Josh Rogers pitches Louisville past Western Kentucky

Josh Rogers took his coaches' words to heart.

The University of Louisville baseball coaches challenged the freshman left-hander, insisting he could do better as the fourth starter for the 12th-ranked Cardinals. Rogers, a 6-foot-3 New Albany native, had struggled after pitching through opposing lineups the first time, and he knew it.

Tuesday night's 3-1 victory over Western Kentucky put the lesson learned on display. Rogers struck out five and gave up just three hits and the run in seven-plus innings for his first career win. A crowd of 2,604 at Jim Patterson Stadium saw the Cardinals (29-11) complete a season sweep of the Hilltoppers (21-20).

"I wasn't pitching at my best," Rogers said of his previous three outings, two of them losses. "I really feel like I responded tonight."

He would be the first to admit he had some help. Shortstop Sutton Whiting put on a defensive show, making play after play to keep Western Kentucky's groundballs in the infield.

In one sequence, Whiting dashed to his left, snatched a bounding ball headed toward center field and threw a perfect strike across his body to first base. Two batters later he shuffled to his right, deep into the hole at shortstop, and rifled another bullet across the infield to prevent a hit.

That defense made the difference in a game that was decided by walks, U of L freshman Colin Lyman's timely single and a solid relief appearance by Cole Sturgeon.

"They're just hitting ground balls and you've got Sutton back there," Rogers said. "He's a solid rock. You just put the ball in the zone and he's got my back."

Lyman, an outfielder who has started 21 games and played in 13 others, came up with the bases loaded and two out in the fifth inning. He broke a scoreless tie by slamming WKU reliever Sam Higgs' changeup into left-center field. Whiting scored easily from third, and Grant Kay hustled home when center fielder David Simmons bobbled Lyman's hit.

Lyman credited an age-old task for his big hit. The freshman who grew up in Algonquin, Ill., said he likes charting the opposing teams' pitches because the task keeps his mind on the game. It paid off Tuesday.

"Some people think it's tedious," Lyman said. "It really helps you stay in the game."

The Hilltoppers got a run back in the eighth when Ryan Messex's double plated Regan Flaherty, but Sturgeon, a lefty who started in right field, struck out two and got Leiff Clarkson to ground out to end the threat.

Louisville added an insurance run on Logan Taylor's squeeze bunt that scored Alex Chittenden from third after his leadoff double.

Junior Nick Burdi recorded his ninth save by slamming the door on U of L's second straight victory after last week's three-game skid.

"It's always a great game when we play them," WKU coach Matt Myers said. "They were better than us."

The Cards have another 6 p.m. game today against Morehead State. The original matchup, scheduled for Feb. 26, was postponed due to bad weather.

U of L coach Dan McDonnell hopes the challenge he and his staff set out for their freshmen will yield more positive results as the calendar approaches May.

"We need them to mature and be a little consistent," he said. "It's a great opportunity for other guys to step up."

Reach Jeff Greer at (502) 582-4044 and follow him on Twitter @jeffgreer_CJ.