Just when the University of Louisville baseball seems to be putting things together, along comes Indiana again.
UofL badly needed a win Tuesday over eighth-ranked Indiana to legitimize its No. 5 ranking in the NCAA standings and position itself for a national seeding. Oh, so close going into the top of the ninth, UofL creeping back into the game, trailing 3-2.
The Hoosiers would score four runs the ninth inning, however, thumping Louisville 7-2. The fatal blow was a 403-foot home run over the centerfield fence on a pitch from Cole Sturgeon to IU’s Kyle Schwarber pushing three runs across the plate.
The loss, the third to IU this season, removes any possibility of Louisville obtaining one of the eight national seeds.
After winning 11 of 12 with the Hoosiers from 2008-12, the Cardinals have lost six of the last seven. Louisville third baseman
Alex Chittenden did manage to reach base for the 14th straight game. He doubled and scored on a hit by Kyle Gibson in the seventh inning.
UofL, currently tied with Central Florida for first place in the conference, next hosts Cincinnati in a three-game series starting Thursday. UCF travels to UConn for three games.