The University of Louisville baseball team completed a season sweep of its archrival Wednesday night.
A four-run sixth inning and some outstanding relief pitching propelled the Cardinals to a 5-2 victory over Kentucky at Cliff Hagan Stadium in Lexington.
Nick Solak and Will Smith tallied two hits apiece at the plate while Robert Strader and Zack Burdi picked up the win and save, respectively, on the mound to lead No. 2 UofL (38-11) to its sixth victory in its last seven games. Included in that septet was a 2-1 10-inning triumph over the Wildcats on April 28 at Jim Patterson Stadium.
That first meeting was decided in the last at-bat. This one was decided earlier.
Louisville took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third when Mike White led off with a double down the right-field line then scored on Solak’s single up the middle.
Kentucky (26-21) countered with two runs in the bottom of the fourth frame thanks to one UofL error and a bases-loaded walk by Louisville reliever Sean Leland, who replaced starter Kade McClure earlier in the inning.
The Wildcats’ 2-1 lead didn’t last long, though.
Senior Zach Lucas led off the sixth with a double down the left-field line. He moved to third on a fielder’s choice, took third on a two-out walk, then scored when White was walked with the bases juiced. The next batter, Solak, reached on a fielding error that allowed Devin Hairston (who had walked) and Smith. White plated moments later on a wild pitch.
That was more than enough for the UofL bullpen, which was lights-out. Six Louisville relievers held UK to just two hits over the final six innings.
Strader, a 6-foot-5 sophomore left-hander from Eastern High School, picked up his first victory of the season by walking only one in the eighth inning. Burdi, a 6-3 sophomore right-hander, pitched a perfect ninth - ending the game with a strikeout - to notch his seventh save of the season.
UofL now prepares for a big three-game series this weekend. The Cards, who lead the Atlantic Coast Conference Atlantic Division with a 21-3 record, host seventh-ranked Florida State beginning at 6 p.m. Friday night at Patterson Stadium.
Photo courtesy University of Louisville Baseball Facebook Page
