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RICHMOND, Ky. – Five straight singles in the seventh inning produced three runs and gave the Eastern Kentucky University baseball team a lead it could hold, as the Colonels defeated nationally-ranked Louisville Tuesday afternoon at Turkey Hughes Field, 7-5.
“To beat a ranked opponent is great for our program,” head coach Jason Stein said. “I’m really happy for our seniors. Our pitching staff threw exceptionally well, and with the way we played today, we deserved a win.”
Louisville, who was ranked no. 16 in the USA Today/ESPN preseason poll, came in to Tuesday’s game ranked anywhere from no. 25 to no. 29 in the country, depending on the poll. The Cardinals were unanimous favorites to win the BIG EAST this season and had won four straight games prior to Tuesday.
Louisville had won eight straight over the Colonels and had taken 13 of the last 14 in the series. The last time EKU beat Louisville was April 28, 2004, when the Colonels won a 9-6 decision at Turkey Hughes Field.
EKU came close to upsetting Louisville last week, leading most of the February 25th game before falling to the Cardinals on a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth by junior Adam Duvall.
An opposite field two-run home run by junior
Joey Stevens put the Colonels on the board in the second inning. They added two more in the third after senior
Matt Davis laced an RBI double down the left field line and later scored on an RBI groundout by senior
Aaron Barrows.
The Cardinals got one back in the fifth off an RBI double to right by senior Alec Lowery. They added two more in the seventh to cut the Colonel lead to one, 4-3.
In the bottom half of the seventh, however, Davis, Barrows, sophomore
Jayson Langfels, senior
Tyler Rehmel and junior Anthony Ottando strung together five consecutive singles, all with one out, to plate three runs and expand EKU’s lead back to four, 7-3.
Freshman
Matt Harris came on in the eighth and recorded the final six outs, getting preseason All-American and BIG EAST Player of the Year Chris Dominguez to ground out to end the game.
Junior
Jim Clancy (1-0), who allowed four runs on five hits and pitched only two innings in his start last week at Louisville, pitched exceptionally on Tuesday. The hard-throwing Lemont, Ill. native struck out six of the first seven Cardinals he faced, and went five innings while only giving up one run on two hits. He finished the day with eight strikeouts.
The Colonel bullpen also pitched well. Freshman
Greg Terry retired the Cardinals in order in the sixth. Senior
David Owens came on in the seventh with one out and two men on and escaped the jam by giving up just one run. Senior
Alex Napier gave up a double in the eighth before giving way to Harris.
Sophomore Tyler Mathis (0-1) got the loss for the Cardinals, going five innings and allowing four runs on five hits.
At the plate, the Colonels were led by Ottrando, who finished the day 3-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored. Davis, meanwhile, went 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored.
Louisville was paced offensively by junior Andrew Clark who went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored.
The Colonels return to action tomorrow, March 4, when they travel to face another nationally-ranked opponent, Kentucky. First pitch is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.