Aggies Fall to Cardinals in Shriners Opener

HOUSTON – The No. 14 Louisville Cardinals scored 14 unanswered runs to open the game and went on to post a 14-5 win over the No. 15 Texas A&M Aggies on Friday at Minute Maid Park in the nightcap of the opening day of the Shriners Children's College Classic.
 
The game was a rematch of the 2022 College Station Super Regional where the Aggies (5-4) took down the Cardinals (8-1) in consecutive games to punch their ticket to Omaha, but Friday was a different story from the get-go.
 
Louisville got a strong start from staff ace Ryan Hawks and bolstered him with six runs in the first three frames before exploding for eight scores in the decisive fifth inning. Hawks earned his third win in three starts this year, striking out eight Aggies with only two hits allowed.
 
The Cardinal offense was able to get to Texas A&M starter Nathan Dettmer for six runs – four earned – in just 2.0 full frames of work, handing him his first loss of the season.
 
TOP AGGIE PERFORMERS
Brandyn Garcia – 1.0 IP, 3 K
Austin Bost – 1-for-4, HR, BB, 3 RBI
Hank Bard – 1-for-1, RBI, BB, R
Tab Tracy – 1-for-2, 2B, R
 
GAME SUMMARY
T1 | LOU 3, A&M 0
The Cardinals came out swinging and got to Dettmer for three scores in the opening frame. Back-to-back doubles by Christian Knapczyk and Jack Payton and a walk to Ryan McCoy had the sacks loaded before an out was recorded and a wild pitch, ground ball and sacrifice fly brought each runner in.
 
T2 | LOU 4, A&M 0
Louisville tacked on another run with some two-out fortune, keeping the inning alive with an infield single by Gavin Kilen that was upheld after video review. One batter later Knapczyk sent a laser just over the outstretched glove of Austin Bost at second base that made its way all the way to the center field wall, scoring Kilen.
 
T3 | LOU 6, A&M 0
The offense continued for UL in the third with two more plated for the Cardinals. Louisville got base runners thanks to a walk and an Aggie error, pushing Aggie starter Nathan Dettmer from the game. An RBI single by Eddie King Jr. off of reliever Evan Aschenbeck made it 5-0 and one batter later Haven Mangrum brought home another with a ground ball on the infield.
 
T5 | LOU 14, A&M 0
Louisville put things away with a breakout fifth inning, sending 12 players to the plate and scoring eight times. The Cardinals did not have an extra-base hit in the inning, but had six singles, four driving in runs.
 
B7 | LOU 14, A&M 5
The Aggies were on the verge of being shut out for the first time in 2023, but after Louisville lifted starter Ryan Hawks, the Texas A&M bats found some life. A walk by Ryan Targac and a double from Tab Tracy opened the inning and a sacrifice fly from Kaeden Kent got the Aggies on the board. Hank Bard followed with an RBI single, but the game was still on the cusp of being over via run-rule until Austin Bost blasted a three-run homer into the Crawford Boxes with two away in the inning to keep play going.
 
UP NEXT
Texas A&M will continue the Shriners Children's College Classic on Saturday when it takes on Rice. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. and will be aired on AT&T SportsNet Southwest alternate channel due to a conflict with the Houston Rockets broadcast on the primary network. The weekend's games can also be seen on the Houston Astros YouTube page: youtube.com/astros
  
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