Having already clinched their weekend series at Boston College, the Louisville baseball program was able to finish what they started, winning 5-3 on Saturday at Eddie Pellagrini Diamond to pull off the three-game-sweep.
The Cardinals (29-18, 13-11 ACC) earn their second ACC series sweep of the season after doing so against NC State last month, and extend their winning streak over the Eagles (21-25, 8-19 ACC) to 12 consecutive.
While pitching has been a sore spot this season for Louisville, it was undoubtedly the primary catalyst for the victory in the finale. Starter Colton Hartman (5.2 IP, 5 K, 3 BB, 1 H, 1 ER) and relievers Kayden Campbell (2.1 IP, 4 K, 1 H), Ty Starke (0.0 IP, 1 BB, 1 ER) plus Patrick Forbes (1.0 IP, 1 K, 2 H, 1 ER) combined to allow just four base hits and four walks.
At the plate, Ryan McCoy (2-4, 3 RBI, 2B) drove in three of Louisville's runs, while Matt Klein (2-4, RBI) and Zion Rose (2-4) joined him in having a multi-hit day.
Like Evan Webster in game two the day before, Louisville got a masterful performance from Hartman. In his first ever start in ACC play, the true freshman took a no-hitter into the sixth inning, and faced just four batters over the minimum. He set career-highs in innings pitched, total pitches and strikeouts.
However, Louisville's struggles at the plate from the previous game were exacerbated throughout most of the finale. In the first six innings of the game, the Cardinals generated just four base hits, with three of them coming in the first two innings.
This allowed Boston College, despite Hartman's career outing, to strike first on the afternoon. Following a pair of walks in the sixth, a two-out single - BC's first base hit of the game - would bring home a run and break the scoreless tie.
Campbell was inserted to secure the final out of the frame, then proceeded to toss a perfect seventh and a scoreless eighth.
Louisville's offense finally found some semblance of a groove in the seventh. After Eddie King Jr. (0-2, BB) drew a one-out walk, McCoy hit a game-tying RBI single, then Klein followed that up with a go-ahead RBI single.
In the next frame, the Cardinals started to pull away from their hosts. Lucas Moore (1-1, RBI) - who pinch ran for King in the previous inning - collected an RBI single of his own, then McCoy added a two-run double to push Louisville's lead to four.
Things did get a little interesting in the ninth. Starke was inserted to pitch the inning, but was yanked after giving up a leadoff walk. Forbes gave up a sacrifice fly and an RBI single, but was able to get Louisville to the finish line and secure the sweep.
Next up for Louisville, they'll continue their seven-game road trip and head to Nashville for their annual Battle of the Barrel rivalry matchup with Vanderbilt. First pitch is slated for Tuesday, May 7 at 7:00 p.m. EST, and will be televised on ESPN2 and broadcast on 93.9 The Ville.
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