7th Inning Stretch: Bouncing Back (Week 3)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville baseball program might have had a rough start to their season, but they were able to end last week on a strong note.

The Cardinals dropped their home opener against Xavier as well as their series opener against St. Bonaventure, dropping their first four games in a season for the first time under head coach Dan McDonnell. However, Louisville was able to bounce back, winning their next three games to get one game below .500 on the season.

The difference was a drastic lineup change in game two of the series-opening doubleheader against the Bonnies. McDonnell pulled all four returning starters in the field, playing seven first-and second-year players in the lineup.

The offense then immediately took off, with Louisville plating 20+ runs for the first time since 2022. The last two games of the series featured a mix of freshmen and upperclassmen, with Louisville also cracking double figures in scoring.

While Louisville seems to have found an answer for their hitting lulls they experienced in their first four games of the season, relief pitching, defense and base running are still very much an issue. Of the 27 earned runs surrendered this past week, 16 of them came from the bullpen. Additionally, Louisville had a six-error day in their finale against St. Bonaventure, and had a handful of base running blunders in the series.

The good news is, the season is still very young. Louisville has plenty of time to fix their issues that have come up over the first couple weeks, and have a golden opportunity to do so this upcoming week. However, they better iron out these hiccups now, or they will get boatraced when ACC play rolls around.

Last Week's Recaps:

Game 3: Louisville Falls to Xavier in Home Opener
Games 4 and 5: Louisville Splits Series-Opening Doubleheader with St. Bonaventure
Game 6: Anderson, Louisville Pound St. Bonaventure
Game 7: Louisville Mounts Comeback, Downs St. Bonaventure in Finale to Clinch Series

News & Notes

Louisville remains unranked in of all of the six major collegiate baseball polls.
Gavin Kilen is tied for No. 1 nationally in the NCAA's "Toughest to Strike Out" metric, and ranks No. 4 in triples with two.
Lucas Moore ranks No. 9 nationally in stolen bases with six.
J.T. Benson ranks No. 23 nationally in on base percentage at 0.654.

Home (Jim Patterson Stadium - Louisville, Ky.)

Tuesday, Feb. 27 at 3:00pm vs. Eastern Kentucky

ACC Network Extra
970 WGTK

Friday, Mar. 1 at 3:00pm vs. Youngstown State

ACC Network Extra
970 WGTK

Saturday, Mar. 2 at 1:00pm vs. Youngstown State

ACC Network Extra
93.9 The Ville

Sunday, Mar. 3 at 1:00pm vs. Youngstown State

ACC Network Extra
970 WGTK

Know The Foe

Eastern Kentucky Colonels

Head Coach (school record): Chris Prothro (89-88)
2024 Record (conference record): 1-6 (0-0)
All-Time Series Record: Louisville Leads 73-49-1

Top Performers (Hitters):

INF Conner Davis (7 GP, 7 GS): .375/.423/.583, 3 RBI, 3 2B, 1 3B 1 BB, 1 SB
OF D.J. Sullivan (7 GP, 7 GS): .321/.355/.464, 3 RBI, 4 2B, 2 BB, 1 SB
OF Max Sullivan (7 GP, 7 GS): .304/.360/.652, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 1 BB

Top Performers (Pitchers)

RHP Ryker Walton (2 APP, 1 GS): 5.59 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 9.2 IP, 5 K, 4 BB, .206 B/AVG
RHP Jack Waters (2 APP, 0 GS): 0.00 ERA, 0.55 WHIP, 3.2 IP, 4 K, 1 BB, .083 B/AVG
RHP Garrett Langrell (2 APP, 0 GS): 3.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 3.0 IP, 1 K, 2 BB, .111 B/AVG

Youngstown State Penguins

Head Coach (school record): Dan Bertolini (125-228)
2024 Record (conference record): 0-6 (0-0)
All-Time Series Record: Louisville Leads 3-0

Top Performers (Hitters):

OF Alejandro Covas (5 GP, 4 GS): .353/.389/.412, 1 BB, 2 SB
INF Trey Law (6 GP, 6 GS): .304/.360/.348, 3 RBI, 1 2B, 2 BB, 1 SB
OF Teddy Ruffner (5 GP, 5 GS): .133/.263/.533, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 3 BB

Top Performers (Pitchers)

LHP Sloan Ulrich (2 APP, 2 GS): 6.23 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 8.2 IP, 4 K, 9 BB, .154 B/AVG
RHP Nolan Kubilus (3 APP, 0 GS): 0.00 ERA, 0.46 WHIP, 4.1 IP, 2 K, 0 BB, .143 B/AVG
RHP Casey Marshalwitz (3 APP, 0 GS): 7.36 ERA, 1.91 WHIP, 3.2 IP, 2 K, 2 BB, .313 B/AVG

Statistical Breakdown

Rankings:

EKU	YSU	UofL
D1Baseball Ranking	NR	NR	NR
RPI	231st	253rd	235th
SOS	136th	128th	208th
Home Record	1-2	0-0	3-2
Away Record	0-4	0-6	0-0
Neutral Record	0-0	0-0	0-2

Hitting:

EKU	YSU	UofL
Base on Balls	222nd (24)	250th (20)	133rd (34)
Batting Average	229th (.230)	292nd (.166)	20th (.349)
Hits	215th (50)	280th (30)	26th (84)
Home Runs	89th (8)	257th (2)	257th (2)
On Base Percentage	257th (.316)	291st (.262)	33rd (.448)
Runs Per Game	254th (4.3)	292nd (1.7)	37th (9.7)
Slugging Percentage	153rd (.410)	293rd (.221)	68th (.498)

Pitching:

EKU	YSU	UofL
Earned Run Average	266th (9.92)	279th (11.57)	145th (5.88)
Hits Allowed/9 Innings	233rd (11.22)	222nd (10.99)	181st (10.11)
Strikeouts/9 Innings	239th (7.0)	287th (5.4)	182nd (8.3)
Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio	255th (1.05)	294th (0.49)	135th (1.83)
WHIP	243rd (1.99)	283rd (2.44)	160th (1.63)
Walks Allowed/9 Innings	234th (6.67)	293rd (10.99)	112th (4.53)

(Photo via Jared Anderson - Louisville Report)

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