Neighbors singled with one out in the bottom of the inning for the first Louisville hit of the day. Lucas Moore then tied the game with one swing, launching his fifth home run of the season into the seats in right.

Forbes followed with a shutdown inning in the fourth and the Cards went right back to work at the plate. Garret Pike rifled a single into centerfield that drove in Jake Munroe to give Louisville its first lead. Zion Rose then flew out to the warning track in center that brought Pike home to make it a 4-2 game.

One inning later, the Cardinals used the long ball to break the game open. Moore drew a walk and Matt Klein sent a ball over the right-centerfield wall to stretch the margin to four. Klein’s homer came in his first start since suffering an injury on March 22. Two batters later, King hammered a ball out to center for his 15^th of the season, a new career high.

Forbes punctuated his day with three more strikeouts in the sixth, setting a Louisville record in the process. The right-hander set the Louisville postseason record for strikeouts in a game with 13 over six frames. Forbes (3-2) finished with just two runs and two hits allowed and matched his career high in strikeouts.

Brennyn Cutts took care of the rest for the Cards. The right-hander allowed just a solo home run over the final three innings to secure the save.

Cutts added five strikeouts to the team total, helping Louisville establish a new postseason record with 18 strikeouts on the afternoon.

King finished the day 3-for-4 with the homer and two RBIs, continuing his torried stretch over the last five games. The senior is 11-for-18 with five homers and 11 RBIs during that span. Pike added two hits of his own, while Moore and Klein each drove in two.