Indiana couldn’t overcome three errors and a wild pitch in a first round NCAA Regional loss to No. 1 seed Louisville.
"We just didn't play good defense tonight," IU coach Tracy Smith said. "We didn't deserve to win this game tonight and Louisville did. We made mistakes tonight we just don't normally make. Baseball is a game of controlled emotion and we didn't have that tonight."
The Cardinals took advantage of the Hoosiers mistakes to advance in the winner’s bracket to face No. 2 seed Middle Tennessee Saturday night at 7 pm. The Hoosiers will play No. 3 seed Vanderbilt Saturday afternoon in an elimination game.
"Indiana has to be one of the best four seeds in the country. I'm really pleased to get the victory tonight," Dan McDonnell said.
"We play at a high level a very intense level and we work at that during the year. We try to play tournament baseball for 55 games."
Louisville’s starting pitcher Justin Marks gave up two runs in the second inning but steadied himself after the shaky start. Marks pitched seven strong innings, giving up just four hits while striking out eight batters.
"I thought Justin showed a lot of heart tonight," said McDonnell. "I don't know if he has been as courageous as he was tonight."
Indiana jumped on top 2-0 in the top half of the second inning but Louisville quickly answered in the bottom of the second with three runs to take a 3-2 lead.
Louisville added two runs in the fifth to increase their lead to 5-2 and tacked on some insurance in the eighth with three more runs.
DH Phil Wunderlich drove in two runs in the eighth, while LF Josh Richmond, 2B Adam Duvall and CF Drew Haynes each had one RBI.
Gavin Logsdon and Gabriel Shaw closed out the Hoosiers. Logsdon pitched the eighth inning, giving up one hit and striking out a batter. Shaw ended the game in ninth, striking out two batters to send the Cards into the second round.
"It's big to get that first tournament win and that's the best feeling you can have in this regional type atmosphere," said Justin Marks. "Last year we were young and inexperienced. Tonight on our home field it is really nice to come out and play well and get our first regional win in front of our fans."
Attendance for the game -- 4,605, breaking Louisville’s 2007 Super Regional game against Oklahoma State that advanced the Cardinals to Omaha for their first College World Series.
Middle Tennessee defeats Vanderbilt
No. 2 Middle Tennessee beat No. 3 Vanderbilt 5-4 in the first round game Friday afternoon. The Blue Raiders, who won their first-ever NCAA Tournament game against an SEC opponent (1-7), jumped out to a 4-0 lead with a big first inning and held on by getting out of a bases loaded jam in the ninth.
The win moves Middle Tennessee into the Louisville Regional winner’s bracket. The Blue Raiders will play No. 1 Louisville Saturday at 7 pm at Jim Patterson Stadium.