Louisville, Michigan will meet again Monday for NCAA baseball regional championship

The Louisville baseball team needed something solid on the mound Sunday.

Riley Phillips gave the Cardinals something spectacular. And the Louisville offense gave Phillips much more than he had to have.

Philips set a new career high with 11 strikeouts, and the Louisville offense gave him explosive support in a 20-1 rout against Michigan, capping a day that dramatically shifted U of L’s hopes of advancing past the regional round of the NCAA Tournament.

Louisville's loss to the Wolverines on Saturday had put Michigan a win away from the regional crown and Louisville into the losers bracket.

Louisville baseball vs. Michigan: Live score updates from NCAA Tournament regional final

But the Cardinals beat Oregon 8-5 in Sunday’s first game, and their two-win afternoon set up a winner-take-all meeting with Michigan on Monday, back at Jim Patterson Stadium.

Louisville's 20 runs tied a school record for the most in a postseason. The Cardinals beat Oklahoma State 20-2 in the 2007 super regional game that clinched U of L's first-ever College World Series trip.

Ben Metzinger homered twice and drove in five runs against Michigan, Cameron Masterson hit a two-run home run and drove in three runs against the Wolverines. Masterson homered in both games Sunday.

A day after struggling with runners on base in a loss to the Wolverines, Louisville took advantage of its opportunities Sunday with 14 hits in 34 at-bats with runners on.

That eruption, combined with a dominant performance from Phillips (5-1) put Louisville in a strong position to advance despite its loss to the Wolverines on Saturday.

The Cardinals reached the College World Series in 2007 and 2019 in similar situations, needing to win three games in two days to make the super regional.

"It's not always gonna be easy," Louisville coach Dan McDonnell said. "You got to embrace the challenges... and we've embraced them all year. It's a part of life. We have our sayings, we eat obstacles for breakfast, and the curveballs of life are gonna happen. So just embrace them. Show your toughness, your maturity, be professional."

How Saturday went: Louisville baseball plays Michigan in 2022 NCAA regional on Saturday

Player of the Game

Phillips set a career high in strikeouts by the fourth inning, hitting nine to top the eight he recorded against Michigan on March 13.

"Both those days I guess I just felt my best, and obviously I had my curveball working both times," Phillips said. "It helps having the changeup mixed in there in between."

His 11 strikeouts Sunday were tied for the most by a Louisville pitcher in an NCAA regional game, matching Reid Detmers’ total against Illinois State in 2019. Only Drew Harrington, with 12 strikeouts in a 2016 super regional loss to Santa Barbara, has thrown more for Louisville in an NCAA Tournament game.

More on the Cards' pitching: Why Louisville baseball coach believes saving ace for Game 2 of NCAA regional will pay off

Turning point

The game never really turned. Metzinger’s two-run homer highlighted a four-run top of the first — Louisville was the road team despite hosting — and Phillips struck out the side in the bottom half, establishing momentum Louisville never lost.

Metzinger tied the program's postseason record with his second homer in the ninth, his third multi-homer game, with a two-run shot.

What it means

The Louisville Regional comes down to one game, and Louisville (41-19-1) will have the fresher pitching staff and considerable momentum entering the finale. And it'll have a red-hot offense. The Cardinals scored 10 combined runs in their first two games of the Louisville Regional before plating a combined 28 on Sunday.

More U of L : Josh Heird approved as permanent University of Louisville athletic director

What’s next

The Cardinals and Wolverines (34-27) will play again Monday at noon. The original start time was to be 6 p.m., but with the threat of rain Monday in Louisville, the NCAA moved the game earlier in the day in the hopes of avoiding weather delays.

McDonnell would have preferred a 6 p.m. game, given that it likely would draw a bigger crowd, but the U of L coach said he wouldn't "jockey" for his preferred time.

"If we have to play at noon for the weather, we play at noon," McDonnell said. "If they said, 'You got to play at 9 a.m.,' we play at 9 a.m."

The winner of Monday's game will advance to this week's super regional at Texas A&M.

How to watch Louisville-Michigan baseball Monday

The game will be available exclusively via streaming. Qualified subscribers can watch Sunday’s games via ESPN+, available via ESPN.com or the ESPN app. Mike Couzens and Roddy Jones will call the action. The game will air on the radio on 93.9 The Ville with Sean Moth providing the play-by-play

What they said

"Webby, one thing you love about him, man, you know what you're gonna get. I call him organic milk. That stuff lasts in the fridge forever. You know when you pull that carton out of the fridge and you pour it into a glass, it's still gonna be fresh. You know what you're getting. I think with Webby, man, you know what you're getting. "

—Louisville coach Dan McDonnell on reliever Evan Webster, who pitched one-hit ball in four innings after replacing Phillips

"Mentally I just think we were more relaxed. I think yesterday it was just one of those games, me personally in the first inning and a couple other guys later in the game. But today is just our offense. That's how we play, that's how we hit. Very explosive, and I think it showed today."

—Louisville left fielder Cameron Masterson on the difference in the Cardinals' offensive performance against Michigan from Saturday to Sunday

"It was a good old-fashioned butt-whipping, but we're just gonna flush it. Three weeks ago if you would have told Team 156 of Michigan baseball that we're gonna have a one-game, winner moves to the super regional (opportunity), I think everyone would jump on that."

—Michigan shortstop Riley Bertram on his team's approach

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville baseball Michigan NCAA Tournament regional championship