U of L blasts Michigan, wins regional

The University of Louisville baseball team is headed to its third consecutive super regional thanks to an emphatic regional final victory over Michigan on a chilly Sunday evening at Jim Patterson Stadium.

The Cardinals (46-16) rapped 14 hits and left-handed starter Josh Rogers pitched seven strong innings in coasting to a 13-4 win against a Michigan team that seemingly ran out of gas after eliminating Bradley earlier Sunday afternoon. It was the second time in two days that Louisville beat the Wolverines.

Regardless of its opponent, Louisville will host the super regional, a best-of-three series that will begin either Friday or Saturday.

"I'm really proud of our guys," U of L coach Dan McDonnell said. "We were very consistent all weekend and never really panicked. We handled everybody's best punch."

The Cardinals will play the winner of the Cal State Fullerton regional. Arizona State and Pepperdine were set to play an elimination game at 7 p.m. ET Sunday night, with the winner of that game taking on Fullerton later Sunday evening in that regional final.

Louisville lost to Fullerton back in February, and Fullerton swept U of L in the 2009 super regional. The Cards are 5-2 all-time against Pepperdine and have never played Arizona State.

On Sunday, it was clear that Louisville's familiarity with Michigan helped.

Every player in U of L's starting lineup reached base, and the Cards only had three extra-base hits among their haul. Nick Solak, Sutton Whiting, Corey Ray, Zach Lucas and Logan Taylor each had two or more hits, with Solak and Ray both driving in three runs.

After falling behind 2-0 after Michigan first baseman Carmen Benedetti's first-inning home run, Louisville scored a run in each of the first four innings. Solak's solo homer cut the Wolverines' lead in half in the bottom of the first, then his sacrifice fly and Taylor's single gave U of L a lead it wouldn't relinquish.

Rogers, a sophomore making the second NCAA tournament start of his career, didn't need any more help than that. He gave up two runs on six hits over his seven innings, striking out six and walking none. He induced two double plays and only needed to escape one jam.

"I was nervous," Rogers said. "If anybody says they're not nervous before a game like this, they're lying to you. I had some nerves going, but I got calmed down, settled in there and, after that home run, I just gave my team a chance to win."

In 13 NCAA tournament innings over the past two years, Rogers has allowed just three runs on 10 hits, fanning 11 batters while walking zero. He's won both starts.

It's that kind of consistency that has helped U of L all season, and it helped again this weekend, when Louisville won three in a row to start its quest for a third straight College World Series appearance.

Story continues after the video

"No team, no coaching is more deserving," Michigan coach Erik Bakich said.

He later added, "We just couldn't keep up with them."

The players who thrived last summer, when Louisville beat Kentucky in the regional final and swept Kennesaw State to reach the CWS, showed up again in the three games this weekend.

Solak emerged as a rising star in May and June last year, and he shook off a 1-for-7 start to this weekend in his first at bat on Sunday. He finished 2 for 3, with an RBI single and RBI sacrifice fly to go with his home run.

Ray, Solak's fellow sophomore, had struggled in the first two games of this postseason after doing so well last year. And he, too, woke up on Sunday, ripping three RBI singles.

And as they have all season, the rest of Louisville's lineup fell in line behind Solak and Ray. Whiting was just 1 of 10 in the first two games of the regional. He was 2 for 3 on Sunday.

Devin Hairston, who was named the regional's most outstanding player, had an RBI double and scored two runs on Sunday.

Their performance on Sunday -- and throughout the weekend -- turned back some of the concerns about the Cards' offense after a disappointing ACC tournament last week. Kyle Funkhouser, U of L's No. 1 starting pitcher, shook off his recent struggles with a strong outing on Friday.

And so in one quick weekend's worth of work, Louisville is on the brink of returning to Omaha for the CWS, and everything seems to be rolling for the Cards.