7th Inning Stretch: Crunch Time (Week 12)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Once again this season, the Louisville baseball program had a week that was full of highs and lows.

It started off on a fantastic note, shutting out arch rival Kentucky on their home diamond. However, the Cardinals (28-15, 9-12 ACC) were unable to carry that momentum into their series with Miami, taking just one game of the three-game series to go 2-2 on the week.

Louisville has been in a bit of a lull since returning from the Shriner's College Classic in Houston, but things really have not been trending in the right direction recently. The Cards have won just three of their last 11 games since blasting Bellarmine back on April 12, and 12 of their last 26 since starting the season at 16-1.

It's not as dramatic of a collapse as 2021 was, as Louisville is still very much in most of the games they have lost, but the end result - missing the NCAA Tournament - is starting to become a possibility. The Cardinals have been bounced from most top-25 polls, and are on the three-seed line in both D1Baseball and Baseball America's most NCAA Tournament projections.

If Louisville is going to remove any doubt from the selection committee, now is the time to do so. The Cardinals have just three weeks left in the regular season, and need to start generating momentum ahead of the ACC Tournament.

Fortunately, their week starts with another matchup against Bellarmine - this time at Louisville Slugger Field in downtown. Then, it's back on the road for ACC play, taking on a Clemson squad that is starting to generate some buzz down the stretch.

Last Week's Recaps:

Game 40: Louisville Blanks Kentucky to Snap Four-Game Losing Streak
Game 41: Louisville Drops Series Opener vs. Miami
Game 42: Louisville Rebounds, Blasts Miami to Even Series
Game 43: Louisville Falls to Miami in Rubber Match

News & Notes

Out of the six major collegiate baseball polls, Louisville ranks as high as the No. 25 team in the nation, courtesy of the USA Today Coaches Poll.
RHP Carson Liggett ranks 18th in the nation in earned run average at 2.31 and 15th in victories with seven.

The Week Ahead

Away (Louisville Slugger Field - Louisville, Ky.)

Tuesday, May 2 at 6:00 p.m. vs. Bellarmine

TV TBD
93.9 The Ville and 970 WGTK

Away (Doug Kingsmore Stadium - Clemson, S.C.)

Friday, May 5 at 6:00 p.m. at Clemson

ACC Network Extra
93.9 The Ville or 970 WGTK

Saturday, May 6 at 2:00 p.m. at Clemson

ACC Network Extra
93.9 The Ville or 970 WGTK

Sunday, May 7 at 12:00 p.m. at Clemson

ACC Network Extra
93.9 The Ville and 970 WGTK

Know The Foe

Midweek

School: Bellarmine University
Nickname: Knights
Location: Louisville, Ky.
Total Enrollment: 2,407
Head Coach (school record): Chris Dominguez (11-33)
2023 Record (conference record): 11-33 (6-15)
All-Time Series Record: Louisville leads 45-29

Top Performers (Hitters):

OF/3B Reed Blaszczyk (43 GP, 41 GS): .282/.360/.519, 9 HR, 30 RBI, 10 2B, 12 BB
INF Colin Bertsch (43 GP, 43 GS): .286/.345/.435, 5 HR, 22 RBI, 7 2B, 8 BB
RHP/INF Casey Sorg (40 GP, 40 GS): .286/.347/.448, 5 HR, 16 RBI, 8 2B, 13 BB

Top Performers (Pitchers)

RHP Nolan Pender (11 APP, 11 GS): 5.00 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 68.1 IP, 65 K, 21 BB, .281 B/AVG
RHP/INF Drew Buhr (11 APP, 11 GS): 8.74 ERA, 1.59 WHIP, 58.2 IP, 58 K, 18 BB, .311 B/AVG
RHP Matt Craven (18 APP, 1 GS): 7.96 ERA, 1.77 WHIP, 26.0 IP, 26 K, 15 BB, .301 B/AVG, 5 SV

Weekend

School: Clemson University
Nickname: Tigers
Location: Clemson, S.C.
Total Enrollment: 21,653
Head Coach (school record): Erik Bakich (28-17)
2023 Record (conference record): 28-17 (11-10)
All-Time Series Record: Clemson leads 17-14

Top Performers (Hitters):

Billy Amick (28 GP, 24 GS): .406/.468/.708, 6 HR, 27 RBI, 9 2B, 1 3B, 8 BB
Caden Grice (42 GP, 41 GS): .312/.414/.617, 11 HR, 44 RBI, 12 2B, 1 3B, 24 BB
Cam Cannarella (42 GP, 42 GS): .388/.463/.528, 4 HR, 32 RBI, 11 2B, 23 BB, 19 SB

Top Performers (Pitchers)

Caden Grice (9 APP, 41 GS): 3.50 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 43.2 IP, 57 K, 23 BB, .183 B/AVG
Austin Gordon (11 APP, 11 GS): 4.99 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 57.2 IP, 53 K, 14 BB, .249 B/AVG
Reed Garris (18 APP, 0 GS): 2.61 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 20.2 IP, 31 K, 6 BB, .221 B/AVG

Statistical Breakdown

Rankings:

Bellarmine	Clemson	Louisville
D1Baseball Ranking	NR	NR	NR
RPI	257th	12th	27th
SOS	188th	3rd	19th
Home Record	2-13	17-10	21-7
Away Record	9-20	10-5	4-8
Neutral Record	0-0	1-2	3-0

Hitting:

Bellarmine	Clemson	Louisville
Base on Balls	120	80th (211)	169th (185)
Batting Average	.265	58th (.295)	83rd (.290)
Hits	393	25th (459)	105th (419)
Home Runs	44	169th (41)	139th (47)
On Base Percentage	.338	90th (.391)	82nd (.392)
Runs Per Game	4.7	124th (6.9)	107th (7.1)
Slugging Percentage	.404	140th (.446)	99th (.462)

Pitching:

Bellarmine	Clemson	Louisville
Earned Run Average	9.20	40th (4.54)	15th (3.95)
Hits Allowed/9 Innings	13.0	64th (8.74)	15th (7.75)
Strikeouts Per 9 Innings	7.4	45th (9.7)	40th (9.8)
Strikeout-to-Walk Ratio	1.41	32nd (2.52)	85th (2.09)
WHIP	2.03	50th (1.40)	45th (1.38)
Walks Allowed/9 Innings	5.3	46th (3.86)	153rd (4.69)

(Photo via Jared Anderson - Louisville Report)

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