7th Inning Stretch: Fighting to Dance (Week 15)

The Louisville baseball program is heading down to the ACC Baseball Championship, and needs a good showing to potentially lock up a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

Louisville baseball infielder | Jared Anderson - Louisville Report

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Making their return to the ACC Baseball Championship after missing out last year, the Louisville baseball program is heading into the postseason with a little bit of momentum on their side.

Their midweek matchup against Indiana might have gotten rained out, but the Cardinals (32-22, 16-14 ACC) made up for it by pulling off a sweep over Notre Dame to end the regular season.

Sweeping the Irish was certainly a massive development in terms of Louisville's NCAA Tournament resume, but they are still very much on the bubble. While their ACC win total puts them in a good spot to potentially lock up an at-large bid, their RPI of 52nd is currently much too high, and could be what keeps them out.

But first, they have to deal with a both Clemson and Miami in pool play the ACC Baseball Championship. The Cardinals earned the No. 7 overall seed, with the Tigers earning the No. 2 seed and Hurricanes getting the No. 11 seed.

Each of the four pools play a round robin, with the top team advancing to the semifinals. If all three teams go 1-1, the top seeded team gets the nod to the semis.

If Louisville is to take the decision out of the NCAA Tournament committee's hands, they will have to - at a minimum - beat both Clemson and Miami to get out of pool play and advance to the semifinals. Anything short of that, and there's a good chance they might miss out on the Big Dance for the third time in four year.

News & Notes

• Louisville remains unranked in of all of the five major collegiate baseball polls.
• Three Cardinals were named to the 2024 All-ACC Team. Left-handed pitcher Evan Webster was named to the Second-Team, shortstop Gavin Kilen made Third-Team, and catcher/outfielder Zion Rose landed on the All-Freshman Team.
• Gavin Kilen ranks No. 12 nationally in doubles with 22.
• J.T. Benson ranks No. 7 nationally in stolen bases with 34.
• Zion Rose ranks No. 17 nationally in triples with five.
• Sebastian Gongora and Evan Webster are tied for No. 16 nationally in pitching starts with 14.

The Week Ahead

Neutral (Truist Field- Charlotte, N.C.)

• Tuesday, May 21 at 11:00am vs Miami - ACC Network/93.9 The Ville
• Friday, May 24 at 3:00pm vs. Clemson - ACC Network/93.9 The Ville
• *Saturday, May 28 at 5:00pm vs. Pool C Winner (Semifinal) - ACC Network/93.9 The Ville
• *Sunday, May 29 at 12:00pm vs. Pool A/D Winner (Championship) - ESPN2/93.9 The Ville

*If Necessary

Know The Foe

Miami Hurricanes

Head Coach (school record): J.D. Arteaga (25-19)
2024 Record (conference record): 25-29 (11-19)
All-Time Series Record: Series Tied 11-11

Top Performers (Hitters):

• INF Daniel Cuvet (54 GP, 54 GS): .344/.427/.706, 21 HR, 65 RBI, 14 2B, 1 3B, 26 BB, 2 SB
• INF Jason Torres (39 GP, 39 GS): .331/.385/.529, 8 HR, 32 RBI, 7 2B, 10 BB
• INF .Dorian Gonzalez Jr. (53 GP, 52 GS): .310/.374/.495, 8 HR, 47 RBI, 16 2B, 23 BB, 1 SB

Top Performers (Pitchers):

• LHP Herick Hernandez (14 APP, 13 GS): 6.47 ERA, 1.61 WHIP, 65.1 IP, 86 K, 31 BB, .275 B/AVG
• RHP Gage Ziehl (14 APP, 14 GS): 3.93 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 94.0 IP, 85 K, 25 BB, .239 B/AVG
• LHP Rafe Schlesinger (14 APP, 14 GS): 5.92 ERA, 1.73 WHIP, 73.0 IP, 68 K, 25 BB, .344 B/AVG

Clemson Tigers

Head Coach (school record): Erik Bakich (84-32)
2024 Record (conference record): 40-13 (20-10)
All-Time Series Record: Clemson Leads 22-15

Top Performers (Hitters):

• Blake Wright (53 GP, 53 GS): .341/.383/.677, 21 HR, 70 RBI, 8 2B, 2 3B, 14 BB
• Jimmy Obertop (50 GP, 50 GS): .302/.436/.635, 18 HR, 47 RBI, 9 2B, 42 BB
• Jacob Hinderleider (52 GP, 51 GS): .315/.397/.571, 12 HR, 54 RBI, 16 2B, 1 3B, 23 BB, 9 SB

Top Performers (Pitchers):

• Aidan Knaak (13 APP, 13 GS): 2.96 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 73.0 IP, 97 K, 26 BB, .216 B/AVG
• Tristan Smith (10 APP, 10 GS): 4.17 ERA, 1.58 WHIP, 41.0 IP, 53 K, 29 BB, .240 B/AVG
• Billy Barlow (13 APP, 10 GS): 4.30 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 46.0 IP, 41 K, 17 BB, .257 B/AVG

Statistical Breakdown

Rankings and Records:

	Miami	Clemson	Louisville
D1Baseball Ranking	NR	4th	NR
RPI	90th	7th	52nd
SOS	17th	14th	33rd
Home Record	19-16	27-6	25-10
Away Record	6-13	10-7	7-10
Neutral Record	0-0	3-0	0-2

Hitting:

	Miami	Clemson	Louisville
Base on Balls	85th (263)	63rd (274)	159th (235)
Batting Avg.	161st (.276)	63rd (.297)	19th (.312)
Home Runs	69th (78)	27th (98)	53rd (83)
OBP	172nd (.378)	74th (.401)	45th (.408)
Runs/Game	160th (6.7)	48th (8.2)	45th (8.2)
SLG	108th (.468)	40th (.514)	21st (.534)

Pitching:

	Miami	Clemson	Louisville
ERA	119th (5.75)	24th (4.47)	181st (6.44)
Hits/9 Innings	134th (9.63)	25th (8.33)	173rd (10.01)
K/9 Innings	67th (9.2)	41st (9.5)	65th (9.2)
K/BB Ratio	74th (2.10)	45th (2.31)	73rd (2.11)
WHIP	115th (1.56)	26th (1.38)	140th (1.60)
BB/9 Innings	102nd (4.37)	67th (4.12)	100th (4.37)

(Photo via Jared Anderson - Louisville Report)

You can follow Louisville Report for future coverage by liking us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram:

Facebook - @LouisvilleReport
Twitter - @UofLReport
Instagram - @louisville_report

You can also follow Deputy Editor Matthew McGavic at @Matt_McGavic on Twitter