Louisville baseball remains perfect at NCAA Tournament. 3 takeaways from regional game

Jun 1, 2025 - 10:00

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Louisville baseball remains perfect at NCAA Tournament. 3 takeaways from regional game

NASHVILLE — A small contingent of Louisville baseball fans along the right field line at Hawkins Field were the only red in a ballpark dominated by Vanderbilt's home fans.

It was after midnight back at home, but they stayed long enough to see right-handed pitcher Jake Schweitzer lead the second-seeded Cardinals to a 3-2 win over top-seeded Vanderbilt on Saturday night. The freshman and Trinity High School graduate came in the ninth inning and notched two strikeouts for the save.

It's the second time in less than a month that the Cardinals have beaten the Commodores. On May 6, U of L took a 5-4 win over Vandy at home. The squad added another victory on the Commodores' home field. Louisville is now one win away from the super regionals and will play the winner of the elimination bracket on Sunday night. It'll be the team's first time back since 2023.

Here are three takeaways from the Cardinals' win over Vanderbilt.

Matt Klein keeps going; Zion Rose joins the HR club

There's no doubt that Matt Klein is healthy. For the second straight day, he hit a home run for his fifth of the season. The two-hole hitter let one fly into left field in the first inning to give the Cardinals the first lead of the day. Four innings later, Zion Rose hit a leadoff home run to break the 1-1 tie.

Louisville's hitting has been on display at a high level despite the more recent losses. In three of the last four games, the Cardinals have hit two or more home runs. The lone exception: their first-round loss to Pitt in the ACC Tournament. On Friday, Klein was one of three to homer in the regionals-opening victory over East Tennessee State.

Justin West's big strikeout

Justin West came in during the fifth inning to relieve Cardinals starting pitcher Tucker Biven with the squad ahead, 3-2. But during the sixth inning, West and Louisville found themselves at risk of losing the lead. West had given up two hits and a throwing error put two Vanderbilt runners in scoring position.

With a 3-2 count, Jonathan Vastine struck out swinging for the second out of the inning. Rose then made the final play of the inning in left field to eliminate Vandy's scoring threat. West entered the postseason with a 1-2 record and 7.24 ERA in 20 appearances. He ended his 2 1/3 innings against the Commodores with two strikeouts and only gave up two hits.

Errors costly in fifth inning

The Cardinals slipped up in the fifth inning and committed two throwing errors. The first error put two Commodores on base. The second error came when a throw sailed into Louisville's dugout. That allowed Jacob Humphrey to score, bringing Vandy within one run. But Louisville was able to get the final out to prevent the tie or lead change.