Mark Blankenbaker
After trailing by eight runs in the second inning, the ninth-ranked University of Louisville baseball team scored nine unanswered and picked up a 9-8 victory over No. 7 Boston College on Friday night at Jim Patterson Stadium.
Louisville (23-7, 6-5 ACC) clinched the weekend series with the victory after securing a 6-4 win on Thursday night in the opener.
Boston College (21-8, 8-6 ACC) threatened to bury the Cardinals early Friday night, scoring three runs in the first and five more in the second. However, Louisville had an immediate answer.
Brandon Anderson punched a single to centerfield to plate JT Benson in the bottom of the second inning and Eddie King Jr. hooked his third home run of the season inside the left field foul pole to make it an 8-3 game.
Following a scoreless top of the third, the Louisville offense went back to work in the bottom half. Jack Payton hit his team-leading eighth home run to open the frame before a walk, single and hit by pitch loaded the bases. King and Matt Klein then drew consecutive walks to force home two runs and Christian Knapczyk laced a single back through the middle to tie the game at eight apiece.
Kayden Campbell pitched a scoreless fourth inning before handing the ball off to Riley Phillips in the fifth. Phillips put a zero on the board and the Cards cashed in a scoring chance in their half. With two runners on, Gavin Kilen hit a hard groundball to second base. The attempt to force the runner at second sailed wide and ended up in left field allowing Logan Beard to touch the plate for what would turn out to be the game-winning run.
With Louisville in front for the first time tonight, Phillips (4-0) carved up the Eagles on the mound. The southpaw pitched four scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and striking out five.
Tate Kuehner then mowed down the heart of BC’s order in the ninth for his fourth save of the season.
Knapczyk was 3-for-5 to lead the Cardinals, as UofL reached double-digit hits for the 17th time this season. Anderson and Beard each tallied two hits, while King drove in three.
Louisville and Boston College finish their three-game series on Saturday with first pitch scheduled for noon ET.
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