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PROVIDENCE, R.I. – No. 10 seed ECU (47-18) saw its postseason run come to an end in a 12-0 NCAA Super Regional loss at No. 7 seed Louisville (49-16) on Saturday afternoon at Jim Patterson Stadium in Louisville, Ky. The Pirates’ loss marks the end of The American’s 2019 baseball season.
ECU concludes a historic season after winning all eight of its American series, becoming the first conference team to post 20 conference wins. Making its 30th NCAA Regional appearance, ECU hosted the Greenville Regional for a second-straight year, advancing to the program’s fifth Super Regional and first in four years. ECU was ranked as high as sixth nationally and entered the NCAA Baseball Championship with the No. 5 NCAA RPI ranking.
Louisville advances to its first College World Series since 2017, beginning on Saturday, June 15 at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Neb.
Score: Louisville 12, ECU 0 | ECU Recap | Box Score
WP: Miller (7-1)
LP: Burleson (6-2)
Highlights
Louisville starter Bobby Miller (7-1) carried a no-hitter into the ninth inning, facing three over the minimum in 8.0 shutout innings of work. He ended the day with five strikeouts, scattering one hit and three walks.
Louisville’s Drew Campbell was a home run shy of hitting for the cycle, as he went 3-for-5 with a single, double, a triple, two RBIs and two runs scored to lead the Cardinals at the plate. Justin Lavey joined him in posting three hits, finishing the game with two doubles, three RBIs and three runs scored. Four Louisville batters had multiple hits, as the Cardinals combined for 14 on the day.
Louisville’s defense continuously stifled the Pirates’ offense, as the infield turned a trio of double plays. Dusty Baker was the lone Pirate to reach base through the first five innings on a walk, but the Cardinals turned their first double play of the afternoon to end the frame.
Louisville scored three runs in the second, third, fifth and ninth innings. Alec Burleson (6-2), one of the nation’s top two-way players, was off to a strong start on the mound for ECU after striking out the side in the opening inning but ran into trouble in the top of the second, giving up a two-run triple to Campbell. Burleson then posted a big punch out with the bases loaded but Campbell crossed home plate on a wild pitch to give the Cardinals an early 3-0 lead.
The Pirates went to their bullpen in the third inning, but Louisville’s offense kept firing, as Justin Lavey and Henry Davis delivered back-to-back RBI doubles to expand the home team’s lead to 6-0. After a quick fourth frame, The Cardinals used another three hits to push three more runs across in the fifth, making it a 9-0 ballgame.
Evan Voliva and Cam Colmore combined for 3.2 shutout innings in relief for the Pirates until the Cardinals struck for several two-out RBIs in the top of the ninth with Lavey, Zeke Pinkham and Lucas Dunn driving in runs.
The Pirates got a runner on in each of the last three innings. Alec Burleson reached on an error with two outs in the seventh inning before Spencer Brickhouse led off the eighth with a walk. However, Brickhouse was retired after Louisville turned its second double play of the game. ECU’s first hit of the contest came in the bottom of the ninth when Thomas Francisco delivered a single to right field. The Pirates went on to load the bases with no outs, but Louisville turned a 1-2-4 double play on Christian Jayne’s grounder before Jake Washer was retired on a fly out to center field to end the game.
2019 NCAA Baseball Championship | Super Regional - Louisville, Ky. | Jim Patterson Stadium
Friday, June 7
Game 1: Louisville 14, ECU 1
Saturday, June 8
Game 2: Louisville 12, ECU 0