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  • Louisville Scores 13 Runs In The First Inning To Overwhelm WKU And Win, 16-5

Louisville Scores 13 Runs In The First Inning To Overwhelm WKU And Win, 16-5

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Baseball

The University of Louisville baseball team used a record first inning to race past Western Kentucky 16-5 in seven innings on Tuesday night at Jim Patterson Stadium.

Louisville (24-16) set a program record with 13 runs in opening inning.

After falling behind 1-0, the Cardinals stepped to the plate for the first time and kept passing the bat.

JT Benson doubled to lead off the frame followed by a Dylan Hoy walk and Zion Rose single to load the bases with nobody out. Isaac Humphrey then drew a walk to tie the game at one.

Gavin Kilen gave the Cardinals the lead for good, hitting a grand slam over the left-centerfield wall, his seventh homer of the season.

Western Kentucky (29-13) sent a new pitcher to the mound following the grand slam, and Eddie King Jr. greeted him with a solo homer of his own. It marked the fourth time the Cardinals have gone back-to-back this season, but they were far from done scoring.

Alex Alicea doubled home Ryan McCoy to complete the first time through the order for the Cards with nobody out. Benson and Hoy each picked up RBIs in their second at-bats of the inning and Rose hit a missile over the wall in left-center for the 10th and 11 runs of the inning.

King and McCoy finally capped off the first with RBI singles to give Louisville a 13-1 lead after one.

The 13-run inning surpassed the previous program record of 11, done most recently against Akron in March of 2022. In total, 18 batters went to the plate with 11 picking up hits.

Louisville tacked on three more runs in the sixth. Hoy singled home a pair and Lucas Moore hit a pinch-hit double for the final tally of the night.

Justin West (1-0) allowed one run in two innings in his first start of the season. Colton Hartman retired all six batters he faced in two perfect innings, while Kayden Campbell and Parker Detmers each had scoreless outings.

Seven different Cardinals had multiple hits in the victory, led by a 3-for-3 night from King.

Louisville welcomes No. 4 Clemson to Jim Patterson Stadium this weekend. The series gets underway on Friday at 6 p.m. ET.