Cardinals Rally Late to Defeat Xavier

Mark BlankenbakerFebruary 23, 2023

The fourth-ranked University of Louisville baseball team plated 10 runs over its final three trips to the plate and defeated Xavier 12-8 on Wednesday afternoon at Jim Patterson Stadium.

Louisville (4-0) pounded out a season high 17 hits in the win, its third game in double digits through the first four.

The Cardinals trailed 6-2 after five-and-a-half innings on Wednesday before the offense came to life. Will Cook doubled in a pair and JT Benson added a run-scoring double of his own to make it a 6-5 game through six.

Xavier (0-5) stretched the margin back to three with two solo homers in the seventh, but the Cards had the answer. With two aboard and two down, Logan Beard hit a 1-1 pitch over the wall in straightaway centerfield to knot the game up at eight.

In the eighth, Jack Payton dropped a single into left field with runners on the corners that scored Christian Knapczyk and gave the Cards their first lead since the second inning. Ryan McCoy followed with a RBI single and Tyeler Hawkins doubled in two more to make it a dozen Louisville runs.

Ben Wiegman recorded the final six outs of the game to earn his first win of the season.

McCoy and Eddie King Jr. got Louisville on the board in the second with back-to-back solo home runs, which was the first of King’s career.

Xavier plated one in the second, two in the third and three more in the sixth to hold a four-run advantage.

Payton, McCoy and King all had three-hit days as the middle of the Louisville order combined to go 9-for-13 with seven runs scored. Beard drove in three on the home run, while Cook and Hawkins each had two RBIs.

Louisville continues its homestand to open the season with a weekend series against Bowling Green. The series gets underway on Friday at 3 p.m. ET at Jim Patterson Stadium.