7th Inning Stretch: Hitting the Road (Week 6)
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville baseball program might have gone over .500 this past week, but their first week in ACC wasn't exactly smooth sailing.
The Cardinals were able to sweep a two-game midweek series against Lipscomb, took their ACC opener against Virginia Tech, but then proceeded to drop the final two games of the series to clinch a series loss. Dating back to last season, Louisville has now low seven consecutive ACC series.
While Louisville did take both games against the Bisons, they had to mount late inning comebacks in both games. Even their lone win against the Hokies saw them nearly blow a six-run lead. Their finale against VT was an all systems failure on all fronts, with head coach Dan McDonnell calling the performance "embarrassing" afterwards.
The Cardinals' are still hitting well with the jump in competition, but the reason for some of their struggles this past week was pitching - in particular starting pitching. Louisville gave up 40 runs against Lipscomb and Virginia Tech, with 30 of these runs coming over the first five innings.
Louisville better turn these issues on the mound in a hurry, because life in the ACC won't get any easy. After a midweek game against crosstown foe Bellarmine to cap off an 18-game home stand, the Cardinals then head to Winston-Salem for a series against preseason ACC favorite Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons have had their own pitching struggles as of late, but they were the preseason No. 1 team for a good reason.
With this team having to hit the road in seven of their next nine games, with both weekend ACC series coming against top-20 competition, we'll know a lot about this team over the next couple weeks.
Last Week's Recaps:
- Game 16: Louisville Mounts Comeback, Claims Series Opener Against Lipscomb
- Game 17: Louisville Walks Off Lipscomb in Extras to Sweep Series
- Game 18: Napleton, Louisville Power Past Virginia Tech in ACC Opener
- Game 19: Louisville stumbles vs. Virginia Tech to Even Series
- Game 20: Louisville Smashed by Virginia Tech in Series Finale
News & Notes
- Louisville remains unranked in of all of the five major collegiate baseball polls.
- Gavin Kilen ranks No. 7 nationally in triples with three, No. 13 nationally in the NCAA's "Toughest to Strike Out" metric, and No. 25 in doubles with nine.
- J.T. Benson ranks No. 5 nationally in stolen bases with 14, and No. 8 in sacrifice flies with four.
- Lucas Moore ranks No. 5 nationally in stolen bases with 14.
The Week Ahead
Home (Jim Patterson Stadium - Louisville, Ky.)
- Tuesday, Mar. 19 at 5:00pm vs. Bellarmine
- ACC Network Extra
- 93.9 The Ville
Away (David F. Couch Ballpark - Winston-Salem, N.C.)
- Thursday, Mar. 21 at 7:00pm vs. Wake Forest
- ACC Network
- 93.9 The Ville
- Friday, Mar. 22 at 6:00pm vs. Wake Forest
- ACC Network Extra
- 93.9 or 970
- Saturday, Mar. 23 at 1:00pm vs. Wake Forest
- ACC Network Extra
- 93.9 or 970
Know The Foe
Bellarmine Knights
Head Coach (school record): Chris Dominguez (14-60)
2024 Record (conference record): 1-18 (0-3)
All-Time Series Record: Louisville Leads 46-29
Top Performers (Hitters):
- OF/RHP Casey Sorg (17 GP, xx GS): .302/.353/.476, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 3 2B, 1 3B, 5 BB
- UTIL Reed Blaszczyk (16 GP, 15 GS): .245/.393/.469, 3 HR, 5 RBI, 2 2B, 4 BB
- INF/OF Andres Castro (16 GP, 15 GS): .264/.328/.396, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 2 2B, 1 3B, 3 BB
Top Performers (Pitchers)
- RHP Cooper Hellman (4 APP, 4 GS): 2.25 ERA, 2.08 WHIP, 12.0 IP, 15 K, 10 BB, .306 B/AVG
- RHP Nolan Pender (8 APP, 1 GS): 10.32 ERA, 2.38 WHIP, 11.1 IP, 18 K, 15 BB, .267 B/AVG
- RHP Ryan Johnson (6 APP, 0 GS): 5.91 ERA, 1.78 WHIP, 10.2 IP, 12 K, 8 BB, .275 B/AVG
Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Head Coach (school record): Tom Walter (431-345-1)
2024 Record (conference record): 13-6 (2-4)
All-Time Series Record: Louisville Leads 20-8-1
Top Performers (Hitters):
- INF Adam Tellier (19 GP, 19 GS): .380/.490/.785, 8 HR, 25 RBI, 8 2B, 12 BB, 8 SB
- INF Jack Winnay (18 GP, 17 GS): .349/.449/.841, 9 HR, 24 RBI, 4 2B, 13 BB
- OF Jake Reinisch (19 GP, 19 GS): .294/.455/.632, 5 HR, 22 RBI, 4 2B, 2 3B, 20 BB
Top Performers (Pitchers)
- RHP Chase Burns (5 APP, 5 GS): 2.08 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 30.1 IP, 56 K, 12 BB, .157 B/AVG
- RHP Michael Massey (4 APP, 4 GS): 1.23 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 14.2 IP, 25 K, 7 BB, .140 B/AVG
- RHP William Ray (10 APP, 0 GS): 1.69 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 16.0 IP, 19 K, 7 BB, .200 B/AVG
Statistical Breakdown
Rankings and Records:
| BU | WF | UofL | |
|---|---|---|---|
D1Baseball Ranking | NR | 16th | NR |
RPI | 299th | 17th | 185th |
SOS | 255th | 18th | 205th |
Home Record | 0-3 | 11-2 | 13-5 |
Away Record | 1-15 | 2-4 | 0-0 |
Neutral Record | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-2 |
Hitting:
| BU | WF | UofL | |
|---|---|---|---|
Base on Balls | (63) | 9th (138) | 60th (105) |
Batting Average | (.231) | 124th (.282) | 6th (.344) |
Home Runs | (12) | 22nd (35) | 30th (33) |
On Base Percentage | (.320) | 56th (.419) | 13th (.445) |
Runs Per Game | (4.2) | 43rd (8.8) | 12th (9.8) |
Slugging Percentage | (.334) | 38th (.525) | 10th (.586) |
Pitching:
| BU | WF | UofL | |
|---|---|---|---|
Earned Run Average | (11.20) | 80th (4.98) | 83rd (5.02) |
Hits Allowed/9 Innings | (13.9) | 14th (7.47) | 160th (9.68) |
Strikeouts/9 Innings | (7.0) | 5th (12.5) | 84th (9.5) |
Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio | (0.85) | 48th (2.46) | 47th (2.46) |
WHIP | (2.46) | 52nd (1.39) | 100th (1.50) |
Walks Allowed/9 Innings | (8.2) | 169th (5.09) | 50th (3.85) |
(Photo via Jared Anderson - Louisville Report)
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