University of Louisville baseball fans entering the stadium were greeted by lots of long faces from departing Kentucky fans. The start of first game was delayed by 20 minutes and interrupted by rain twice, dragging on interminably before UK drops a 10-6 decision to Kansas.
The worst possible exit for the fans in blue, headed for the losers’ bracket, unusually quiet, but Louisville fans, painstakingly polite, eager to get to their seats for the second game. Kyle Funkhouser would finally get to the mound around 9:20 p.m., over three hours past the scheduled start time.
But there were zero indications that the late start had any effect on Funkhouser who would allow only four hits while striking out 10 batters in eight innings in a 5-0 win over Kent State, improving his won-lost record to 13-2.
Louisville would jump out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning following a walk to Kyle Gibson, a single by Cole Stugeon, a sacrifice bunt by Kyle Solak. They would push runs two across after the Kent State shortstop fumbled an Alex Chittenden-hit ball.
At one point Fundhouser retired nine batters in a row, including 12 of 13 batters in the first four innings. He would give up a couple of hits in the eighth, but reliever Kyle McGrath, pitching in his second game since coming back from an injury, would shut down the Kent State bats.
The game would finally end at 12:18 a.m. Anthony Kidston, a sophomore right-hander with a 7-0 record, will start against Kansas at 5 p.m. Saturday. The Kent State-Kentucky game is set for 2 p.m.