7th Inning Stretch: The Final Road Trip (Week 13)

On the heels of a much needed perfect week of baseball, the Cardinals are embarking on their final road games of the regular season.

Louisville baseball pitcher Carson Liggett / Jared Anderson - Louisville Report

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - For the first time since the first week of March, the Louisville baseball program was able to post a perfect 4-0 week.

The Cardinals (29-18, 13-11 ACC) got the week started with a midweek win over Northern Kentucky, then kicked off a seven-game road trip with a three-game sweep over Boston College.

In a vacuum, taking down these two opponents might not be a big deal. But in the grand scheme of the postseason, it was a massive development. With Louisville entering the week sitting on the outside of the NCAA Tournament bubble, they absolutely needed to start stacking ACC wins, and wins overall to boost their RPI.

Pulling off a clean sweep over the Norse and Eagles was a much, much needed first step in terms of inserting themselves back into NCAA Tournament discussion. Additionally, Louisville was able to officially clinch a spot in the ACC Tournament, so there's no fear that the Cardinals could miss out on postseason baseball in its entirety.

Perhaps most importantly is that Louisville's season-long pitching issues could finally be turning a corner. Colton Hartman stepped up to be a potential go-to third starter in the rotation with the season winding down, and the bullpen - for the most part - held up their end of the deal.

Of course, there's still work to be done. However, Louisville has a fantastic late-season opportunity in front of the them. They'll play their final true road games of the regular season this week, facing Vanderbilt in the annual Battle for the Barrel and then heading to North Carolina.

Go at least .500 in these four games this week, and Louisville's chances at earning an at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament will take another big step forward.

News & Notes

• Louisville remains unranked in of all of the five major collegiate baseball polls.
• Gavin Kilen ranks No. 24 nationally in doubles with 19, and No. 25 in th NCAA's "Toughest to Strike Out" metric
• J.T. Benson ranks No. 6 nationally in stolen bases with 31, and No. 26 in sacrifice flies with six.
• Zion Rose ranks No. 8 nationally in triples with five.
• Sebastian Gongora and Evan Webster are tied for No. 19 nationally in pitching starts with 12.

The Week Ahead

Away (Hawkins Field - Nashville, Tenn.)

• Tuesday, May Thursday 7 at 7:00pm vs. Vanderbilt (ESPN2/93.9 The Ville)

Away (Boshamer Stadium - Chapel Hill, N.C.)

• Friday, May 10 at 6:00pm vs. North Carolina (ACC Network Extra/93.9 The Ville)
• Saturday, May 11 at 12:00pm vs. North Carolina (ACC Network Extra/93.9 The Ville)
• Sunday, May 12 at 12:00pm vs. North Carolina (ACC Network/93.9 The Ville)

Know The Foe

Vanderbilt Commodores

Head Coach (school record): Tim Corbin (915-436-1)
2024 Record (conference record): 32-16 (11-13)
All-Time Series Record: Vanderbilt Leads 28-12

Top Performers (Hitters):

• INF Jonathan Vastine (48 GP, 48 GS): .313/.405/.558, 7 HR, 33 RBI, 15 2B, 2 3B, 23 BB, 9 SB
• C Alan Espinal (46 GP, 46 GS): .301/.412/.536, 9 HR, 36 RBI, 12 2B, 27 BB, 3 SB
• UTIL R.J Austin (47 GP, 47 GS): .314/.386/.455, 5 HR, 47 RBI, 8 2B, 2 3B, 19 BB, 21 SB

Top Performers (Pitchers):

• LHP Carter Holton (12 APP, 11 GS): 4.88 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 62.2 IP, 89 K, 23 BB, .222 B/AVG
• RHP Brennan Seiber (17 APP, 1 GS): 3.48 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 31.0 IP, 32 K, 11 BB, .189 B/AVG, 4 SV
• LHP Miller Green (15 APP, 0 GS): 2.19 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 24.2 IP, 26 K, 8 BB, .200 B/AVG, 2 SV

North Carolina Tar Heels

Head Coach (school record): Scott Forbes (141-84)
2024 Record (conference record): 35-11 (17-7)
All-Time Series Record: North Carolina Leads 9-7

Top Performers (Hitters):

• INF Parks Harber (43 GP, 43 GS): .366/.447/.733, 17 HR, 51 RBI, 6 2B, 1 3B, 26 BB, 4 SB
• OF Vance Honeycutt (45 GP, 45 GS): .330/.430/.709, 18 HR, 50 RBI, 10 2B, 2 3B, 28 BB, 26 SB
• OF Casey Cook (46 GP, 46 GS): .341/.431/.604, 13 HR, 60 RBI, 7 2B, 1 3B, 26 BB, 6 SB

Top Performers (Pitchers):

• LHP Shea Sprague (11 APP, 9 GS): 3.40 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 50.1 IP, 45 K, 9 BB, .267 B/AVG
• RHP Jason DeCaro (11 APP, 11 GS): 3.86 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 56.0 IP, 51 K, 27 BB, .231 B/AVG
• LHP Dalton Pence (25 APP, 0 GS): 1.75 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 36.0 IP, 46 K, 19 BB, .159 B/AVG

Statistical Breakdown

Rankings and Records:

Louisville Baseball Preview 2024 Week 13 (Stats) / Matthew McGavic

Hitting:

Louisville Baseball Preview 2024 Week 13 (Hitting) / Matthew McGavic

Pitching:

Louisville Baseball Preview 2024 Week 13 (Pitching) / Matthew McGavic

(Photo of Carson Liggett: Jared Anderson - Louisville Report)

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