Louisville left fielder Isaiah Howes broke the Big East Tourbament record for home runs by smashing his fourth in as many games to lead off the seventh inning. The bad news was that it was all the offense the Cards could manage as they were defeated and eliminated by Rutgers 3-1.
RU starter Sean Spicer outdueled Louisville's duo of James Belanger and Trystan Magnuson by going the distance and allowing just the one run on five hits. Belanger surrendered just three hits and two earned runs in five innings, while Magnuson worked three scoreless innings, giving up three hits and striking out four.
The second-seeded Scarlet Kngihts now move on to face Cinderella Connecticut, which knocked off South Florida 2-0 on Friday. The Huskies nabbed the eighth and final spot in the Big East Tournament on the last day of the regular season only because they won and West Virginia was defeated by Cincinnati.
Louisville must now hope that its 40-20 record is impressive enough to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. Regional sites will be determined Sunday and the 64 teams that will advance to the NCAA Regionals will be announced on Monday at 12:30 p.m. on ESPN.