The sixth-ranked Louisville Cardinals gave a surprisingly lackluster performance and were shutout by rival Kentucky 5-0 in front of 3,819 fans at UK's Cliff Hagan Stadium.
Mike Kaczmarek, Jordan Cooper and Nick Kennedy combined to throw a four-hitter and provide the first shutout in the series since UK won 6-0 in 1989. The scarcely-used Kaczmarek (1-0) retired 12 of the 13 batters he faced.
"I guess we could have had a couple runs, but still," said U of L head coach Dan McDonnell. "We didn't do enough offensively, and they obviously were able to do enough on the mound and defensively."
The two teams, which have split their season series in each of the past three years, will meet again on April 28 in Louisville.
For me, the first Kentucky game is the Louisville baseball equivalent of the end of the Super Bowl for casual college basketball fans. Basically, it's time to start paying attention...and maybe drink some dollar beers.