Louisville, Ky. – The Louisville Cardinals scored four unearned runs in the bottom of the ninth to hand the Eastern Kentucky baseball team an 8-7 defeat in the Colonels' 2005 season opener. EKU took a 7-4 lead into the bottom of the ninth after plating two runs in the top half of the frame, but committed three errors to give the Cardinals (3-1) the win.
A two-run single by senior Will Whisenant, who went 2-for-4 on the day, pushed EKU's lead to three runs, 7-4, heading into the Cardinals' final three outs. Senior closer Richard Boothe (0-1) took the mound and promptly retired the first Louisville hitter. But three errors, a walk, a balk and a hit batter led to four unearned runs and ruined Eastern's season opener.
"We played great baseball for 8.1 innings and then every thing that could go wrong did. We outplayed a very good Louisville team, but you can't expect to win when you play like we did in the ninth," said EKU head coach Elvis Dominguez. "That said, I couldn't be happier with our play considering the little amount of time we've been able to work outside and practice so far this year. It's a learning process and I think this will make us a better ball club in the long run."
Louisville jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first thanks to a two-out, two-run homer from sophomore Logan Johnson. Whisenant put the Colonels on the board in the second and cut the team's deficit to one run, 2-1, by scoring off a wild pitch.
After a scoreless third, the Cardinals struck again and pushed their lead to 4-1 thanks to RBI singles from Jorge Castillo and Chris Cates. EKU starting pitcher Brian Engle left the game after the fourth inning, having allowed four earned runs with six hits, a walk and seven strikeouts.
Eastern's bullpen kept the Colonels in the game over the next four innings, as senior Eric Anthrop and freshman Blake Anderson both came through with 2.0 shutout innings in relief of Engle.
The Colonels struck again in the top of the fifth when senior Derrick Bussell scored off a sacrifice fly from junior Brett Bolger. Bussell reached on a single then moved to second with one of his two steals on the day. Eastern stole six bases in the game, led by two a piece from Bussell and Drew Reynolds.
After a quiet sixth inning, EKU pushed across three runs in the top of the seventh to take a 5-4 lead (its first of the game). Senior Adam Visnic provided the firepower, scoring sophomore Shawn Flora and Reynolds with a two-run single. Bussell accounted for Eastern's other run in the inning, scoring his second run of the day when Tony Wells drew a bases-loaded walk.
Anderson blanked the Cardinals in the seventh and eighth innings, sending Eastern into the final frame with a 5-4 lead. Whisenant's two-run single, which scored senior Bryan Stevenson and Wells, appeared to put the Colonels on their way to a 1-0 record.
But the defense failed Boothe, as a throwing error and a dropped fly ball set the stage for a two-run single by Nick Haley, which tied the game at 7-all. Michael Urti had scored UofL's first run of the inning off the dropped fly ball in the outfield. With the game tied, Boothe balked, then walked J.T. LaFoutain. Johnson followed by reaching base on Eastern's third miscue of the frame, paving the way for a game-winning RBI single from Isaiah Howes.
Louisville turned four double plays in the win, one of which came in the ninth, and received multi-hit games from three different players (Boomer Whiting, Howes and Cates). Whisenant paced Eastern with two hits and tied Visnic with a team-high two runs batted in.
The Colonels (0-1) return to action this weekend when they welcome IPFW and Bradley to Turkey Hughes Field. Eastern takes on IPFW at 2 p.m. on Friday in the team's home opener. EKU will then face Bradley on Saturday at 2 p.m., before playing both squads on Sunday (10 a.m. and 2 p.m.).
