Louisville baseball rallies with four in ninth to edge Central Michigan 9-8 Saturday

Walk-off single caps Louisville’s late comeback at Jim Patterson Stadium

Louisville scored four runs in the bottom of the ninth inning Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, to defeat Central Michigan 9-8 at Jim Patterson Stadium, evening the teams’ three-game nonconference series after a high-scoring opener a day earlier.

The decisive sequence ended with Griffin Crain’s walk-off single to right field with two outs in the ninth, bringing home Jax Hisle from third base for the winning run. The rally erased what had been a three-run deficit entering the final frame.

How the game unfolded

Central Michigan built its offense across the middle innings and carried an 8-4 advantage into the late stages. The Chippewas scored in each of the first, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh innings, combining extra-base hits with pressure created by walks, hit batters and wild pitches.

Louisville did not score until the third inning, when it posted four runs to take a 4-1 lead. Central Michigan responded by adding runs in four straight innings to reclaim control, while Louisville was held scoreless from the fourth through the seventh.

In the eighth, Louisville narrowed the margin when Crain doubled down the left-field line to drive in a run, trimming the deficit to 8-5 and setting up the late finish.

Ninth-inning turning point

Louisville’s four-run ninth featured a mix of plate discipline, baserunning and timely contact. After loading the bases, the Cardinals got a two-run single from Tague Davis to make it 8-7. In the same inning, Hisle drove in the tying run with a single to right side; Central Michigan cut down a runner at the plate on that play, but Louisville had leveled the score.

Bayram Hot followed with a single to move the go-ahead run into scoring position, and Crain’s final at-bat ended the game on a line drive that brought Hisle home.

• Final score: Louisville 9, Central Michigan 8 (Feb. 28, 2026)
• Location: Jim Patterson Stadium, Louisville
• Louisville recorded 10 hits; Central Michigan had 9 hits and 3 errors

Series context

The win followed Friday’s series opener, when Louisville won 16-2 in a run-rule game shortened to 6 1/2 innings. The teams were scheduled to conclude the series Sunday, March 1, 2026, with another 1 p.m. start in Louisville.

In a game that swung repeatedly, Louisville’s final four outs produced four runs and the deciding hit with two outs.