Louisville 7 Vanderbilt 1
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Fueled by strong pitching from Matt Koch and Neil Holland, and a key three-run homer in the first inning by Phil Wunderlich, the No. 7 national seed Louisville baseball team powered into the championship game of the 2010 NCAA Regional with a 7-1 win over 17th-ranked Vanderbilt on Saturday afternoon at Jim Patterson Stadium.
With the win, Louisville improves to 50-12 overall and will play on Sunday at 4 p.m. ET at Jim Patterson Stadium against the winner of Sunday’s noon elimination game between Vanderbilt (42-18) and Illinois State. Saturday’s win also clinched the first 50-win season in Louisville baseball history. Tickets are still available for Sunday’s NCAA Regional games and can be purchased in person at Jim Patterson Stadium starting at 11 a.m. ET on Sunday.
Illinois State 8 St. Louis 3
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Evan Kohli hit two of Illinois State’s season-high-tying five home runs as the Redbirds slugged past Saint Louis, 8-3, for the program’s first NCAA Tournament win since 1976 in an elimination game of the Louisville Regional at Patterson Stadium Saturday afternoon.
Kohli reached in all four plate appearances and produced two of Illinois State’s 13 hits in the contest. The Redbirds (32-23) hit five home runs in a game for the second time this season and saw Kohli leave the park multiple times for the first time in his career. Illinois State centerfielder Chad Hinshaw was 4-for-4 with three doubles while helping the Redbirds remain alive in the double-elimination tournament. The win is Illinois State’s first in NCAA Division I Tournament play since a 5-2 win over Southern Illinois to open the 1976 Mideast Regional at Ypsilanti, Mich.
