The 17th-ranked University of Louisville baseball team picked up a ranked win on Tuesday night, defeating No. 20 Western Kentucky 5-2 at Jim Patterson Stadium.
Louisville (27-9) improved to 5-2 on the season against ranked teams with the victory.
Tuesday night marked the 20th anniversary of the first game at Jim Patterson Stadium, which opened on April 15, 2005.
Western Kentucky (31-6) struck first on Tuesday with a solo home run in the top of the first inning.
The Cardinals answered right back though. Eddie King Jr. stayed hot at the plate with a two-out, two-run double in the bottom half of the frame.
TJ Schlageter limited the Hilltoppers to just the one run over three innings in his third consecutive midweek start, retiring the final eight batters he faced.
WKU tied the game with a run in the fourth and the game remained that way until the sixth. Kamau Neighbors pushed the Cardinals back in front with a two-out single that drove home King.
It appeared as if the Hilltoppers were going to respond in the seventh, loading the bases with nobody out. However, Eli Hoyt got a strikeout and then started a 1-2-3 double play to put an end to the threat.
Zion Rose then provided insurance for the Cards, launching a two-run homer to the berm in left-centerfield to stretch the lead out to three.
Justin West and Tucker Biven then faced the minimum over the final two innings to close out the win.
King was 3-for-4 at the plate with a pair of RBIs. Rose and Neighbors each added two hits.
Louisville will be on the road this weekend to take on second-ranked Clemson. The series begins on Thursday, with first pitch scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.
