Louisville strikes for 6 runs in 8th to eliminate Arizona from College World Series with an 8-3 win

By Canadian Press on June 15, 2025.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Zion Rose’s two-run single gave Louisville its first lead during a six-run eighth inning and the Cardinals knocked Arizona out of the College World Series with an 8-3 win Sunday.

Louisville’s 19th come-from-behind win of the season moved the Cardinals (41-23) to another elimination game Tuesday against the loser of Sunday night’s Coastal Carolina-Oregon State matchup.

Arizona (44-21) has lost six straight CWS games over three appearances since 2016.

The Cardinals trailed 3-1 early and came up empty after having runners in scoring position in the third, fourth and fifth innings. When they broke through, the runs came in bunches.

Lucas Moore’s sacrifice fly in the seventh made it a one-run game against Garrett Hicks (5-2), and then Arizona had an improbable meltdown with National Stopper of the Year Tony Pluta on the mound after the Cardinals’ first two batters reached in the eighth.

Tague Davis’s blooper loaded the bases, and then Rose punched a two-run single down the right-field line to put Louisville up 4-3. No. 9 batter Kamau Neighbors singled in another run to cap his 4-for-4 day.

Garrett Pike got caught in a rundown between third and home and scored when Pluta dropped the ball trying to tag him at the plate. Neighbors came home on Alex Alicea’s squeeze bunt, and Matt Klein singled to left for the final run.

Tucker Biven (4-0) pitched the last four innings for the Cardinals, working around two singles to hold Arizona scoreless in the ninth. Louisville is 26-0 when leading after eight innings and 203-5-1 since the start of 2019.

Adonys Guzman, who singled in the Wildcats’ first run in the first inning, hit his second homer of the NCAA Tournament and ninth of the season to give his team a two-run lead in the third.

Freshman Smith Bailey gave Arizona another strong start. He went six innings for the fifth time in six starts, including three straight in the NCAA Tournament. He allowed five earned runs over 18 postseason innings (2.50 ERA).

This was the teams’ second meeting of the season. In February, Louisville won 13-1 in Arlington, Texas, in a game shortened to eight innings by the run rule.

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AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports

Eric Olson, The Associated Press

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