RICHMOND, Ky. (Interstat) — The Louisville Cardinals erupted for 10 runs in the fourth inning, turning a close game into a rout and powering past the Eastern Kentucky Colonels 17-7 on Tuesday evening at Turkey Hughes Field.

The game, which began in the afternoon and concluded under the lights, saw the Cardinals (18-11) pound out 15 hits. Eastern Kentucky (8-21) managed 10 hits but could not keep pace after Louisville’s massive offensive outburst.

Louisville seized control early with three runs in the first inning. After a walk and a groundout, Bayram Hot launched a two-run homer to deep center field. Tague Davis followed with a solo shot, also to center, staking the Cardinals to a 3-0 lead.

The Colonels answered immediately in the bottom half against Louisville starter Vorster. David Alvarez crushed a three-run homer to deep right field, tying the game. Eastern Kentucky then loaded the bases and pushed across another run on an RBI single by Reid, taking a 4-3 lead and chasing Vorster from the game.

Reliever TJ Schlageter entered and induced an inning-ending double play to limit the damage. He provided critical stability for Louisville, working 2 2/3 scoreless innings with one strikeout and no hits allowed.

The game remained 4-3 until the fateful top of the fourth. Louisville sent 14 batters to the plate against three Eastern Kentucky pitchers. The inning featured a two-run double by Hot and was capped by a towering grand slam from designated hitter Ben Slanker, who drove in four runs without recording an official at-bat until that hit, having walked and been hit by a pitch earlier.

That sequence, turning a one-run lead into a 13-4 advantage, was the decisive moment of the contest.

Hot, the top star for Louisville, finished 3 for 5 with a home run, a double and four RBIs. Slanker’s grand slam accounted for his only hit in a 1-for-1 day with four RBIs and three walks. Davis went 2 for 3 with a homer and two RBIs.

For Eastern Kentucky, Alvarez led the way, going 2 for 4 with his three-run homer. Pinch-runner turned right fielder Julius Scearce added a two-run homer in the sixth inning.

Louisville relievers Schlageter, Joe Olson and Anthony Karbowski combined for 5 2/3 innings of two-run ball, allowing just three hits after the rocky first inning. Olson pitched two innings, allowing two earned runs, and Karbowski threw a perfect seventh to close the game.

The victory improved Louisville’s record in non-conference play as it prepares to open a three-game Atlantic Coast Conference series at Duke on Thursday. Eastern Kentucky will begin a three-game ASUN Conference series at home against Austin Peay on Thursday.

The final score far exceeded the projection of Interstat’s game simulator, which had forecast a 6-3 Louisville win. The Cardinals’ probability of victory was listed at 85.30% by the service’s ELO system.