LOUISVILLE, Ky. – No. 7 national seed Louisville stormed to a comprehensive 14-1 victory over No. 10 East Carolina in Game 1 of Super Regional at Jim Patterson Stadium on Friday.
An early tight contest was opened up in the bottom of the fourth inning as the hosts delighted the fans with a barrage of runs at Jim Patterson.
The Cardinals erupted for four runs on five hits to take a 4-0 advantage in the fourth before scoring five more runs in the fifth to extend their lead to 9-0 after sending 11 men to the plate.
East Carolina finally got on the board when Spencer Brickhouse hit his 14th home run of the year, but Louisville countered with three runs in the bottom of the frame and added two more in the seventh to cap the scoring, as the entertainers scored 14 runs on 18 hits on Friday.
With the win, Cardinals, who improved to 48-16 on the season, moved within one victory away from advancing to the 2019 Men’s College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.
The defeat sees the Pirates falling to 47-17 on the year and need to win Game 2 to stay in this year’s NCAA tournament.
Game 2 of NCAA Louisville Super Regional is on Saturday, June 8 at 3 p.m. (ET) and it will be aired on ESPNU and streaming on WatchESPN.
The Pirates, who are making their first trip to Jim Patterson Stadium since 2005, fall to 1-9 all-time in the Super Regional.
No. 8 Texas Tech Holds Off No. 9 Oklahoma State
Meanwhile, No. 8 national seed Texas Tech fended off the challenges of No. 9 seed Oklahoma State for an 8-6 victory in Game 1 of the Lubbock Super Regional series.
Micah Dallas was very impressive on the mound for the Red Raiders, striking out 9 Cowboys batters in 5 innings.
Dallas finished with 57 strikes and pitched 81 times.
Texas Tech jumped out to a 6-2 lead at the bottom of the fourth, but Oklahoma State managed to trim the gap to 6-5 at the top of seventh.
The Red Raiders responded with one run each in the bottom of seventh and eighth innings to cap the score, after the Cowboys had pulled with one run at 7-6 at the top of the eighth.
Friday’s win sees Texas Tech taking a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three game series, while Oklahoma State, which is 0-4 this season in Lubbock, faces a must-win state in Game 2 on Saturday to stay alive in the series.
Texas Tech improved to 42-17 on the season, while Oklahoma State falls to 39-19.
The Nashville Super Regional involving No. 2 national seed Vanderbilt and Duke has been delayed by lightning and rain, while No. 1 national seed UCLA is taking on Michigan in the Los Angeles Super Regional.
