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A little over 24 hours after the game began, Louisville wrapped up a 5-3 College World Series elimination game victory over Auburn Wednesday afternoon.
The Cardinals led the Tigers 4-1 when rain halted play following the conclusion of the 4th inning on Tuesday. Despite some anxious moments, U of L relievers Adam Elliott, Michael McAvene and Michael Kirian combined to limit AU to a pair of runs over five innings and keep the Cards’ season alive.
The most dangerous moment of the game for Louisville came in the 8th inning when Auburn loaded the bases with two outs. On a 3-2 pitch, McAvene (making his first appearance since his ridiculous four-game suspension on June 2) blew a fastball by Tiger left fielder Judd Ward.
@mkill55 comes up HUGE!#CWS | #L1C4 pic.twitter.com/A8d4wubDks
— Louisville Baseball (@LouisvilleBSB) June 19, 2019
With the victory, Louisville becomes the only program in college baseball to win 50 games in six different seasons over the past decade.
Louisville is the only Division I Baseball team to win 50 games six times this decade.
— Kelly Dickey (@RealCardGame) June 19, 2019
Most 50-win seasons 2010-2019:
6 - Louisville
5 - Vanderbilt
4 - Florida, Virginia
3 - LSU, Oregon State, TCU
2 - Miami (Fla.), Mississippi State, North Carolina, South Carolina, UCLA
U of L will now be the designated home team for Thursday night’s elimination game against the loser of Wednesday’s game between Vanderbilt and Mississippi State. First pitch for the game on Thursday is set for 8 p.m. and will be carried on ESPN2.
It wasn’t easy (it never is), but the dream of a Louisville baseball national championship is still alive. Let’s keep it rolling tomorrow night.