Following their sweep of Vanderbilt in the Super Regionals last weekend, you could make the argument that UofL was one of the hottest teams in that nation. In fact, save for a 2-game blip in the Big East tournament, UofL hadn’t lost in nearly 2 months. Unfortunately, they met a familiar foe in the opening round of the College World Series Saturday night in Omaha who took them back a little further in time as the Indiana Hoosiers replicated their 2-0 win over the Cardinals in the season-opener for both teams in early February. UofL now moves on to face Oregon State in an elimination game Monday at 3PM.
IU won behind the monster performance of starter Joey Denato, who struck out 8 while allowing only 4 hits in a complete game shutout. IU scored both runs off Louisville starter Chad Green, who lasted only 2+ innings. The Cards kept it close behind a career high 4.1 innings by reliever Cody Ege, who combined with two other relievers to shut out IU the rest of the way. However, the Cards just could never get it going against Denato who threw 136 pitches to get IU into the winner’s bracket.
The Cards will now face elimination when they face off against #3 overall seed Oregon State Monday afternoon at 3. Their hopes will rest on junior righty Jeff Thompson, who was masterful in the clincher over Vanderbilt. The Beavers (50-12), who dropped their CWS opener to Mississippi State 5-4, will counter with junior lefty Ben Wetzler. .
Photo: Flickr/Mistycabal
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