Underdog Pitt stuns Louisville baseball, cutting NCAA-bound Cards' ACC tourney stay short

Louisville baseball has played just one of its two pool games in the Atlantic Coast Conference Baseball Championship, but it's already been determined the Cardinals will not be headed to Saturday's semifinal round.

The No. 2-seeded Cardinals fell 6-5 to No. 11 Pitt on a walk-off base hit from Bryce Hulett in the bottom of the ninth inning. With the win, the Panthers improved to 2-0 in Pool B and clinched a spot in Saturday's semifinal round.

"It's not lack of effort," U of L coach Dan McDonnell said after the game. "They were just better than us."

Louisville (38-17-1, 18-12-1 ACC), meanwhile, will head home and await its NCAA Tournament fate after wrapping up pool play against 7-seeded Georgia Tech at 11 a.m. Thursday (Bally Sports South/ACCN Extra). D1Baseball.com on May 22 projected the Cardinals to host a regional at Jim Patterson Stadium for the first time since 2019.

Louisville baseball: How Cardinals bounced back after missing 2021 NCAA Tournament

Louisville baseball: How to watch Cardinals in ACC tournament: Bracket, schedule, TV information

On the strength of two home runs from Dalton Rushing and another bomb from Levi Usher, Louisville slugged its way to a 5-3 lead through six innings. Pitt, however, tied the game with runs scored in the bottom of the seventh and eighth innings, leaving McDonnell to ponder the Cards' missed chances during the game's early stages.

"Those runs come back to haunt you when you're trying to sleep," the coach said.

After U of L left go-ahead runner Ben Bianco stranded at third base in the top of the ninth, the Panthers tagged pitcher Jared Poland for a leadoff single to begin the bottom half of the frame. McDonnell then opted for Michael Prosecky out of the bullpen, and the junior lefty recorded two outs. The game-winning run advanced to third base in the process.

It was at this moment, McDonnell said in hindsight, that maybe he should have asked Prosecky to intentionally walk Hulett, a .285 hitter, with Jordan Anderson on deck. Anderson entered the game in the bottom of the eighth as a pinch hitter and is batting just .198 on the season.

"They might have had (another) pinch hitter, I'm sure, but you load the bases, and I know being a guy that didn't swing the bat (that) you have to throw a strike," McDonnell said. "It puts a little more pressure on the pitcher. Michael's a strike-thrower, but he had a walk in the inning already, and (I) just felt like, 'Are we gonna lose the game on a bases loaded walk to a one-something (average) hitter?'

"I just trusted Michael and said, 'Man, (I) want you to go get this guy.'"

With a 0-1 count, Hulett drilled a single to center field, ending the Cardinals' hopes of winning their first ACC tournament title in program history.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville baseball loses to Pitt, cutting ACC tournament stay short