Louisville-TCU to feature battle of freshman left-handers

TCU head coach Jim Schlossnagle revealed Thursday morning that he will be handing the ball to freshman left-hander Nick Lodolo for the Horned Frogs’ College World Series elimination game against Louisville.

U of L will counter with a freshman lefty of their own in Nick Bennett. Bennett, a Perfect Game Freshman All-American, has served as the Cardinals’ No. 3 starter all season long and heads into Thursday night’s tilt with a 5-0 record and a 2.70 ERA. Though Bennett is just 5-0 on his own, Louisville is 12-0 this season in games where he starts.

A year ago Lodolo was drafted 41st overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Despite being offered $1.75 million by the Pirates, Lodolo opted to attend TCU, making him the highest draft pick of 2016 to not sign professionally.

Lodolo heads into Thursday night boasting a 5-1 record and a 4.28 ERA. He pitched a perfect inning against Florida in TCU’s 3-0 loss to the Gators on Sunday, but has not made a start in nearly a month.

First pitch between Louisville and TCU is set for 8 p.m. on ESPN2. The winner gets Florida Friday night at 7.