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The Louisville baseball team opened its final series of the regular season with a 3-1 road win over Wake Forest. The victory coupled with Miami's win over Florida State Thursday night locked up the Cards' second straight ACC Atlantic Division title.
Congrats to @UofLBaseball, back-to-back #ACCBase Atlantic Division Champs! pic.twitter.com/64iXLhsmRN
— ACC Baseball (@ACCBaseball) May 20, 2016
U of L handled its part of the equation thanks in large part to shortstop Devin Hairston, who went 2-for-3 with a pair of runs driven in and a solo home run. Hairston scored the Cards' other run himself when he was driven in on a Colin Lyman single in the 4th inning.
On the bump, Brendan McKay improved to 11-2 by striking out six and allowing just one run on six hits over six innings of work. McKay, who is 20-5 as a starter in his two years at Louisville, allowed one earned run or fewer for the ninth time in 14 starts this season.
Lincoln Henzman followed up McKay's effort by working two no-hit innings to set the stage for closer Zack Burdi, who shut the door in the ninth. The save was Burdi's 10th of the season and the 19th of his collegiate career, tying him with Neil Holland for second on U of L's all-time list.
Louisville still has a shot at being the No. 1 overall seed in next week's ACC Tournament, but by winning the Atlantic they've already assured themselves of being the top seed in one of the tournament's two pools. With that distinction comes the luxury of choosing your off day during pool play, and winning the pool tiebreaker if three teams finish with 2-1 records.
The Cards and Demon Deacons will resume their series Friday afternoon. First pitch for game two has been moved from 6 p.m. to 1 p.m. because of inclement weather in Winston-Salem.