7th Inning Stretch: For The Crown (Week 15)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Unlike this time last year, the Louisville baseball program is heading into the postseason with momentum on their side.

The Cardinals (38-16-1, 18-11-1 ACC) handled their business against Eastern Kentucky, then were able to end the regular season on a high note by capturing a top-10 series against Virginia.

At this point in time, Louisville is a near-lock to be hosting an NCAA Tournament regional for the first time since 2019. With a solid showing down in Charlotte, N.C. for the ACC Baseball Championship, they might be even be able to lock down a top eight seed.

But first they have to deal with a both Pitt and Georgia Tech in pool play the ACC Baseball Championship. The Cardinals earned the No. 2 overall seed, with the Yellow Jackets earning the No. 7 seed and Panthers 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.

With Pitt and Georgia Tech facing off in the very first game of the week, the blueprint for Louisville is simple: defeat the winner of that game, and you move on to the semifinals. A premium seed in the NCAA Tournament could be depending on it. Outright win the ACC title, and it's a guarantee.

Last Week's Recaps:

Game 52: Louisville Overwhelms EKU in Midweek Finale
Game 53: Louisville Claims Rain-Delayed Series Opener vs. Virginia
Game 54: Louisville Demolished by Virginia to Even Series
Game 55: Louisville Defeats Virginia in Regular Season Finale to Clinch Series

News & Notes

Louisville ranks as high as No. 6 (Baseball America, USA TODAY) among the six major collegiate baseball polls.
Louisville captured the Atlantic Division title for the fifth time since joining the league in 2014-15.
Eight Cardinals were named to the 2022 All-ACC Team - the most of any team in the conference.
Levi Usher, Jared Poland, Michael Prosecky and Dalton Rushing were all Second-Team selections. Christian Knapczyk, Cameron Masterman, Ben Metzinger and Jack Payton were each named to the Third-Team. Logan Beard was also voted to the ACC All-Freshman team.
Usher was also named the 2022 ACC Defensive Player of the Year. He's the second Cardinal to win the award, joining Devin Hairston in 2017.
Louisville earned the No. 2 seed of the ACC Baseball Championship. Virginia Tech, Miami and Notre Dame rounded out the top four and top seeds of their respective pools.

The Week Ahead

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

Wednesday, May 25 at 11:00am vs. Pitt

RSN/ACC Network Extra
93.9 The Ville

Thursday, May 26 at 11:00am vs. Georgia Tech

RSN/ACC Network Extra
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

Game 1

School: University of Pittsburgh
Nickname: Panthers
Location: Pittsburgh, Pa.
Total Enrollment: 19,197
Head Coach (school record): Mike Bell (81-86)
2022 Record (conference record): 27-26 (13-16 ACC)
All-Time Series Record: Louisville leads 21-10

Top Performers (Hitters):

C Tatem Levins (53 GP, 53 GS): .313/.430/.611, 15 HR, 52 RBI, 8 2B, 3 3B, 31 BB
OF C.J. Funk (43 GP, 42 GS): .297/.486/.523, 5 HR, 24 RBI, 8 2B, 3 3B, 40 BB
OF Ron Washington, Jr. (45 GP, 43 GS): .272/.383/.574, 15 HR, 37 RBI, 10 2B, 24 BB

Top Performers (Pitchers)

RHP Matt Gilbertson (14 APP, 14 GS): 3.55 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 91.1 IP, 87 K, 11 BB, .261 B/AVG
RHP Billy Cocoran (13 APP, 13 GS): 4.24 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 80.2 IP, 66 K, 8 BB, .265 B/AVG
RHP Brady Devereux (23 APP, 0 GS): 4.75 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 36.0 IP, 30 K, 13 BB, .271 B/AVG

Game 2

School: Georgia Institute of Technology
Nickname: Yellow Jackets
Location: Atlanta, Ga.
Total Enrollment: 16,561
Head Coach (school record): Danny Hall (1,137-597-1)
2022 Record (conference record): 33-21 (15-15 ACC)
All-Time Series Record: Louisville leads 8-6

Top Performers (Hitters):

C Kevin Parada (54 GP, 54 GS): .362/.451/.746, 26 HR, 84 RBI, 9 2B, 3B, 26 BB
INF Andrew Jenkins (54 GP, 54 GS): .389/.443/.707, 17 HR, 62 RBI, 20 2B, 3B, 17 BB
INF Chandler Simpson (41 GP, 41 GS): .422/.505/.503, 1 HR, 20 RBI, 5 2B, 3 3B, 29 BB, 21 SB

Top Performers (Pitchers)

RHP Marquis Grissom, Jr. (16 APP, 12 GS): 5.57 ERA, 51.2 IP, 48 K, 37 BB, .249 B/AVG
RHP John Medich (19 APP, 7 GS): 5.72 ERA, 50.1 IP, 55 K, 27 BB, .251 B/AVG
RHP Zach Maxwell (19 APP, 5 GS): 5.73 ERA, 44.0 IP, 69 K, 34 BB, .228 B/AVG

Opponent Breakdown

Rankings:

Pitt	Georgia Tech	Louisville
D1 Baseball Ranking	NR	NR	7th
RPI	72nd	20th	9th
SOS	30th	5th	21st
Home Record	12-9	22-9	29-6
Away Record	10-11	11-11	8-9-1
Neutral Record	5-6	0-1	1-1

Hitting:

Pitt	Georgia Tech	Louisville
Base on Balls	11th (306)	43rd (265)	12th (303)
Batting Average	185th (.270)	2nd (.323)	20th (.306)
Home Runs	49th (73)	5th (109)	25th (84)
On Base Percentage	58th (.392)	12th (.417)	13th (.416)
Scoring Average	138th (6.5)	5th (9.4)	12th (8.8)
Slugging Percentage	83rd (.461)	5th (.555)	15th (.515)

Pitching:

Pitt	Georgia Tech	Louisville
Earned Run Average	202nd (6.27)	218th (6.50)	111st (5.23)
Hits Allowed/9 Innings	200th (10.33)	228th (10.64)	70th (8.93)
Strikeouts/9 Innings	123rd (8.7)	54th (9.5)	24th (10.0)
Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio	93rd (2.19)	142nd (1.96)	114th (2.08)
WHIP	159th (1.59)	220th (1.72)	115th (1.53)
Walks Allowed/9 Innings	86th (3.98)	197th (4.82)	194th (4.81)

(Photo via Jared Anderson - State of Louisville)

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