LOUISVILLE – SIUE baseball dropped its 2016 season opener Friday, falling on the road at No. 2 Louisville 21-4.
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"We gained valuable experience today," SIUE Head Coach Tony Stoecklin said. "We had four freshmen who played and what they learned is going to carry them a long way."
Louisville (1-0) used 17 hits and scored in five different innings.
The Cardinals scored two runs in the first inning and added another in the third inning against SIUE starter Conner Buenger (0-1). Buenger pitched three innings, and surrendered the three runs on four hits and four walks in his first outing in a Cougar uniform. Three of his walks came in the first inning.
"Once he settled in and got past the first inning he was better," Stoecklin said of the transfer from Southwestern Illinois College. "He had some early jitters. He threw the ball pretty well after that."
Buenger started the fourth, but left after Louisville shortstop Devin Hairston singled to lead off the inning. Ryan Fritz followed Buenger and allowed 10 Louisville runs over one and one-half innings of work. Nine of the runs were earned on six hits and three walks.
"They're really good," Stoecklin said of the second-ranked Cardinals. "They have very few flaws. They hit the ball, they played good defense."
Junior Kailer Smith, who started at catcher for the Cougars, got SIUE (0-1) on the board in the fifth inning. Smith drove in Brock Wiemer and Alec Skender with a two-out single to make it 11-2.
"Kailer did a good job," Stoecklin said. "He did a nice job catching. He took good at-bats when we needed him to. He certainly made a case for himself today."
It was 15-2 in the seventh when Keaton Wright drilled a 3-2 pitch to center field for his first home run of the year. Logan Andersen scored ahead of Wright after being hit by a pitch to reach.
Wright paced the Cougars offense. He was 4 for 4 with the home run and two RBIs. Smith was 2 for 5 with the pair of RBIs.
"Keaton Wright took some really good at-bats today," Stoecklin said. "He's looked good in practices and scrimmages."
Louisville added six runs in the bottom of the seventh for the final margin.
Brendan Miller tossed the final 3.2 innings in relief, allowing seven runs, four earned, on seven hits. He struck out two.
Hairston led Louisville. He was 3 for 6 with two RBIs. Danny Rosenbaum was 2 for 3 with four RBIs.
Preseason All-American Kyle Funkhouser started and allowed two runs on seven hits over five innings to earn the win for Louisville.
The Cougars and Cardinals will play the second of the three-game series Saturday. First pitch comes at 1 p.m. central.
"We have to come out and play better if we want a better outcome," Stoecklin said. "It's ok to lose and learn. You just don't want to learn to lose."
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