For most of the year, the Buckeye baseball team has been an explosive hitting team.

But visiting Louisville, ranked No. 10 in the country, shut down the OSU hitters with three different pitchers for a 6-0 win before a gradually dwindling crowd under the lights at Bill Davis Stadium.

Louisville starting pitcher Justin Amlung went five shutout innings in his fifth career start, giving up only four hits.

“We were not swinging the bats well,” said coach Bob Todd. “We were not swinging at good pitches and were swinging at bad pitches.”

Coming into this game, Amlung was 1-1 with an ERA of 6.68.

The Cardinals (37-7) struck first with an RBI double from right fielder Stewart Ijames and a two-run single from designated hitter Zach Wasserman to take a 3-0 lead.

A fielder’s choice from shortstop Adam Duvall scored Wasserman to extend the lead to 4-0.

OSU starting pitcher Dean Wolosiansky went four innings, giving up four runs on three hits, striking out four batters.

“Wolosiansky just blew up in the second inning, and was his own worst enemy,” Todd said.

Louisville first baseman Andrew Clark hit an RBI double in the fifth, and a sacrifice fly from second baseman Ryan Wright opened up a 6-0 lead.

While the Buckeyes were limited to just five hits in the game, seven of the Cardinals’ nine starting hitters reached base, including Wasserman, who had two RBIs in the win.
“We just did not do our job at the plate,” Todd said.

The Buckeyes, who are third in the Big Ten behind Michigan and Northwestern, have been slumping, going 3-7 in their last 10 games.

“We’re just in a funk,” said left fielder Zach Hurley. “Unfortunately for us, it seems like it’s coming at the worst time for us.”

Todd shared the same sentiment as his co-captain.

“It seems like there maybe is a dark cloud over this team and we need to come out from under it,” Todd said.

The win for the Cardinals was their fourth straight over the Buckeyes dating back to 2008, and makes Louisville coach Dan McDonnell 19-2 against Big Ten teams in his three seasons.

Another main issue surrounding the baseball Buckeyes is the status of star pitcher Alex Wimmers, who suffered a hamstring injury, which cost him a scheduled start against Michigan Friday.
“The trainers are doing everything they can to keep him healthy,” Todd said. “But Alex is still limping.”
These two teams will meet again today at Bill Davis Stadium starting at 2:05 p.m.