TicketsLouisville Sweeps Doubleheader From Bearcats
UC falls to 0-3 in Conference USA
Contact: Shawn Sell
3/20/2005
Junior 1B Logan Parker was 4-for-7 in Sunday's doubleheader. |
CINCINNATI, Ohio?Louisville made four first inning runs stand up as the Cardinals finished off a sweep of Cincinnati by a 6-2 score in the second game of Sunday?s doubleheader at the UC Baseball Stadium.
Cincinnati had many opportunities in the contest, accounting for nine hits, but the Bearcats left at least one runner on base in each inning and 10 total. UC, which has now dropped three straight after winning its previous five, falls to 8-8 on the year and 0-3 in Conference USA. Louisville improves to 12-6, 3-0 C-USA.
Louisville starter Trystan Magnuson (2-0) allowed eight hits and two runs, but struck out six to pick up the win. Cincinnati freshman Kevin Schrader struggled in his first outing in nearly two weeks, allowing five runs in two-plus innings of work. Schrader (1-1) allowed only three hits on the day, but issued four walks.
J.T. LaFountain finished off a stellar series with a double, a homer and two RBI. The long ball for LaFountain was his third of the weekend and fifth of the season.
After the Bearcat pitching struggled early, the UC hurlers settled down, retiring 13 of the final 15 hitters of the day. Kyle Markle turned in his second sparkling outing of the weekend, pitching a perfect 3.1 innings.
Jack Nelson paced the Bearcat offense with a pair of hits, including an RBI double. Mark Muscenti also tallied two hits. After Jon DeLuca saw his 12-game hit streak halted in the first game, LaFringe Hayes had his 11-gamer snapped in game two.
Schrader struggled in the first inning, seeing three walks turn in to four Louisville runs. LaFountain brought the first runner around with a bloop RBI double down the left field line. Daniel Burton then plated two with a single and the final run crossed on a DeLuca throwing error.
Fielding miscues cost the Bearcats a fifth run in the third and ultimately spelled the end of the day for Schrader. After a lead-off walk to Logan Johnson, Mark Haske fumbled a potential double play ball that allowed Jorge Castillo to take first with Matt Heber on the mound. One out later, Greg Taylor loaded the bases with a single and Derrick Alfonso followed with an RBI sacrifice fly.
Cincinnati started its comeback march with a pair of runs in the fifth. Haske led the inning off with a single and moved to third on a DeLuca single through the right side. Nelson followed with a double to left that scored Haske and moved DeLuca to third. Logan Parker followed with an RBI groundout to second, but Magnuson retired the next two hitters to prevent any further damage.
Meanwhile, Markle was cruising on the mound for UC, retiring all 13 batters he faced. Josh Kay replaced Markle in the ninth, giving up LaFountain?s third home run of the series.
?We just didn?t perform well enough in any area of the game this weekend,? stated UC head coach Brian Cleary. ?It?s hard to win against good teams when you don?t play all that well.?
UC will look to get back on the winning track with its first two mid-week contests of the year. The Bearcats will travel to Notre Dame for a Tuesday contest, before returning home to host Toledo on Wednesday. Cincinnati is back in Conference USA action next weekend, traveling to Southern Miss.
CINCINNATI, Ohio---Skylar Meade hurled six shutout innings, helping Louisville to a convincing 10-0 win over Cincinnati in the first game of a Conference USA doubleheader on Sunday afternoon.
Meade allowed the Bearcats just three four hits as he and Chris Lopez combined on a five-hit shutout. The junior lefty is now 3-1 on the year. Louisville improves to 11-6 overall and 2-0 in league play with the win, while the Bearcats slip to 8-7, 0-2.
J.T. LaFountain continued his assault of UC pitching, accounting for three hits and four RBI, including his second home run of the series. Boomer Whiting added two hits and three stolen bases, while Logan Johnson tallied two hits.
Logan Parker recorded three of Cincinnati?s five hits, including a pair of doubles. LaFringe Hayes stretched his career-best hitting streak to 11 games with a third inning double.
Just as they had in Friday?s victory, Louisville jumped to a first inning lead that would prove to be the difference. Whiting started the game off with an infield single and promptly stole second and third. With one out, LaFountain ripped his second homer of the weekend and fourth of the season to deep right center. The Cards made it 3-0 in the third on a Johnson RBI single that plated Nick Haley.
Louisville produced its fourth run of the day in the fifth when LaFountain brought Haley in to score with a single. After a single by Johnson loaded the bases, UC starter and losing pitcher Sean Munninghoff (2-2) was lifted for Bryan Wood. The junior right-hander squelched the flames with back-to-back strikeouts that ended the Cardinal threat.
Wood wouldn?t have the same luck in the sixth inning however as 12 Louisville batters came to the plate, scoring six runs to put the game out of reach. Five Cardinal players recorded RBI in the frame, including LaFountain who recorded his fourth of the day with a run-scoring double.
Meade ended the day with five strikeouts and two walks in his six shutout innings of work. Munninghoff, pitching for the first time in nearly two weeks, allowed four runs on seven hits with three walks and three strikeouts in 4.1 innings.