Texas ousts Cardinals from College World Series, 4-1

OMAHA, Neb. – The five seniors on the University of Louisville baseball team filed into the press conference with red eyes, sore from the tears they'd shed moments earlier.

U of L coach Dan McDonnell walked in with them, eyes just as red, tears just as ready.

They were tasked with eulogizing the 2014 season, which ended Monday with a 4-1 loss to Texas at TD Ameritrade Park.

It was the Cardinals' second defeat in three days, and the second consecutive two-losses-and-out trip to the College World Series for a team that came to this tournament with high expectations.

"I want our kids to hold their heads high," McDonnell said. "It really hurts. They wanted more."

There was a different feel to Louisville (50-17) this year compared to last, when the Cards admitted they'd expended so much energy on beating rival Vanderbilt in the super regional that they let down at the CWS.

This time around, players said they knew what to expect and how to approach the tournament. They were considered one of the CWS favorites in a wide-open field.

But Louisville frustrated itself in Saturday's loss to Vanderbilt, wasting nine base runners and several scoring opportunities.

The Cardinals two days later frustrated themselves on defense, committing a season-high four errors. Three Texas runs came directly from miscues, and the early runs put Louisville in an early hole for the fourth consecutive game.

They clawed back to win against Kennesaw State in last week's super regional, but the deficits against Vanderbilt and Texas were too much to overcome.

"When you don't play clean, it gets magnified," McDonnell said. "We gave them too many opportunities."

The mistakes undid what was a solid outing from sophomore right-hander Anthony Kidston, who lost his first game in 20 starts over two seasons at U of L.

Kidston, who is now 14-1 as a starter at Louisville, lasted eight innings, allowing three runs — two earned — and six hits. He struck out five and walked one.

On Sunday, McDonnell was asked what the ideal Kidston start would look like. The Ohio native came awfully close to replicating McDonnell's answer.

"There's a reason why he was 14-0," said Texas shortstop C.J Hinojosa. "He mixed pitches, threw fastballs, threw his off-speed, and he had us chasing a couple of times."

But it was Hinojosa's spectacular plays at shortstop and Texas ace Parker French's pitching that made the difference.

French pitched into the eighth inning and gave up one run and four hits. Louisville didn't put a runner on third base until the eighth.

In that situation, Louisville's only real scoring chance, the Cards had runners on first and second with no outs. With strong winds blowing toward home plate, McDonnell opted to sacrifice bunt to move the runners up. The conditions drove his decision, he said.

"We're down three and it's first and second, nobody out, and I'm sac bunting. I think that says it all," McDonnell said.

The sacrifice worked, but Cole Sturgeon's groundout to second base was the only productive at-bat after that. Freshman Nick Solak, who led the team with eight RBIs this postseason, struck out to end the inning.

"We probably chased some pitches we shouldn't have in some big situations with runners on," Sturgeon said. "We didn't do a great job of making them work for everything."

It was a sobering and uncomfortable experience for the Cards, who lose five seniors to graduation. Six juniors were selected in the Major League Baseball draft, including star closer Nick Burdi, who will leave school this summer to start his professional career.

But Louisville dealt with that same fallout last summer, and McDonnell seemed hopeful the Cards will return a solid core of talent for 2015, which will be their first season in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

A coach who admits that he constantly thinks ahead, McDonnell caught himself talking about next year and reined in that conversation.

"I need to take a moment and reflect," he started. "This was a lot of fun. The season's going to end, and this is the place you want it to end. For their efforts, we'll be better off and we'll be back again.

"As it says in the end of the movie 'Gladiator,' you will see us again."

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