Louisville claimed its ninth regional title with an 11-9 win over Michigan on Monday afternoon, which is sure to be one of the most memorable games ever played at Jim Patterson Stadium.
Game, which moved from 6 p.m. The afternoon started due to the weather, a bad start for the hosts. Cardinal starter Garrett Schmaltz allowed the back-to-back doubles to start the game as Michigan took a 2-0 lead that could be a bit more.
U of L answered mainly in half of the frame. The Cardinals batted around and scored a whopping seven runs, all of which were dismissed.
Everything seemed to be going according to plan before the lightning struck, and then a handful of showers forced the game to go to the bottom of the third almost two hours late.
Things changed dramatically when the play resumed. The home pair added seven points in the fifth inning (Michigan’s second and third of the game) to U-L reliever Ryan Hawks’ score.
As Louisville’s bats calmed down, Michigan continued to disappoint Cardinal Pitching. Ted Burton led the Wolverines with a lone home run in the sixth, and then Joe Stewart gave another four to the batsmen.
With cards just four outs from the elimination, Dalton Rushing took a walk to keep the home half alive in the 8th inning. After a batter, what Jack Payton saw briefly would be a two-run home run game-tying on the center wall in the left. Even if this happens later, fans in Ann Arbor will still mention Payton’s name in the same breath as Payton Shiva.
After Payton was declared second with a double, the Michigan players immediately protested the call. After a lengthy review, the call came to a head on the field.
You be the judge.
Levi Usher, who was brilliant throughout the weekend, once again turned the tide of the championship game with a single-to-center field that tied the score at nine.
Cam Masterman carved a permanent place for himself in the history of cardinal baseball.
Home Run was the fourth regional for Masterman to enter the weekend into a severe recession that had left him without a bomb since April.
Despite this being the biggest hit of Masterman’s career in his final bat at Jim Patterson Stadium, the North Oldham product still had its potential memory to live with the young man who snatched it.
After allowing a 9-point lead-off double, Cardinal Closer Michael Proseki retired three straight Wolverine Heaters from 2013 to send Louisville to his seventh Super Regional game.
The Cardinals will now head to College Station, where they will compete with the fifth-seeded Texas A&M in the Best-of-3 Series College World Series tour. Game dates and times should be announced soon.
What a weekend. What a game. What a team. Beyond gratitude we get a few more days of baseball with these kids. Let’s do a few more weeks now.
