Louisville Falls to Pitt in Series Opener

Returning to Jim Patterson Stadium for a three-game home series against Pitt, the Louisville baseball program could not come through in game one, falling 4-3 victory on Friday.

The Cardinals (16-10, 3-4 ACC) have now lost four of their last five games since going through a 14-game stretch where they won 12 times.

While pitching has been recent point of struggle, it was hitting that came up short against the Panthers (18-6, 4-3 ACC). UofL collected seven base hits and six walks, but hit just 2-for-19 with runners on base. Second baseman Kade Elam (1-3, 2 RBI) drove in a pair of runs, third baseman Bayram Hot (2-3, 2B) had a multi-hit day, while outfielder Lucas Moore (1-3, 2 BB) reached bases safety three times.

The losing effort came despite a fantastic outing on the mound from Wyatt Danilowicz (7.0 IP, 7 K, 4 BB, 2 H), who was bumped up a spot in the starting rotation to get the Friday nod. The left-hander twirled his second consecutive seven-inning shutout, having struck out 18 and allowing only 10 base runners in his last two starts.

But during Danilowicz's outing, Louisville could only score a pair of runs. Elam collected an RBI groundout in the second, then scratched across another run in the fourth on a sacrifice fly.

Pitt finally made their move in the eight after Danilowicz's day was done. Right-hander Jake Schweitzer (0.1 IP, 1 BB, 2 H, 3 ER) was inserted to start the frame, but then pulled after loading the bases and securing just one out. Left-hander Aaron England (1.1 IP, 3 BB, 2 H, 1 ER) was inserted in his place, but allowed a sacrifice fly and RBI double, while catcher George Baker (0-2, BB) allowed a another run to come home on a throwing error.

Outfielder Kyle Campbell briefly tied the game in the bottom of the eighth with an RBI single, but the Panthers got that run right back in the ninth thanks to a sacrifice fly off of England. Righty Brandon Shannon (0.1 IP, 1 K) was able to get Louisville out of the ninth, but the hitters came up short in the bottom of the frame.

Next up for Louisville, they'll aim to tie the series with Pitt in game two. First pitch is slated for Saturday, Mar. 28 at 2:00 p.m. EST, and will be televised on ACC Network Extra and broadcast on 970 WGTK.

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook, Twitter/X and Instagram for the latest news.