The frigid temperatures disappeared just in time over the weekend to allow the University of Louisville baseball to open the home schedule at Jim Patterson Stadium. Still not perfect at 45 degrees, but just warm enough for a UofL baseball fix before inclement weather returns again.
Too soon to know what we really have with this edition of the Cardinals but UofL is 5-1 after the first six games, including wins over two traditional powers — Texas and Oklahoma. UofL had little trouble on Monday in completing a three-game sweep of Western Michigan. Louisville with wins of 14-3, 7-2 and 10-4.
What we do know is that Coach Dan McDonnell will being taking chances with base running. The game Monday featured a rare suicide squeeze with Kamau Neighbors laying down a perfect bunt to enable Michael Lippe to slide across the plate behind him. That kind of base stealing was rare the past two seasons.
Catcher Matt Klein, the team’s leading hitter with a 522 batting average, led the Cardinals’ offense with three hits in five at-bats. He had his first home run and three runs batted in.
Brennan Cutts, a 6-foot-3 righthander and a transfer from Indiana State, claimed his first win after entering the game in the fourth inning. He retired 10 of the 13 batters he faced in 3.2 scoreless innings. Wyatt Danilowicz recorded the next four outs and Tucker Biven closed things out in the ninth.
Louisville will welcome Butler to Jim Patterson Stadium on Wednesday, with first pitch set for 3 p.m.
