UofL drops NCAA super regional game

• Louisville and Miami will play Game 3 of their super regional on Sunday at noon for a chance to reach the College World Series.
• Eddie King, Jr. was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBIs against Miami on Saturday.

Louisville had been a dominant force throughout its first four games of the NCAA baseball tournament.

But after an extended Game 1 on Friday thanks to a pair of rain delays, fatigue seemed to set in for the Cardinals. Miami took advantage, tying the super regional series with a 9-6 win on Saturday at Jim Patterson Stadium.

“We know they’re very offensive, and they did a great job with two strikes and two outs,” U of L coach Dan McDonnell said of Miami. “And usually in the postseason, those are the differences in swing innings: you’re one out away from getting off the field and you don’t get off the field because they get a two-out hit, or vice versa. We’ve done that at times too, so congratulations to them. Looking forward to tomorrow.”

The two teams will play Game 3 on Sunday at noon for a chance to reach the College World Series. McDonnell said Patrick Eberle (6-2) will get the start for the Cardinals. The freshman lefty has already made his mark on the postseason after tallying a career-high 11 strikeouts in U of L’s 6-0 regional final win over Wright State. Miami head coach J.D. Arteaga said the Hurricanes will probably throw either Reese Lumpkin (4-2) or Tate DeRias (2-3).

“We know what to do,” outfielder Eddie King, Jr. said. “We’ll get our rest, hang with our families and just do the right things to be able to bounce back tomorrow.”

Here are three takeaways from Game 2 of the super regional series:

King has been one of the Cardinals’ offensive driving forces during the postseason and continued his dominance on Saturday. King had a two-run, 430-foot blast to left centerfield as part of the Cardinals’ three-run third inning. He then tied the game, 5-5, with a shot to the same spot with two out in the top of the seventh inning.

“I normally look for certain pitches in certain situations, so I’m just trying to outsmart the pitcher, but at the same time trying not to think too much about it,” King said about his approach at the plate. “It’s just certain situations (where) I think fastball, or for the most part, I do think fastball other way. Then I try to react to the off speed, and then hopefully I can pull it. But there are some situations where I think first pitch slider, like the one I hit out today. I was sitting on that. It all depends on the situation.”

Coming into the game, King was 11-for-19 with three home runs and nine RBIs during the postseason. He finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBIs against the Hurricanes on Saturday.

The Hurricanes rallied with two out during the bottom of the fourth inning and strung together four consecutive hits to take a 5-4 lead. Jake Ogden had a three-run homer during that time and Max Galvin followed with a double. Two batters later, Louisville made a pitching change, ending Tucker Biven’s day, and second baseman Kamau Neighbors made the final 5-3 play to end the inning.

The Hurricanes’ bats were held in check for the most part until the bottom of the eighth inning when Daniel Cuvet hit a three-run home run for the 9-5 lead.

Miami finished the game with 13 hits. It’s the second time this postseason that the Hurricanes have had a double-digit hitting performance after totaling 16 hits in the 14-1 regional win over Columbia.

“They’re going to move the ball,” McDonald said of Miami. “They’re good with two strikes. They use the whole field. … We knew all along it’s a good lineup. They do a good job on offense, and they’re going to score their runs.”

Miami’s defense set an early tone by turning double plays in each of the first two innings, limiting the Cardinals. Matt Klein was the first Louisville batter to reach base after getting hit by a pitch in the first inning. An inning later, Garret Pike got hit by a pitch after King’s leadoff single. The two got out on a 6-4-3 double play. Neighbors struck out two batters later, leaving Tague Davis, who walked, stranded.

Reach Louisville football, women’s basketball and baseball beat writer Alexis Cubit at acubit@gannett.com and follow her on X at @Alexis_Cubit.