It was a familiar script for Michigan baseball in its NCAA tournament regional final against 13-seed Louisville on Sunday : Pound the ball early, challenge fielders with speed on the bases and force the opponent to swing more often in hopes of a comeback.
The only problem was, it was the Cardinals doing the slugging, and the Wolverines left behind. Louisville put six of its first eight batters on base en route to a four-run first inning and scored in six of the nine innings. The Wolverines had no answers at the plate, though, losing 20-1 to force a winner-take-all game Monday night for a spot in the super regional against either Texas A&M or TCU (whose College Station regional final began late Sunday in Texas).