Webster, Louisville Take Down Northwestern to Clinch Series

W: Evan Webster (2-0), L: Luke Benneche (0-1)

Continuing on their three-game weekend series with Northwestern, the Louisville baseball program built on their dominant outing in the series opener the day before, taking game two 10-2 on Saturday at Jim Patterson Stadium.

Not only do the Cardinals (10-4) clinch the series against the Wildcats (5-7), they push their active win streak to 10 in the process, which is good for fifth in Division I. They have plated 14.4 runs per game during their winning streak, and cracked double figures all but once.

Gavin Kilen (2-3, HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB) had a standout day at the plate, reaching base in four of his five plate appearances, while hitting a home run for the third straight game. Alex Alicea (2-3, RBI, 2B) and Matt Klein (2-3, HR, RBI) joined Kilen in having a multi-hit day, while Brandon Anderson (1-4, 2 RBI) and Eddie King Jr. (1-3, 2 RBI) joined Kilen in driving in multiple runs.

Evan Webster (6.0 IP, 3 K, 2 BB, 4 H, 1 ER) continued the lights out start to his 2024 campaign with an extremely efficient outing on the mound. While he tossed a season-low in strikeouts, that came in spite of the fact that 54 of his 73 total pitches were strikes, he retired all but six of his 23 batters faced, and only allowed a solo home run in the sixth.

Like in the series opener, Louisville's offense had a quiet start to the game. Over the first four innings, the Cardinals collected just one base hit, and generated only five baserunners.

Midway through the game, Louisville finally broke the scoreless tie with an explosive fifth inning, plating seven runs in the frame. Anderson and King each had two-run singles, Alicea collected an RBI double, Isaac Humphrey (1-3, RBI, BB) hit an RBI single and Zion Rose (0-3, 2 BB) scored on a wild pitch.

After Northwestern broke the shutout in the sixth, Louisville compounded their lead in the bottom of the inning with a trio of runs, all coming via the home run ball. Kilen launched a 363-foot, two-run shot to right field, then Klein made it back-to-back jacks with a 402-foot line drive solo shot to right-center.

Even once Webster's day was done, Louisville continued to get great pitching. Justin West (2.0 IP, 2 K, 3 H) twirled a pair of scoreless innings as the first reliever out of the bullpen, then Kade Grundy (1.0 IP, 2 BB, 1 H, 1 ER) only allowed a bases loaded groundout RBI before getting a flyout to clinch the series.

Next up for Louisville, they'll conclude their weekend series against Northwestern with game three. First pitch is slated for Sunday, Mar. 10 at 12:00 p.m. EST, and will be televised on ACC Network Extra and broadcast on 970 WGTK.