College Roundup: McClure Leads Louisville In Bluegrass Battle
Rain last week forced the postponement of the first round of this year’s Battle of the Bluegrass between Louisville and Kentucky. The weather in Lexington was more cooperative Wednesday, and 3,511 fans watched No. 11 Louisville defeat No. 16 Kentucky, 9-6.
| HOW THE TOP 25 FARED |
| (1) Miami: won, 8-4, vs. Central Florida |
| (2) Mississippi State: won, 11-1, vs. Memphis |
| (3) Florida: off |
| (4) Texas A&M: off |
| (5) South Carolina: lost, 15-0, vs. (14) North Carolina in Charlotte |
| (6) Florida State: off |
| (7) Texas Christian: off |
| (8) Mississippi: lost, 5-1, vs. (25) Southern Mississippi |
| (9) Louisiana State: won, 14-11, vs. Grambling State |
| (10) Oregon State: off |
| (11) Louisville: won, 9-6, at (16) Kentucky |
| (12) Vanderbilt: off |
| (13) UC Santa Barbara: off |
| (14) North Carolina: won, 15-0, vs. (5) South Carolina in Charlotte |
| (15) Texas Tech: swept DH vs. Sam Houston State, 8-6 and 20-3 |
| (16) Kentucky: lost, 9-6, vs. (11) Louisville |
| (17) California: off |
| (18) Long Beach State: off |
| (19) Rice: off |
| (20) North Carolina State: off |
| (21) Florida Atlantic: off |
| (22) Michigan: won, 19-3, vs. Eastern Michigan |
| (23) South Alabama: off |
| (24) Tulane: off |
| (25) Southern Mississippi: won, 5-1, at (8) Mississippi |
Righthander Kade McClure (6 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K) picked up the win for the Cardinals to stay perfect in seven starts. The sophomore is now 7-0, 2.41 this season and is holding opponents to a .159 batting average.
Louisville (26-7) built a big early lead, scoring seven runs in five innings. Freshman outfielder Drew Ellis (2-for-4, 2B) drove in five runs, and sophomore shortstop Devin Hairston (2-for-4, SB) scored three times to lead the offense.
While Kentucky (22-10) worked its way back into the game, cutting deficit to one run going into the ninth inning, it was too late. Junior closer Zack Burdi got the final four outs of the game, striking out the last three Wildcats to come to the plate, to earn his fourth save.
The Cardinals have now won four straight games against the Wildcats. The two teams will meet again next week in Louisville.
In the night’s other intrastate rivalry game between two Top 25 teams, No. 25 Southern Mississippi defeated No. 8 Mississippi, 5-1. It was the first midweek loss of the season for the Rebels (25-8).
Tied at one after seven innings, the Eagles (26-7) pushed ahead with three runs in the eighth and then added an insurance run in the ninth. Freshman closer Nick Sandlin threw two scoreless innings to earn his sixth save. Senior Tim Lynch (4-for-5) and redshirt freshman Hunter Slater (3-for-5, 3 RBIs) led the Southern Miss offense.
While Mississippi defeated Southern Miss in Pearl, Miss., last week, the Eagles have now won 10 of the past 12 games in the series.
In the third matchup between Top 25 teams Wednesday, No. 14 North Carolina routed No. 5 South Carolina, 15-0, in Charlotte. The game drew a sellout crowd of 10,205 fans in BB&T Ballpark, setting a record for the largest crowd for a regular season college baseball game in the state of North Carolina.
After scuffling offensively the last few weeks, the Tar Heels offense collected 11 hits and 10 walks. The win was their biggest since a 16-0 victory against Princeton in 2013. Lefthander Hunter Williams was the beneficiary of the offensive outburst. The sophomore threw 6 1/3 scoreless innings to earn the victory.
Wednesday was the first regular season meeting between North Carolina (24-9) and South Carolina (28-6) since 2004. They will play in Charlotte again next season.
Also on Wednesday, No. 1 Miami extended its winning streak to 11 games with an 8-4 victory against Central Florida. The Hurricanes (27-4) drew 14 walks and collected seven hits in the victory.
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