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The Louisville baseball team saw its quest for dual American Athletic Conference championships end in the league's tournament championship game with a 10-4 loss to Houston on Sunday.
The Cougars roughed up seven Cardinal pitchers to the tune of 16 hits and 10 runs, six of which came in the 6th and 9th innings. U of L, meanwhile, spent most of the afternoon foiled by UH reliever Tyler Ford, despite the fact that Ford was throwing nearly nothing but fastballs.
The game was eerily reminiscent of Louisville's two performances at the College World Series in Omaha last summer, where the Cardinals failed to adjust to the small ball-friendly park and instead belted a steady dose of fly ball outs on their way to a two-and-done showing.
Despite the disappointing finish, Louisville placed three players -- Nick Solak, Jeff Gardner, and Kyle Gibson -- on the All-Tournament Team. Solak went 3-for-3 on Sunday, while Gibson and Gardner each added a hit.
Next up for the Cardinal Nine is finding out where their headed for next week's NCAA Tournament regional play. Most experts have U of L in the mix to host one of the 16 regionals, but the Cards' chances undoubtedly took a hit on Sunday.
It’s my feeling at this point the final host site is down to #Washington, #Louisville, #Houston and possibly #Texas.
— Kendall Rogers (@KendallRogersPG) May 25, 2014
The 16 regional hosts will be announced tonight at 9 p.m., while the entire field of 64 will be revealed Monday at noon on ESPNU.
Also, this was the last conference event that Louisville will ever play as a member of the American Athletic Conference. It's been almost real, AAC. Thanks for letting us hang around.
